Bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau falls in love with murder suspect Maria Gambrelli and tries to clear her name.Bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau falls in love with murder suspect Maria Gambrelli and tries to clear her name.Bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau falls in love with murder suspect Maria Gambrelli and tries to clear her name.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 3 nominations total
Bryan Forbes
- Camp Attendant
- (as Turk Thrust)
Andre Charisse
- Game Warden
- (as André Charise)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlthough they had worked well together on The Pink Panther (1963), the improvisational nature of A Shot in the Dark (1964) led to many arguments between Peter Sellers and Blake Edwards. At the end of filming, they both agreed never to work together again. This wouldn't last. They would ultimately re-team four years later for The Party (1968), and, subsequently, several Pink Panther sequels.
- GoofsClouseau falls into the fountain at the beginning. Yet when he puts a lit lighter into his wet coat it catches on fire.
- Crazy creditsThe title sequence is of an animated Inspector Clouseau bumbling around, getting into scrapes.
- ConnectionsEdited into Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)
Featured review
"If I Had Ten Clousseaus I Could Destroy The World"
The popularity of Peter Sellers's Inspector Clousseau from the The Pink Panther it warranted the bumbling French detective getting center stage in what turned out to be a series of films. For the rest of his life Sellers was assured of movie profits by just making another Clousseau film.
A Shot In the Dark also introduced two new characters to the series, Clousseau's supervisor Chief Inspector Dreyfus played by Herbert Lom and his houseboy/karate teacher Kato who was played by Bert Kwouk. Dreyfus became almost as popular as Clousseau himself. Herbert Lom's career had been spent playing mostly villains and pretty serious and deadly ones at that.
Inspector Clousseau can best be described as a human train wreck. The slightest motion on his part is a recipe for disaster. Best to be about ten feet from him at any given time and even that won't always work. His klutziness drives Lom to the brink of insanity here and in future films, he crossed over the line.
But he's got instincts which is why I'm sure he remains an inspector of the Surete. He draws a case involving a murder at wealthy baron George Sanders's house and it seems kind of open and shut that the maid, Elke Sommer did it. But Sellers listens to his hormones talking and refuses to make the arrest. And as more dead bodies keep piling up around Sommer, the more Sellers listens to that voice south of the Equator.
With Clousseau, Peter Sellers joins the ranks of such great cinema clowns as Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel. Sit back and don't eat while watching A Shot In The Dark, you won't be able to hold it down.
A Shot In the Dark also introduced two new characters to the series, Clousseau's supervisor Chief Inspector Dreyfus played by Herbert Lom and his houseboy/karate teacher Kato who was played by Bert Kwouk. Dreyfus became almost as popular as Clousseau himself. Herbert Lom's career had been spent playing mostly villains and pretty serious and deadly ones at that.
Inspector Clousseau can best be described as a human train wreck. The slightest motion on his part is a recipe for disaster. Best to be about ten feet from him at any given time and even that won't always work. His klutziness drives Lom to the brink of insanity here and in future films, he crossed over the line.
But he's got instincts which is why I'm sure he remains an inspector of the Surete. He draws a case involving a murder at wealthy baron George Sanders's house and it seems kind of open and shut that the maid, Elke Sommer did it. But Sellers listens to his hormones talking and refuses to make the arrest. And as more dead bodies keep piling up around Sommer, the more Sellers listens to that voice south of the Equator.
With Clousseau, Peter Sellers joins the ranks of such great cinema clowns as Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel. Sit back and don't eat while watching A Shot In The Dark, you won't be able to hold it down.
helpful•308
- bkoganbing
- Mar 20, 2008
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Ein Schuß im Dunkeln
- Filming locations
- Luton Hoo Estate, Luton, Bedfordshire, England, UK(Ballon Estate general views)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $12,368,234
- Gross worldwide
- $12,368,817
- Runtime1 hour 42 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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