Shot in the Dark, A (4K UHD Review)
Director
Blake EdwardsRelease Date(s)
1964 (January 13, 2026)Studio(s)
United Artists (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)- Film/Program Grade: A
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: A
Review
[Editor’s Note: This review was originally written by Dennis Seuling for the Blu-ray release. New details have been added by Tim Salmons to cover the 4K UHD video quality.]
A Shot in the Dark opens on a scene of mystery and intrigue as various men and women sneak silently by night around buildings, up staircases, through corridors, and into and out of each other’s bedrooms, the camera tracking their every stealthy move. Over the action, we hear Henry Mancini’s music and the voice of a woman singing, “Why must we meet in the shadows of Paris...” Suspense builds until the crack of a gunshot pierces the dark night.
French police commissioner Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is informed that a shooting has occurred at the home of millionaire Benjamin Ballon (George Sanders). To the commissioner’s consternation, the police, unaware of Ballon’s elevated social status, have assigned the case to the chronically inept Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) who, upon arriving at the Ballon estate, promptly topples into a fountain.
Recovering his dignity, the soggy inspector learns that Miguel the chauffeur has been shot four times and his body was found with the maid Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer) holding the murder weapon in her hand. Though this seems to be a no-brainer case, Clouseau is so taken with Maria’s charm and beauty that he’s convinced she’s innocent. However, bodies continue to pile up with Maria constantly finding herself at the scenes of the crimes holding the murder weapons. And the more Clouseau’s mishaps pile up, the more exasperated the commissioner becomes.
A Shot in the Dark is a textbook case of how to incorporate comedy techniques into a story. Slapstick is in abundance, from elaborate scenes in which Clouseau’s martial arts butler Kato (Burt Kwouk) repeatedly attacks his master to keep the detective on his toes, to doors closing in Clouseau’s face. Clothes are inadvertently torn, a frustrated policeman accidentally stabs himself, a disguised Clouseau is thrown into jail while undercover, a game of billiards turns into a series of sight gags, and Clouseau relies on ingenuity to protect his modesty when clues lead him to a nudist colony.
Many of these comic moments seem to occur spontaneously and are all the more hilarious because we don’t see them coming. Whenever Clouseau is involved in or the cause of a comic mishap, he’s quick to recover his dignity and behave as if nothing untoward has happened. Clouseau comes up with twisted theories of detection, asks inane questions, overlooks the obvious, and insults suspects with an air of disdain. On entering the Ballon home soaking wet after stumbling into a fountain, he’s advised to dry off lest he catch pneumonia. Undeterred from pursuing the case, he replies off-handedly, “It’s all part of life’s rich pageant.” Director Blake Edwards catches the viewer off guard. We know Clouseau will make a fool of himself again and again, but not when or how, so a kind of comic suspense is created.
The nudist colony sequence is one of the film’s major set pieces and filled with sight gags as Clouseau strategically positions a guitar while tracking down leads among extras all positioned carefully to preserve the film’s PG rating. Another sequence, in montage, depicts multiple attempts by an unseen assassin to kill Clouseau, only to be foiled by his unpredictable bumbling and instead take out innocent bystanders. These sequences exemplify Blake Edwards’ talent for building joke upon joke.
Peter Sellers is obviously wonderful as Clouseau, the detective who manages to cause chaos wherever he goes. With his trademark trench coat and imperious expression and a French accent unique to Clouseau, Sellers plays the character as the epitome of an officious blunderer. Even when he puts his hand through a glass door, gets stuck in a globe, or falls out of a window, the doggedly persistent inspector wastes little time getting back to business. The contrast between dedication and his ridiculous missteps makes him one of the screen’s best farcical heroes.
German-born Elke Sommer is a lovely Maria, soft-spoken, unaffected, and shapely. Though Clouseau has nothing to base her innocence on other than his immediate attraction to her, she’s the logical suspect. Sommer gains the audience’s sympathy with her big blue eyes and lack of artifice as her Maria explains that she knows nothing about the murders. Sommer exudes a girl-next-door sweetness and an exoticism that makes the likelihood of her being a murderer open to question.
