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The Pink Panther (1963 film)
Encyclopedia
The Pink Panther is a 1963 American comedy film
directed by Blake Edwards
and co-written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin
, starring David Niven
, Peter Sellers
, Robert Wagner
, Capucine
, and Claudia Cardinale
. The film introduced the cartoon character of the same name, in an opening credits sequence animated
by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
.
: the Pink Panther, the largest diamond
in the world. This huge pink gem
has an unusual flaw: looking deeply into the stone, one perceives a tiny discoloration resembling a leaping pink panther
. (As the camera moves in, this image comes to life and participates in the opening credits.) When Dala is a young woman, rebels seize power in Lugash and then demand possession of the jewel, but the exiled princess refuses to hand it over.
Several years later, Dala (Claudia Cardinale
) relaxes on holiday at an exclusive skiing resort in Cortina d'Ampezzo
. Also staying is a noted British playboy, Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven
), who leads a secret life as a jewel thief called "The Phantom" and has his eyes on the Pink Panther. His unwitting American playboy nephew, George (Robert Wagner
), follows his uncle to the resort, also hoping to steal the jewel and blame it on the Phantom.
On the Phantom's trail is French police inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers
) of the Sûreté
, who doesn't know his wife Simone (Capucine
) is the paramour of Charles and helper in the Phantom's crimes. Clouseau is so clueless and clumsy that while several theft attempts are made at a fancy-dress party, he looks everywhere but the right place. Meanwhile, Simone dodges her husband while trying to avoid George, who has grown enamored of her, and aid Charles, who has grown enamored of Dala and is ambivalent about carrying out the theft.
During a costume party, Sir Charles and his nephew attempt to steal the diamond, only to find the jewel already missing from the safe. In spite of himself, the buffoonish inspector discovers the two in the act, resulting in a car chase throughout the town streets. Despite all odds, Sir Charles and his accomplice George are captured when all the vehicles collide with one another.
Later, Simone informs Dala that Charles wished to call off the theft, and asks her to help in his defense. Dala then reveals that it was she herself who stole the diamond to avoid deportation back to Lugash. At the trial, Charles' and George's convictions seem inevitable when the defense calls as their lone witness a surprised Clouseau. The barrister asks a series of questions that suggest Clouseau himself could be the Phantom; an unnerved Clouseau pulls out his handkerchief, from which drops the jewel, promptly rendering him unconscious from shock.
As Clouseau is driven away to prison, he is mobbed by a throng of enamored women. Watching from a distance, a regretful Simone expresses fears he will rot in prison; Sir Charles reassures her that when the Phantom strikes again, Clouseau will be exonerated. Sir Charles, Simone, and George drive away to continue their life of crime as Dala leaves to return to her country. Meanwhile, in the police car, the officers express their envy that Clouseau is now the object of affection of young women everywhere. As they ask him with obvious admiration how he committed so many robberies, Clouseau's mood gradually changes: "Well, you know . . . it wasn't easy."
was "originally cast as Clouseau, with Ava Gardner
as his faithless wife in league with Lytton." After Gardner backed out—the Associated Press reported in November 1962 it was because The Mirisch Company wouldn't meet all her demands—Ustinov also left the project, and Blake Edwards then chose Sellers to replace Ustinov.Janet Leigh
turned the lead female role down as she would have been away from the United States for too long a period.
The film was initially intended as a vehicle for Niven, as evidenced by his top billing. As Edwards shot the film, employing multiple takes of improvised scenes, it became clear Sellers, originally considered a supporting actor, was stealing the scenes, and resulted in his continuation throughout the film's sequels. When presenting at a subsequent Oscar Awards ceremony, Niven requested his walk-on music be changed from the "Pink Panther" theme, as "that was not really my film."
