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A Shot in the Dark Overview:

A Shot in the Dark (1964) was a Comedy - Family Film directed by Blake Edwards and produced by Blake Edwards.

The film was based on the play L'Idiote written by Harry Kurnitz performed at the Booth Theatre, NY from Oct 18, 1961 - Sep 22, 1962.

SYNOPSIS

The second installment in the Inspector Clouseau series established Sellers' bumbling detective as one of classic film's most hilariously slapstick characters. In this madcap comedy-murder mystery, Clouseau is determined to prove the beautiful maid in a French estate (Sommer) has been framed for the murder of her lover, though every clue points directly to her. The high points include a chase through a nudist camp and the explosive finale. Probably the best in the series. Note the coauthor: Blatty, who would later pen The Exorcist.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

A Shot in the Dark BlogHub Articles:

Sleuthathon: A Classic Mystery Blogathon – A Shot in the Dark’s Inspector Clouseau

By Annmarie Gatti on Mar 16, 2014 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

“I believe everything and I believe nothing. I suspect everyone and I suspect no one. I gather the facts, examine the clues, and before you know it, the case is solved.” – Inspector Jacques Clouseau  ….. The original Inspector Clouseau played by the inimitable Peter Sellers... Read full article

A Shot in the Dark (1964)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Sep 25, 2013 From 4 Star Films

Starring a cast including Peter Sellers, Elke Sommers, Herbert Lom, and George Sanders, this comedy-mystery opens with several bustling individuals in a mansion, followed by a gunshot. A pretty maid who was found with the gun is assumed to be guilty, but the bumbling Inspector Clouseau thinks otherw... Read full article

A Shot in the Dark (1964)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Sep 25, 2013 From 4 Star Films

Starring a cast including Peter Sellers, Elke Sommers, Herbert Lom, and George Sanders, this comedy-mystery opens with several bustling individuals in a mansion, followed by a gunshot. A pretty maid who was found with the gun is assumed to be guilty, but the bumbling Inspector Clouseau thinks otherw... Read full article

A Shot in the Dark

By RBuccicone on Nov 19, 2010 From MacGuffin Movies

A Shot in the Dark (1964)      Unlike The Thin Man movies, the series of films following the bumbling French detective Jacques Clouseau opted not to fashion the titles of the sequels off the first. The Pink Panther title refers to a priceless gem featured only in the initial film, similar to how... Read full article

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A Shot in the Dark Quotes:

Clouseau: Well, Cato, I'm back on the case. Ah-ha! [hits him] Now to set the trap, catch the killer and prove to the world that Maria Gambrelli is innocent... of murder. We must accelerate out training program. You must learn to attack me whenever and wherever I least expect it. And you, you must give no quarter.
[phone rings; Dreyfus picks it up]
Dreyfus: Commissioner Dreyfus... Ah, yes, my darling... I was just about to call you. I'm on my way. I've got the cheese and the beaujolais... What? [laughs] ... My love. Kiss the children for me... hmm? [intercom buzzes] Hold on. [covers phone mouthpiece; answers intercom] Yes?
intercom: Your wife is on the other line.
Dreyfus: Tell her I'm out of town.
Clouseau: Facts, Hercule, facts, behind them lays the whole fabric of deductive truth. Now, Hercule let us examine these facts: 1 [holding up 1 finger] she was found with the murder weapon in her hand, 2 [holding up 3 fingers] the murder weapon was fresh with blood, 3 [holding up 4 fingers] there were no fingerprints on the murder weapon other then hers and 4 [holding up all 5 fingers] all the members of the Ballon household staff have perfect alibis. Now then, Hercule what do these facts add up to?
Hercule LaJoy: Maria Gambrelli killed Georges the gardener.
Clouseau: You are an idiot, only a fresh faced novice would come up with a conclusion like that.
Hercule LaJoy:But the facts.
Clouseau: Listen, who even killed Miguel, killed Georges the gardener and he did it to cover up the first crime. Now what he is trying to do is lay the blame at the foot of this, this poor servant girl.
Hercule LaJoy: Well who do you suspect?
Clouseau: I suspect everyone.
Hercule LaJoy: Well I suppose that is possible.
Clouseau: Possible? What do you mean possible? I deal in certainties.
Dreyfus: [Makes nervous sounds crossed between chuckles and whimpers] He released her again, and he's taking her out to dinner to dinner. Every paper in Paris has the story, including the Christian Science Monitor; and he gave them the story. You see he claims he's protecting her lover, and the best way to force him into the open is to make him jealous [nervous chuckles] Jealous! That nincompoop, that megalomaniac. He's setting the science of criminal investigation back a thousand years, and I can't do anyting about it.
The Psycho Analyst: Why not?
Dreyfus:Why not? What if he's right?
[Clouseau has entered a house soaking wet after falling into a fountain]
Clouseau: I'm sorry, my idiot driver parked too close to the fountain.
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A Shot in the Dark Facts
According to the DVD liner notes of the film's first release (before the Pink Panther box set), the audience enjoyed the Inspector Closeau cartoon that played over the credits so much that the entire preview audience applauded and gave the cartoon a standing ovation, to which the theater had to stop the movie until everyone settled again.
The film was adapted from the play "A Shot in the Dark" by Marcel Achard which opened at the Booth Theater on October 18, 1961 and ran for 389 performances closing on September 22, 1962. The original cast included Walter Matthau (Winner of 1962 Tony Award® Best Featured Actor in a Play), Julie Harris, William Shatner and Gene Saks.
Two of the movie's gags originated by accident: -1. When Clouseau buzzes the intercom for Miguel, then immediately corrects his own mistake: "Hercule!"
  • 2. When Clouseau accuses Benjamin Ballon of killing Miguel "in a rit of fealous jage!" he obviously meant to say, "...fit of jealous rage." Peter Sellers was mortified at botching the line and asked for a re-take. Since both flubs got such giggles from the crew, director Blake Edwards decided to leave them in.

According to Graham Stark, who plays Clouseau's assistant Hercule, in the scene where Clouseau gets his hand stuck in the globe, Peter Sellers ad-libbed the line "Look at that! I've got Africa all over my hand!"
Of the 9 murders committed in the film, four of them are victims of Dreyfus, and the only other murder not related to the mansion itself is that of the crow that Inspector Clouseau shoots. Clouseau is the only character who kills a non-human character, and Dreyfus is the only character who kills more than one person.
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