Herbert Lom appears in the first of many Clouseau vehicles as the frustrated, apoplectic Commissioner Dreyfus, regularly driven to exasperation and mental anguish by the awkward, embarrassing antics of his clumsy subordinate. A twitching in his eye gets increasingly pronounced and frequent as Clouseau’s fumbling missteps escalate.
Though the character of Clouseau was introduced in The Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark, the second film in the series, is easily the best. The role of Clouseau dominates, the gags occur frequently, and two characters are introduced who would become major sources of laughs—Kato and Commissioner Dreyfus. Clouseau is portrayed not simply as a clownish centerpiece, but a man with emotion. The balance works and gives him more humanity while not sacrificing any laughs. Even the opening credit sequence features an animated Clouseau, not the slinky panther character that would become the series trademark.
A Shot in the Dark was shot by director of photography Christopher Challis on 35mm film with Panavision cameras and anamorphic lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Kino Lorber Studio Classics presents the film on Ultra HD sourced from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and encoded to a triple-layered BD-100 disc. It’s a generally sharp and organic image, and very much an upgrade over past releases. Grain reproduction can sometimes be a little smudgy, but detail otherwise resolves better than on the accompanying Blu-ray. The bitrate hovers between a steady 70 to 80Mbps most of the time, which could be improved with a more aggressive encode. Beautiful color and natural flesh tones are on display, boosted immensely by the HDR grades which really enhance swatches of red, green, blue, and purple. Blacks are deep with perfect contrast and the image is mostly stable with only minor speckling.
Audio is included in English 5.1 and 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio, with optional subtitles in English SDH. Dialogue is clear and easy to follow. Director Blake Edwards uses sound effects to enhance gags, including a set of pool cues that fall prey to Clouseau’s clumsiness, the detective’s splashes into bodies of water, a spinning globe, and a police siren. Sellers’ “French” accent, an affectation perfect for the character, is peppered with mispronunciations that add yet another layer of comedy. The opening sequence is accompanied by Henry Mancini’s song The Shadows of Paris, sung by Gina Carroll. Mancini’s smooth jazz score adds suspense and accentuates lighter moments, depending on the scene. He would write the score for eight of The Pink Panther films.
The Kino Lorber Studio Classics 4K Ultra HD release of A Shot in the Dark is a 2-Disc set that sits in a black Amaray case with a 1080p Blu-ray and an insert that features the film’s Italian theatrical poster artwork on one side with English text (as well as the slipcover), and the US theatrical poster artwork on the reverse. The following extras are included on each disc:
DISC ONE: UHD
- Audio Commentary by Jason Simos
DISC TWO: BD
- Audio Commentary by Jason Simos
- Back to the Start: Origin of The Pink Panther (HD – 23:11)
- Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews on The Dick Cavett Show (SD – 7:07)
- Theatrical Trailers (SD – 5 in all – 9:55)
- Trailers:
- The Pink Panther (HD – 3:53)
- The Return of the Pink Panther (SD – 2:31)
- The Pink Panther Strikes Again (HD – 2:45)
- Revenge of the Pink Panther (SD – 2:13)
- Trail of the Pink Panther (SD – 2:11)
- Curse of the Pink Panther (SD – 1:32)
- Son of the Pink Panther (SD – 1:10)
- The Party (SD – 2:02)
Audio Commentary – Jason Simos of the Peter Sellers Appreciation Society speaks about the opening sequence of A Shot in the Dark, pointing out the smooth camera work that tells a story silently. Dialogue and close-ups originally included were ultimately eliminated. The actions in the opener have a bearing on later developments. Anticipation builds for Clouseau’s first appearance, which immediately sets the film’s comic tone. The animated title sequence was created by George Dunning, who would later direct Yellow Submarine. Herbert Lom was known for dramatic roles but was eager to portray Commissioner Dreyfus. Graham Stark, who plays Clouseau’s assistant Hercule, was a close friend of Sellers. They had performed for British soldiers during World War II. Simos says director Blake Edwards coordinated camera work with music to provide the film’s rhythm. According to Simos and many others, A Shot in the Dark contains the best performance by Sellers as Clouseau because he’s vulnerable, he’s driven, and he’s fighting for a woman’s honor. The scenes of Kato sparring with Clouseau that are interrupted by a phone call is a running gag. Director Leo McCarey used the term “topping the topper” for the technique of building one joke on another. Dreyfus’ eye twitching was in the script, and it became emblematic of the character. The scene of Clouseau and Hercule synchronizing their watches was largely improvised. The final scene of A Shot in the Dark spoofs the “gathering of suspects” in traditional mysteries. Frequently, actors would “dissolve into laughter” during takes. Even George Sanders, who was usually able to retain his serious demeanor, would break character and laugh.