The Technicolor
film was shot in Italy, Paris
, and Los Angeles
, using the Technirama
process in an aspect ratio of 2.20:1. According to the DVD commentary by Blake Edwards, the chase scene was an homage to a similar sequence in Foreign Correspondent
.
of The New York Times wrote "seldom has any comedian seemed to work so persistently and hard at trying to be violently funny with weak material"; he called the script a "basically unoriginal and largely witless piece of farce carpentry that has to be pushed and heaved at stoutly in order to keep on the move." Variety
was much more positive, calling the film "intensely funny" and "Sellers' razor-sharp timing . . . superlative."
In a 2004 review of "The Pink Panther Film Collection", a DVD collection that included The Pink Panther, The A.V. Club
wrote:
The film was selected in 2010 to be preserved by the Library of Congress
as part of its National Film Registry
.
American Film Institute
Lists
, performed by his orchestra, and featured in the film. In 2001, the soundtrack album was awarded a Grammy Hall of Fame Award
. In 2005, the score was listed at #20 on AFI
's 100 Years of Film Scores
.
Side one
Side two
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
and co-written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin
Maurice Richlin
Maurice Richlin was an American screenwriter.-External links:...
, starring David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
, Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
, Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
, Capucine
Capucine
Capucine was a French actress and fashion model best known for her comedic roles in The Pink Panther and What's New Pussycat? . She appeared in 36 films and 17 television productions between 1948 and 1990...
, and Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale is an Italian actress, and has appeared in some of the most prominent European films of the 1960s and 1970s. The majority of Cardinale's films have been either Italian or French...
. The film introduced the cartoon character of the same name, in an opening credits sequence animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises was a Hollywood-based animation production company, active from 1963 to 1981. They produced theatrical cartoons, animated series, commercials, title sequences and television specials. Notable among these is The Pink Panther film titles and cartoon shorts and the Dr....
.
Plot
As a child, Princess Dala receives a gift from her father, the Shah of LugashLugash
Lugash is a fictional country in the Middle East, mentioned and featured in the Pink Panther movie series. Its ruler is known as the Shah. Its greatest national treasure, which comes from the dynasty of Akbar the Magnificent in the early 12th century, and the country's religious symbol for over...
: the Pink Panther, the largest diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
in the world. This huge pink gem
Darya-ye Noor
The Darya-ye Noor is one of the largest diamonds in the world, weighing an estimated . Its colour, pale pink, is one of the rarest to be found in diamonds...
has an unusual flaw: looking deeply into the stone, one perceives a tiny discoloration resembling a leaping pink panther
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
. (As the camera moves in, this image comes to life and participates in the opening credits.) When Dala is a young woman, rebels seize power in Lugash and then demand possession of the jewel, but the exiled princess refuses to hand it over.
Several years later, Dala (Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale
Claudia Cardinale is an Italian actress, and has appeared in some of the most prominent European films of the 1960s and 1970s. The majority of Cardinale's films have been either Italian or French...
) relaxes on holiday at an exclusive skiing resort in Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...
. Also staying is a noted British playboy, Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
), who leads a secret life as a jewel thief called "The Phantom" and has his eyes on the Pink Panther. His unwitting American playboy nephew, George (Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
), follows his uncle to the resort, also hoping to steal the jewel and blame it on the Phantom.
On the Phantom's trail is French police inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
) of the Sûreté
Sûreté
Sûreté is a term used in French speaking countries or regions in the organizational title of a civil police force, especially the detective branch thereof.-France:...
, who doesn't know his wife Simone (Capucine
Capucine
Capucine was a French actress and fashion model best known for her comedic roles in The Pink Panther and What's New Pussycat? . She appeared in 36 films and 17 television productions between 1948 and 1990...
) is the paramour of Charles and helper in the Phantom's crimes. Clouseau is so clueless and clumsy that while several theft attempts are made at a fancy-dress party, he looks everywhere but the right place. Meanwhile, Simone dodges her husband while trying to avoid George, who has grown enamored of her, and aid Charles, who has grown enamored of Dala and is ambivalent about carrying out the theft.
During a costume party, Sir Charles and his nephew attempt to steal the diamond, only to find the jewel already missing from the safe. In spite of himself, the buffoonish inspector discovers the two in the act, resulting in a car chase throughout the town streets. Despite all odds, Sir Charles and his accomplice George are captured when all the vehicles collide with one another.
