A Shot in the Dark (1964)

Overview

A Shot in the Dark is the second film in the Pink Panther series, but unlike its predecessor, it puts Inspector Jacques Clouseau at the centre of the action — and it’s in this film that Peter Sellers' Clouseau truly comes to life. Whereas The Pink Panther introduced the character in a supporting role, A Shot in the Dark unleashes him as the full-blown, absurd, and accident-prone detective that became Sellers’ most iconic persona.

Directed with precision and style by Blake Edwards, the film ditches the international jewel heist plot of its predecessor for a domestic murder mystery, but retains the same balance of sophistication, slapstick, and escalating chaos. What results is not only the best film in the Pink Panther series, but also one of the greatest farcical comedies in cinema history.

Plot Summary

The film opens at the grand country estate of Benjamin Ballon (George Sanders), where a murder has just taken place: a chauffeur has been found shot dead. The prime suspect is Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer), a beautiful young maid discovered holding the smoking gun. All the evidence points to her guilt.

Enter Inspector Clouseau, inexplicably assigned to the case. Upon meeting Maria, he instantly falls in love and decides she must be innocent — despite the overwhelming evidence against her. As more bodies pile up and Maria is arrested again and again, Clouseau releases her every time, convinced of her purity and the existence of a deeper conspiracy.

What follows is a hilarious descent into farcical absurdity, with Clouseau crashing stakeouts, causing public chaos, being blown up multiple times by bombs, and facing increasing exasperation from his superior, Commissioner Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), who slowly begins to unravel under Clouseau’s idiocy.

By the climax — a grand ballroom scene in which everyone’s true motives collide — the film has become a full-fledged comic symphony, ending in an explosion of misunderstandings, revelations, and pure lunacy.

Performances

Peter Sellers as Inspector Jacques Clouseau

If The Pink Panther was a warm-up, A Shot in the Dark is Sellers' masterpiece. This is the film where Clouseau becomes a fully realized comic force: a self-important, wildly incompetent detective who mangles everything he touches yet somehow stumbles upon the truth. Sellers' physicality, voice work, and timing are all on another level here. Whether he's mispronouncing "room" as “reum,” falling down stairs, or setting off a series of slapstick disasters, he’s simultaneously ridiculous and brilliant.

The magic of Sellers’ Clouseau is that he plays everything with complete seriousness, never letting the character know he’s in a comedy. His exaggerated French accent, twitchy moustache grooming, and inflated self-regard contrast hilariously with the chaos he leaves in his wake.

Sellers’ performance here redefined screen comedy, influencing everyone from Steve Martin to Rowan Atkinson, and this film is often cited as the gold standard for physical comedy in modern cinema.

Herbert Lom as Commissioner Dreyfus

This film also introduces one of the series' most beloved characters: Charles Dreyfus, Clouseau’s increasingly unhinged boss. Played to perfection by Herbert Lom, Dreyfus starts off relatively composed but quickly devolves into eye-twitching, furniture-destroying madness thanks to Clouseau's incompetence. Lom’s ability to turn rage into comedy is the perfect foil for Sellers' obliviousness. Their dynamic becomes one of the series' most enduring gags, and it begins with explosive brilliance here.

Elke Sommer as Maria Gambrelli

As the accused maid, Elke Sommer strikes the right balance between innocence and sly awareness. Her chemistry with Sellers is amusingly off-kilter, with Maria playing the straight role to Clouseau’s hurricane of confusion. She serves both as the “love interest” and the plot’s MacGuffin — a reason for Clouseau to spiral deeper into farce. Her performance is subtle, lending the film an emotional anchor amid the madness.

George Sanders and Supporting Cast

George Sanders plays the pompous patriarch Benjamin Ballon with classic British restraint, acting as a comedic contrast to Clouseau’s wild antics. The supporting players — Graham Stark as Clouseau’s long-suffering sidekick Hercule, and Burt Kwouk (though not yet as Kato) — fill out the farcical landscape with deadpan timing.

Direction and Comic Precision

Blake Edwards’ direction is a masterclass in comic timing and visual wit. Unlike many comedies that rely on dialogue, A Shot in the Dark is built around visual set pieces: a door that keeps closing at the wrong time, a series of wardrobe malfunctions, or a chase through a nudist colony. Edwards' genius lies in letting the camera linger just long enough to turn a simple joke into a slow-burn masterpiece.

The pacing is impeccable. Gags build on each other, each one more ludicrous than the last, and the script continually ups the ante without ever tipping into chaos for chaos's sake. Edwards and Sellers worked so well together because they shared a love of controlled anarchy — even at its most outrageous, the film never loses its shape.

Music and Score

Henry Mancini returns to score the film, and while the Pink Panther theme itself is absent (this isn’t technically a "Panther" story), the music is still exceptional. Mancini’s score is whimsical, jazzy, and full of sly humour, matching the film’s tone beat-for-beat. His cues often work in tandem with the physical comedy, adding rhythm and accentuating Clouseau’s missteps like a comedic dance partner.

Humour and Themes

While A Shot in the Dark is most famous for its slapstick and farce, it also contains a sharp satirical edge. It pokes fun at class structures, law enforcement, and male vanity, with Clouseau often protected from his own failure by the privilege of his rank. It also plays with the absurdity of "order" and justice — as each attempt to resolve the case results in more confusion and corpses.

But ultimately, this is a film about letting chaos win. Every time logic seems to surface, Clouseau undermines it. The mystery barely matters; it’s the mayhem that matters.

Reception and Legacy

A Shot in the Dark was a critical and commercial triumph, and it's widely regarded as the best film in the Pink Panther franchise — even though the titular diamond doesn’t appear in it. Critics praised Sellers’ comic brilliance, Edwards’ direction, and the film’s relentless energy.

More than that, the film defined the template for what would become one of the longest-running and most beloved comedy series in film. Clouseau became a cultural icon, and the film’s influence is still felt in everything from Mr. Bean to The Office to modern farce like Knives Out 2.

Final Verdict

A Shot in the Dark is a comedic masterwork — a perfect storm of performance, direction, writing, and physical gags. Peter Sellers delivers perhaps the greatest comic performance of his career, and Blake Edwards orchestrates the madness with finesse. It’s hilarious, endlessly quotable, visually inventive, and impeccably timed. If you're going to watch just one Pink Panther film, make it this one.