jimbo-53-186511 When millionaire Benjamin Ballon's (George Sanders) chauffeur is murdered in his own home Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) is assigned to the case. But will France's most inept detective be able to find out the identity of the killer?I watched the original Pink Panther film a couple of years ago and I hated it with a passion (I found it lazy, unfunny and dull). I watched this sequel (with some trepidation) as I remember reading some reviews where others had advised that the sequel was the better of the 2 films and I have to admit that I agree with those people...In fairness, the sequel does share some problems as the first film (there are some rather obvious and lazy sight gags that aren't particularly funny and that don't really work). However, unlike the first film I did feel that this film wasn't entirely reliant on sight gags - the script is better than the first film and the story is more engaging - it has a gentle playfulness about it which made it fairly enjoyable to watch. There were also moments in this film that genuinely had me laughing such as when Clouseau attempts to bash a door down but someone opens it resulting in him running right through the room and falling out of the window and crashing into a swimming pool below him or the numerous times his failed disguises ended up getting him unintentionally arrested. Aside from not all of the sight gags working the film does have some other weaknesses; the set-up at the start was a little long and perhaps could have been trimmed slightly. The scenes where Cato was attacking Clouseau weren't all that funny and seemed to be randomly thrown in here and there for no particular reason. It was a good idea giving Clouseau a sidekick, but as Hercule I felt that Graham Stark underplayed the role far too much (almost to the point where his contribution is barely memorable). I don't blame him for this, but feel that Blake Edwards perhaps allowed Sellers to be too dominant meaning that Stark and Sellers were never able to develop much in the way of workable chemistry.Still faults aside this is still a fairly enjoyable effort and is a huge improvement on the first film. Oh yes and the opening credits were also imaginative and fairly amusing.

Eric Stevenson I saw the original Pink Panther movie and I liked it, but didn't think it was the masterpiece like a lot of people thought it was. Well, this is considered to be even better and I certainly agree! I'm not the biggest Inspector Closeau fan, but this was a lot of fun. It helps that we escalate the slapstick and everything just keeps on going. I guess the best part is that Closeau plays it straight. Well, he at least tries to play it straight. The other characters are much more intellectual and do a better job playing it straight. It's great to see him be confronted by everyone else.Can I just say that the opening animated credits were some of the best I've ever seen? I'm surprised they didn't have, well, the Pink Panther in them. It does get a little slow in the middle, but it all pays off in the end. I realize that I'm not much of a fan of murder mysteries, but what better way than to do a parody of them? Many people do consider this the best in the whole series and of the numerous I have seen, I agree with them. It helps that Peter Sellers as Closeau is so funny. I knew the name Kato was a shout out to the Green Hornet. ***1/2

Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW) Here we go again! Inspector Jacques Clouseau(Peter Sellers) is on the case. This time, it's not the Pink Panther diamond. He on a murder case in a mansion. People have been going in and out of rooms there. Then suddenly, shots ring out, and everyone is a suspect. The main suspect is the chauffeur's lover (Elke Sommer)who had an affair with the decedent. Clouseau's boss (Herbert Lom) has taken him off the case so many times, that he gets him reinstated again. Despite being inept, Clouseau seems to be persistent on finding out more about the crime. Then there's the scene where Clouseau goes to a nudist colony to find a dead body, and a hilarious scene where he and the maid get out only to be arrested in the city for indecent exposure. Back in the mansion, everyone is a suspect. No one is innocent of indiscretion. But none of them is the killer. The victim is Clouseau. The killer, his own boss, Dreyfuss! That's sad that your own boss wants to get rid of your, seriously! Funny is the to describe it. Instead of finding a jewel thief, it's a mystery of finding out who done it. Everything is good in this film. 5 stars

sol- One of very few sequels out there regarded by most as superior to the original, 'A Shot in the Dark' is slow to begin with and occasionally drags, but for the most part it lives up to its reputation - and then some. The most obvious improvement is making Inspector Clouseau the main character this time and while the film goes overboard with the physical humour (too many pratfalls and the like), Sellers does some very funny 'small' things with his character, like accidentally sucking the ink out of his pen and reacting with pure disbelief to a nudist colony worker who has just "been swimming". Other improvements include the attention dedicated to Herbert Lom as Clouseau's ever-frustrated boss, hands shaking and face convulsing at times in frustration, and more colourful supporting characters in George Sanders, Graham Stark and the always excellent Bryan Forbes. The film's biggest asset though is that there is actually a very decent mystery propelling the film, and funny as Clouseau's inadvertent escaping of multiple assassination attempts -- or repeatedly being driven away in a police van -- may be, it is the mystery that keeps things pumping along. Not only that, in a daring twist, Blake Edwards actually does not reveal a solution to the mystery, with Sellers even breaking the fourth wall to look at the camera in confusion as everyone starts confessing to various things towards the end before soon getting their just desserts. It is a delightful deviation from genre expectations as far too seldom seen on film.