Later, Simone informs Dala that Charles wished to call off the theft, and asks her to help in his defense. Dala then reveals that it was she herself who stole the diamond to avoid deportation back to Lugash. At the trial, Charles' and George's convictions seem inevitable when the defense calls as their lone witness a surprised Clouseau. The barrister asks a series of questions that suggest Clouseau himself could be the Phantom; an unnerved Clouseau pulls out his handkerchief, from which drops the jewel, promptly rendering him unconscious from shock.
As Clouseau is driven away to prison, he is mobbed by a throng of enamored women. Watching from a distance, a regretful Simone expresses fears he will rot in prison; Sir Charles reassures her that when the Phantom strikes again, Clouseau will be exonerated. Sir Charles, Simone, and George drive away to continue their life of crime as Dala leaves to return to her country. Meanwhile, in the police car, the officers express their envy that Clouseau is now the object of affection of young women everywhere. As they ask him with obvious admiration how he committed so many robberies, Clouseau's mood gradually changes: "Well, you know . . . it wasn't easy."
Cast
- David NivenDavid NivenJames David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
as Sir Charles Lytton - Peter SellersPeter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
as Inspector Jacques Clouseau - Robert WagnerRobert WagnerRobert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
as George Lytton - CapucineCapucineCapucine was a French actress and fashion model best known for her comedic roles in The Pink Panther and What's New Pussycat? . She appeared in 36 films and 17 television productions between 1948 and 1990...
as Simone Clouseau - Claudia CardinaleClaudia CardinaleClaudia Cardinale is an Italian actress, and has appeared in some of the most prominent European films of the 1960s and 1970s. The majority of Cardinale's films have been either Italian or French...
(Gale GarnettGale GarnettGale Zoë Garnett is a New Zealand-born Canadian singer best known in the United States for her Grammy-winning folk hit "We'll Sing in the Sunshine." Garnett has since carved out a career as a writer and actress.-Biography:...
, uncredited voice) as Princess Dala - Brenda De BanzieBrenda De BanzieBrenda D. M. De Banzie was a British actress of stage and screen.She was the daughter of Edward De Banzie and his second wife Dorothy, whom he married in 1908. In 1911, the family lived in Salford....
as Angela Dunning - Colin GordonColin GordonColin Gordon was a British actor born in Ceylon .He was educated at Marlborough College and Christ Church, Oxford. He made his first West End appearance in 1934 as the hind legs of a horse in a production of “Toad of Toad Hall”. From 1936 to 1939 he was a director with the Fred Melville Repertory...
as Tucker - John Le MesurierJohn Le MesurierJohn Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
as Defense attorney - James Lanphier as Saloud
- Guy Thomajan as Artoff
- Michael TrubshaweMichael TrubshaweMichael Trubshawe was a British actor and former officer in the Highland Regiment of the British Army. Trubshawe was very close friends with the famous British actor David Niven, serving as best man for both Niven's weddings, and is constantly referred to in Niven's memoirs The Moon's a Balloon,...
as Felix Townes - Riccardo BilliRiccardo BilliRiccardo Billi was an Italian film actor and comedian.He appeared in around 85 films between 1938 and his death in 1982.- Filmography :-External links:* at Fandango* at Blockbuster...
as Aristotle Sarajos - Meri Welles as Monica Fawn
- Martin MillerMartin Miller (Czech actor)Martin Miller, born Rudolph Muller was a Czech character actor who played many small roles in British films and television series from the early 1940s until his death...
as Pierre Luigi - Fran JeffriesFran JeffriesFran Jeffries is an American singer, actress, and model.-Career:She had a cameo in the 1963 film The Pink Panther, in which she sang a song called "Meglio Stasera " while she danced provocatively around a fireplace...
as Greek cousin
Production
The film was "conceived as a sophisticated comedy about a charming, urbane jewel thief, Sir Charles Lytton" (played by Niven); Peter UstinovPeter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
was "originally cast as Clouseau, with Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner was an American actress.She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers . She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day...
as his faithless wife in league with Lytton." After Gardner backed out—the Associated Press reported in November 1962 it was because The Mirisch Company wouldn't meet all her demands—Ustinov also left the project, and Blake Edwards then chose Sellers to replace Ustinov.Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
turned the lead female role down as she would have been away from the United States for too long a period.
