Peter Sellers was notoriously one of the most difficult performers to work with of his time, but was also one of the most talented. The actor was an amazing on screen presence and gave supremely memorable performances, so his eccentricities were forgiven to a point. Director Blake Edwards worked with the actor several times, and so did chronicled perfectionist Stanley Kubrick.
The actor’s greatest performance was in Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb for which he became the first actor ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for playing multiple roles in the same film. This is perhaps the performance that all others are measured by when actors play various characters in the same picture.
As great as his performance is in Strangelove though, Sellers’ most enduring character is probably not from Kubrick’s masterpiece, but from a simple comedy that he was not even supposed to star in originally. In fact, even after Sellers took this particular role, he was not even the lead star of the film, but a supporting character. Instead what happened is a case of cinematic highway robbery, as Sellers stole the role, the film and then an entire franchise.
The Pink Panther Starring Peter Sellers, David Niven, and Robert Wagner. Directed by Blake Edwards.
With Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther an amazing thing happens on screen. A plot completely centered on a certain character is completely overshadowed by a then relatively unknown actor who was brought in at the last minute. The film was initially supposed to a star vehicle for David Niven and a launching pad for a series based on his character, Sir Charles Lytton AKA: notorious jewel thief, The Phantom.
For those that don’t know, the Pink Panther from the title is not the famous cartoon character, which was actually spawned from this film, but a beautiful diamond with an imperfection which makes it look pink. The Panther is the target of Niven’s Phantom, a ladies man the film’s script compares to Casanova, only much smoother. The infamous thief constructs a complicated plot to gain the confidence of the jewel’s owner, Princess Dala
(Claudia Cardinale).
For those fans of Cardinale from her Western roles in The Professionals and Once Upon a Time in the West, seeing her as the innocent Princess Dala shows what range the actress truly has. Dala is the picture of beautiful virtue as her sheltered princess tries to fight off the suave advances of Sir Charles Lytton. This is a far cry from the hardened women of her other famous pictures.
To his credit, Niven’s Phantom is extremely charming. Niven pulls out all the stops with his charisma, making for magical scenes with Cardinale. A gifted comic in his own right, Niven’s timing here is as good as ever, especially paired with Robert Wagner’s scoundrel George Lytton, the Phantom’s nephew.
As good as Niven was, he probably had no idea the film, and indeed the franchise, was about to be swept right out from under his feet. Lytton’s nemesis in the film is the bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau, who was to be played by Academy Award winner Peter Ustinov. When he could not play the role, Clouseau came to Peter Sellers.
I firmly believe that if this had not occurred, The Pink Panther series would have been a forgotten one, perhaps stopping with this first picture. Instead, the series ballooned to nine films, six of them featuring Sellers. Watching the film you can slowly see Sellers firmly take hold of the film and snatch it away from the rest of the cast. As the Inspector falls flat on his face, spills milk on the floor, breaks vases, and sets houses on fire, you can feel the audience start to root for the fool, laughing the entire time.
It does help that Blake Edwards constructs some truly brilliant sequences. The first has Clouseau returning too early from a wild goose chase as his wife (Capucine) has a rendezvous with Lytton and also his nephew, who unbeknownst to the Phantom is also in love with Mrs. Clouseau. The sequence is brilliant as the clueless detective nearly stumbles upon the hidden thief and his nephew multiple times. Unfortunately, Capucine and Robert Wagner were both injured during the sequence as Wagner’s George Lytton is supposed to be hiding in a bubble bath from the Inspector. According to IMDB.com, the industrial-strength foaming agent used to make the bath caused burns on the skin of both the actor and actress. Wagner was even made blind for four weeks.
Fortunately everyone recovered. The film’s final chase is also a wondrous sequence. Fleeing from a costume party in separate cars, Charles and George flee from Clouseau and another car full of Police on the streets of Rome. In the middle of the chase is a little old man, who is simply trying to cross the street. As he does so, he witnesses Charles dressed in a gorilla costume, then George in the same getup. Next follows Clouseau and his partner in Knight and Jester costumes, followed by a car full of cops, as the poor bewildered little man stands in amazement. The sequence goes on for some time as the old man has to avoid this mobile freak show again and again as they madly dash around in circles.
