The first half of this movie was terribly disappointing - a real bomb (in the old sense of the word). I say that AFTER I had seen all the others in the theater and then acquired the DVD set of Pink Panther films a couple of years ago. I couldn't wait to re-visit some of these "classics."
Well, this first movie stunned me in that you could hardly call it a comedy. That first hour was so slow, so annoying with unlikeable characters that I almost stopped the disc at that point. However, it picks up after an hour and gets better and better.
The traffic scene where the old man comes out, stands in the road and stoically watches cars driven by apes and others whiz by, is a classic - one of the funniest scenes I've ever witnessed on screen. Most of the comedy, as usual, was provided by Peter Sellers but his Clouseau really didn't start clicking until the next few movies.
If you think this is the normal riotous "Inspector Clouseau," you will be sorely disappointed. David Niven, Capuncine and Claudia Cardinale dominate the movie, not Sellers, and those first three give very dated performances.
Well, this first movie stunned me in that you could hardly call it a comedy. That first hour was so slow, so annoying with unlikeable characters that I almost stopped the disc at that point. However, it picks up after an hour and gets better and better.
The traffic scene where the old man comes out, stands in the road and stoically watches cars driven by apes and others whiz by, is a classic - one of the funniest scenes I've ever witnessed on screen. Most of the comedy, as usual, was provided by Peter Sellers but his Clouseau really didn't start clicking until the next few movies.
If you think this is the normal riotous "Inspector Clouseau," you will be sorely disappointed. David Niven, Capuncine and Claudia Cardinale dominate the movie, not Sellers, and those first three give very dated performances.