The film was initially intended as a vehicle for Niven, as evidenced by his top billing. As Edwards shot the film, employing multiple takes of improvised scenes, it became clear Sellers, originally considered a supporting actor, was stealing the scenes, and resulted in his continuation throughout the film's sequels. When presenting at a subsequent Oscar Awards ceremony, Niven requested his walk-on music be changed from the "Pink Panther" theme, as "that was not really my film."
The Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
film was shot in Italy, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, using the Technirama
Technirama
Technirama is a screen process that was used by some film production houses as an alternative to CinemaScope. It was first used in 1957 but fell into disuse in the mid 1960s...
process in an aspect ratio of 2.20:1. According to the DVD commentary by Blake Edwards, the chase scene was an homage to a similar sequence in Foreign Correspondent
Foreign Correspondent (film)
Foreign Correspondent is a 1940 American spy thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock which tells the story of an American reporter who tries to expose enemy spies in Britain, a series of events involving a continent-wide conspiracy that eventually leads to the events of a fictionalized World War...
.
Reception
Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
of The New York Times wrote "seldom has any comedian seemed to work so persistently and hard at trying to be violently funny with weak material"; he called the script a "basically unoriginal and largely witless piece of farce carpentry that has to be pushed and heaved at stoutly in order to keep on the move." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
was much more positive, calling the film "intensely funny" and "Sellers' razor-sharp timing . . . superlative."
In a 2004 review of "The Pink Panther Film Collection", a DVD collection that included The Pink Panther, The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
wrote:
"Because the later movies were identified so closely with Clouseau, it's easy to forget that he was merely one in an ensemble at first, sharing screen time with Niven, Capucine, Robert Wagner, and Claudia Cardinale. If not for Sellers' hilarious pratfalls, The Pink Panther could be mistaken for a luxuriant caper movie like TopkapiTopkapi (film)Topkapi is a heist film made by Filmways Pictures and distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by the emigre American film director, Jules Dassin...
, which is precisely what makes the movie so funny. It acts as the straight man, while Sellers gets to play mischief-maker."
The film was selected in 2010 to be preserved by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as part of its National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
.
American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
Lists
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - Nominated
- AFI's 100 Years of Film ScoresAFI's 100 Years of Film ScoresPart of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores is a list of the top 25 film scores in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute in 2005.-The List:-External links:**...
- #20
Soundtrack album
The soundtrack album was released on RCA Victor, and consisted of music written by Henry ManciniHenry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
, performed by his orchestra, and featured in the film. In 2001, the soundtrack album was awarded a Grammy Hall of Fame Award
Grammy Hall of Fame Award
The Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance"...
. In 2005, the score was listed at #20 on AFI
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
's 100 Years of Film Scores
AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores
Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores is a list of the top 25 film scores in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute in 2005.-The List:-External links:**...
.
- All songs written by Henry Mancini, except where noted.
Side one
- "The Pink Panther Theme" - 2:35
- "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio StaseraMeglio StaseraMeglio Stasera is a 1963 song with music by Henry Mancini, Italian lyrics by Franco Migliacci and English lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was composed for the 1963 film The Pink Panther where it was performed by Fran Jeffries...
)" (Instrumental) - 1:44 - "Royal Blue" - 3:09
- "Champagne and Quail" - 2:45
- "The Village Inn" - 2:34
- "The Tiber Twist" - 2:47
Side two
- "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" (Vocal) (Henry Mancini - Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
) - 1:56 - "Cortina" - 1:52
- "The Lonely Princess" - 2:25
- "Something for Sellers" - 2:45
- "Piano and Strings" - 2:34
- "Shades of Sennett" - 1:22