The Pink Panther was an enormous success, but a complete surprise to the studio and film makers. Instead of everyone falling head over heels for the smooth Niven, Sellers Clouseau became a sensation. It was decided to try and find a project for Seller’s Clouseau as soon as possible. Three months later, audiences fell in love with the bumbling detective all over again.
A Shot in the Dark Starring Peter Sellers and Elke Sommer. Directed by Blake Edwards.
One of the oddest things about A Shot in the Dark is that originally United Artists never even wanted to release it. Again according to IMDB.com, the movie was actually an adaptation of a stage play by Harry Kurnitz, who had previously worked on one of the Thin Man entries. Sellers was initially supposed to star with Walter Matthau, but hated the direction of the piece and wanted out. When Blake Edwards came on to direct the film, he changed it into a Clouseau vehicle, and the United Artists shelved the film because they felt it was unwatchable.
This goes to show that the tastes of movie executives are usually terrible, and A Shot in the Dark is no exception. With the success of Clouseau in The Pink Panther, UA changed their decision and released the film that had been sitting on the shelf for a year. Just months after the release of Clouseau’s first official outing, A Shot in the Dark became the darling of critics and audiences alike.
Watching the film, it’s hard to see what executives at UA could have been thinking by not releasing the picture. The opening sequence alone is an ingenious series of rendezvous by cheating lovers among the staff and residence of a local estate. The scene is a virtual ballet of near misses and comic timing. However, the shtick culminates in murder.
One of the estates chauffeurs has been shot. Clouseau is accidentally assigned to the case and immediately disaster begins. Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer), found with the weapon in her hand, is obviously guilty, but the Inspector, enraptured by her, is convinced she is innocent. He releases her to drive out the real culprit, but each time he does so, another member of the household dies with Maria standing over the body.
Elke Sommer is adorable in the role of Gambrelli, her eyes fluttering coyly as she claims to black out each time a murder occurs. A wonderful sequence has her leaving a murder scene at a nudist colony with Clouseau. Naked in their car, they get stuck in a traffic jam and are arrested for public lewdness.
Of all the Panther films, this one is the Goldfinger of the bunch. All of the series’ hallmarks are established here, such as Clouseau’s sidekick Cato (Burt Kwouk), who sneaks around attacking Clouseau as a training measure. Cato is relentless in his pursuit of Clouseau, making for some hilarious scenes throughout the rest of the series.
This film also introduces Herbert Lom’s Commissioner Charles Dreyfus, Clouseau’s homicidal superior, who wants nothing more than to kill the Inspector before he can cause anymore humiliation or mayhem. Lom is amazing in this role as his facial ticks progressively get worse and worse as do his accidental self mutilations. It’s not hard to see why he was asked to come back again and again for these films.
Again, Blake Edwards outdoes himself with the sight gags as he institutes running jokes, such as the Cato attacks and Clouseau’s undercover antics getting him arrested. The nudist colony sequence is a laugh riot, as is a series of dates Clouseau and Maria have while the body count rises unbeknownst to them. Edwards is completely on top of his game here, so it bewilders me that the studio heads at UA didn’t like this picture enough to release it when it was finished.
Once again though, the real shining star is Sellers’ Clouseau. His deadpan performance is ridiculously perfect. How Sellers could keep a straight face through all the shenanigans Edwards puts him through is beyond me. No one else could set themselves on fire, fall into a fountain and then act like nothing happened in quite the same way. Clouseau is the forerunner to so many slapstick heroes in recent years from Leslie Nielson’s Lt. Frank Drebin to Mike Myers’ Austin Powers, yet Sellers makes the characters so superior to his imitators by sheer charisma.
Sellers left the role after this picture and would not return to it for twelve years. Poor Alan Arkin, a wonderful actor in his own right, inherited the role for one picture, but suffered a fate similar to that of George Lazenby when he took over 007 from Sean Connery. Fans rejoiced when Sellers came back for Return of the Pink Panther, which is one of the funniest of the whole series.
Peter Sellers has made his indelible mark on cinema by becoming each character he inhabited. The man was a chameleon on film as each character was a distinct departure from previous roles, yet acted brilliantly each time. Many may try to fill his shoes in years to come, but none can possibly hope to attain the genius of Peter Sellers.
Picture Credits: Amazon.com, MGM.com, Inspector-Clouseau.com
