The Pink Panther
AFI Catalog; IMDb; Rotten Tomatoes; TCM; TV Tropes; Wikia; Wikipedia
streaming sites: Amazon; Fandango; Google Play; Hulu; YouTube

This came out in 1963 in Italy, and 1964 in the US. I didn't see it until 2025. Before I watched it, I thought I'd put my review under "crime films", and possibly a secondary link under "comedy". But after watching it, I decided to just list it under "comedy", as the crime itself barely plays any part in the movie. I found the movie mildly amusing; perhaps occasionally a bit more than mildly, but never greatly amusing. Mostly it's just a ridiculous comedy of errors. But it's not bad. The opening credits feature the iconic "Pink Panther Theme" by Henry Mancini, as well as an animated pink panther, a character who would later star in a bunch of short films as well as a TV cartoon series. But the character has nothing really to do with the movie itself.

It begins in the fictional country of Lugash, where a Maharajah gives a diamond pendant called "the Pink Panther" to his young daughter, Princess Dala. Years later, her father is killed and a new government takes over Lugash, and wants her to return the diamond to the people, but she refuses. Most of the movie is set at a ski resort in Italy, where Dala is vacationing. Meanwhile, a French police inspector named Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) is trying to catch a jewel thief known as the Phantom. He goes to the ski resort, believing the Phantom will try to steal the Pink Panther. He's accompanied by his wife, Simone. Also staying at the resort is an English playboy named Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven), who we soon learn is the Phantom. He's apparently having an affair with Simone, who is one of his accomplices. (We see very little of his other accomplice, a man whose name I'm not sure if we ever learned or not.) Charles also pursues a relationship with Princess Dala, who is, famously, a virgin. Before long, Charles's American nephew, George, arrives at the resort, as well, and takes an interest in Simone. He eventually discovers that his uncle is the Phantom, and decides to try his own hand at stealing the diamond.

And I guess I don't really want to reveal much more of the plot. The character of Inspector Clouseau is famous for his bumbling, which provides much of the movie's humor. He never really does much of anything to try and catch the Phantom, he just spends the whole movie waiting for the thief to make his move. It's actually another police detective, Tucker, who eventually gets a clue that Lytton is the Phantom. But while Tucker isn't certain about that, Clouseau immediately decides it is a certainty. I also wanted to say I didn't really care for the whitewashing of the character of Dala, as an adult. (Which stands in contrast to the girl who played her as a child.) Anyway... overall, I thought the movie was okay, but not quite my cup of tea.

Followed by "A Shot in the Dark". There were eventually eight sequels, plus a reboot that has its own sequel. I'm not sure if or when I'll see any of the other movies in the franchise.