TAKE FOUR

A Shot in the Dark:  The Funniest Movie Ever Made.

Only one film can make me laugh right at the opening credits.  "A Shot in the Dark" is such a film.  The first time I saw the film in 1966 I laughed.  My mother reported I laughed so hard I nearly choked.   "A Shot in the Dark" (Hereafter referred to as "Shot") retains the comedic spark.

The main reason, Peter Sellers.  He IS Inspector Clouseau.   The other Clouseaus, I will not mention.  They failed miserably to fill the trench coat of Clouseau.

Rather then rehash the movie plot I would like to share some favorite scenes.

• Clouseau's first interview with Maria Gambrelli in his office.  Ripping his pants when he forgets to take out the key, notice how Elke Sommers struggles to keep from laughing!  Classic.
• Hearing the opera singer and ending up charging through the recital and out the window and into the river. 
• The nudist colony scene.  The look on Clouseau's face when it dawns on him he is at a nudist colony is priceless. 
• The nude Clouseau and Maria Gambrelli getting caught in traffic. 
• The introduction to the series of Dreyfus and Kato.
• Going out to various nightclubs where an assassin misses Clouseau, killing four innocent people instead. 
• The climatic scene.  Clouseau gathers the suspects together and each of them are guilty of murder.  They escape in Clouseau's car which contains a bomb that was placed there by the  now insane Dreyfus.
• Trivia note:  William Peter Blatty is co-credited with Blake Edwards on the screenplay.  Blatty would later give us "The Exorist."   

"Shot" was really the beginning of the "Pink Panther" franchise.  All the elements were assembled together to allow the series to continue.  I am laughing right now with the memories!