Back to the Start – Producer Walter Mirisch provides a look at the genesis and history of The Pink Panther series. When Mirisch first met Blake Edwards, he was acting and co-producing a Western called Panhandle. The Mirisch Company was seeking new young directors. Edwards suggested the idea that became The Pink Panther. Peter Ustinov and Ava Gardner were originally cast as Clouseau and his wife. When Gardner dropped out, Ustinov followed. Gardner was replaced by Capucine and the producers settled on the British actor Peter Sellers as Clouseau. Mirisch and Edwards met with Sellers in New York to discuss the picture and Sellers signed on. The decision was made to shoot the film abroad. Mirisch watched the dailies but left Edwards to himself since everything was progressing smoothly. During production of The Pink Panther, everyone noticed that a secondary character was taking over the picture even though David Niven was the star. When Edwards spoke to Niven about this, Niven gallantly responded with “Let’s just make the best picture.” Edwards and Sellers began to have differences on The Pink Panther that worsened on the set of A Shot in the Dark. Mirisch had secured the rights to a Broadway play called A Shot in the Dark. The script was to be adapted to film and was to star Sophia Loren under the direction of Anatole Litvak, but the screenplay pleased no one. Litvak left the project, followed by Loren. The screenplay was altered to make it a Clouseau picture. Edwards was enthusiastic and co-wrote a new screenplay with William Peter Blatty, years before his best seller The Exorcist. They finished the first draft in less than a week. Elke Sommer took the role originally intended for Sophia Loren. After seeing the completed film, Peter Sellers hated it and offered to pay the cost of production if it wasn’t released. Mirisch and Edwards were happy with the results, released the picture, and it was successful at the box office. Working with Sellers became such a strain that Edwards vowed never to work with him again. Eight years later, when both men’s careers were in a slump and needed a boost, they reunited for The Return of the Pink Panther. The Pink Panther cartoons for television had become a business unto itself. Edwards made the other Panther films, some with Sellers, others without him.
Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews on The Dick Cavett Show – In this brief clip, director Blake Edwards explains that during the making of The Pink Panther films there were many instances of actors breaking into laughter during takes. He saved all of the outtakes and shows several from A Shot in the Dark.
There are few items from previous releases that haven’t carried over. The Shout Select Pink Panther Film Collection included three still galleries, while several Region 2 and Region 4 DVD releases contained a bonus disc featuring several classic Pink Panther cartoons, the documentaries That’s Panthertainment and The Unknown Peter Sellers, three TWA commercials starring Peter Sellers, and a featurette about the commercials.
A Shot in the Dark holds up well. Even if you’ve seen it before, you can’t help but laugh at Clouseau’s exaggerated goofiness in the face of murder. The film is a well-tuned spoof of murder mysteries with a bow to Agatha Christie and a nod to Alfred Hitchcock. Yet it’s an original that draws on the traditions of silent comedy by setting up an inept main character as the constant butt of jokes. Director Blake Edwards establishes opportunities for Clouseau to immerse himself in comic mayhem as he follows clues, determined to clear the name of an attractive young woman. Peter Sellers provides controlled madness and silliness, proving that no crime is too mystifying for Clouseau to solve in his own unique fashion.
- Dennis Seuling and Tim Salmons
(You can follow Tim on social media at these links: Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Letterboxd. And be sure to subscribe to his YouTube channel here.)