Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
The trademark of The Phantom, a renowned jewel thief, is a glove left at the scene of the crime. Inspector Clouseau, an expert on The Phantom's exploits, feels sure that he knows where The Phantom will strike next and leaves Paris for the Tyrolean Alps, where the famous Lugashi jewel 'The Pink Panther' is going to be. However, he does not know who The Phantom really is, or for that matter who anyone else really is...
The 1963 original is a genuinely distinctive comedic creation — Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau is one of cinema's most singular comic inventions, and the film's elegant blend of romantic farce, heist comedy, and slapstick is unusually refined for the genre. Sellers' performance is well above average, a masterclass in physical and verbal comedy that elevated what could have been a routine caper into something special. The plot is a solid but somewhat conventional jewel-heist farce with romantic entanglements, functional rather than inspired. Cinematography is competent and stylish for its era but not visually exceptional. The ending resolves things amusingly but doesn't quite match the inventive heights of the middle act. Novelty is high because Clouseau as a comic archetype was genuinely new and unmistakable — this film launched an entire comedic lineage.