MovieChat Forums > A Shot in the Dark (1965) Discussion > Was this really filmed BEFORE the 1963 P...

Was this really filmed BEFORE the 1963 Pink Panther?!!?

posted 15 years ago by Karma4301
14 replies | jump to latest

I just don't see how that's possible. In the first Pink Panther, when Chief Inspector Clouseau was a supporting character and the antagonist (they don't always have to be bad guys) to the protagonist Sir Charles Litton (David Niven), who's a bad guy who nevertheless has soft spots, especially for Princess Dala; Clouseau had an accent that sounded more Spanish than French. It was partially the same in A Shot in the Dark, but he started to develop his exaggerated French accent ("meuths" instead of "moths," and "beump" instead of "bump") in the climax. Also, Blake Edwards tried to cast Peter Ustinov for Clouseau in the Pink Panther (1963), but got Peter Sellers instead, who proved to be THE Chief Inspector Clouseau we knew and loved. So was this really filmed first, or is that just a rumor?

[–] bladedragonlord 15 years ago

Yes, this was filmed first, and had nothing to do with the Pink Panther! The studio didn't like it and shelved it, after the success of the Pink Panther, they released A Shot In The Dark, the far better film IMHO and allowed it to be considered a Pink Panther movie, which in reality it ain't! At least that's what I have read over the years and from studio sources. (I can't remember the references I'm sorry!)

Again in my opinion if you watch both films together you'll note how Peter Sellers is building his character, and hasn't quite nailed it yet in A Shot In The Dark.

Seriously though, who ultimately cares they are both great films and this has the best opening to it of any film ever, it must be the longest one take (or appears to be in any film) it's clever and funny too!

Enjoy the film and be glad you like good movies! :)

[–] BijouBob8mm 14 years ago

A SHOT IN THE DARK starting filming in September of 1963, the very same month THE PINK PANTHER was previewed in Hollywood. (Not to be confused with PANTHER's official premiere in March '64.) In addition to studio records, issues of "Daily Variety" and "The Hollywood Reporter" at the time also document SHOT's production information. (Going beyond the starting and stopping dates of each production, also check the dates each script was registered and/or when each completed film was submitted for copyright.)

Blake Edwards and Maurice Richlin wrote the PINK PANTHER screenplay in July of 1962, and it was to start production that November until casting changes pushed the start date back to January of 1963. (Also keep in mind that Peter Ustinov was slated to have been Clouseau in THE PINK PANTHER, and Sellers was only brought on board after Ustinov dropped out. Had Sellers already played the part in SHOT, he would not have taken a back seat to Ustinov, there would have been more focus on Clouseau in PANTHER, and we would have seen Inspector Dreyfus and Kato worked into the screenplay, as well.) THE PINK PANTHER had finished filming and sat on the shelf for months before its release, as David DePatie and Friz Freleng kicked around various ideas for the animated titles and the studio planned its marketing campaign for such a unique hybrid of humor and heist.

A SHOT IN THE DARK was originally planned to be a film version of the popular stage play of the same name, to star Peter Sellers. (A play that had nothing to do with either Clouseau or the Pink Panther diamond.) Sellers wasn't happy with how things were going, and Blake Edwards was brought in to keep Sellers on board. Only after Edwards became involved was it decided to rework the property into a vehicle for the Clouseau character. There's just too much documentation on file regarding all this.

[–] nursewratchet_romanorn 13 years ago

You could make the argument that Ustinov was there because Shot didn't preview well and they wanted someone else for the role. You could also say that Sellers told the studio that the toned down role in Panther would be no problem for him to do. Also if you watch closely, Clouseau in Shot is not the same thruout-his accent changes and characterization as well. In Panther it is the same thruout-Lending more creedence to Shot being made first. Also Panther is a strait forward movie, with very little slapstick, while Shot is just the opposite. He is basically normal in Panther and just the opposite in Shot..While there was some slapstick movies then-they were made by Jerry Lewis types..Sellers up until that time made non slapstick movies. His characters were eccentric yes but not bumbling idiots..And although there are glimpses of that in Panther it is greatly toned down to fit the times and what audiences expected of Sellers...I think the production records were switched to help hide the mistake of not releasing the first movie. An inspectors wife would not have left him in that time even he did go to prison..Even sir charles says that they will let him out when all evidence is uncovered. Yes maybe she would have been Charles' mistress, but she would have stayed with her husband..Therefore because there is no mention of her in Shot..it must have been made first..I do buy Edwards coming on board to help
Sellers for Shot and to make it a Clouseau role, because he already had the Idea for Panther which he had been writing for awhile.....Movie audiences were much more tame than the typical theater goer back then...Thats why they thought Shot would be a failure...

[–] Norse_Sage 13 years ago

You could make the argument that Ustinov was there because Shot didn't preview well and they wanted someone else for the role. You could also say that Sellers told the studio that the toned down role in Panther would be no problem for him to do. Also if you watch closely, Clouseau in Shot is not the same thruout-his accent changes and characterization as well. In Panther it is the same thruout-Lending more creedence to Shot being made first. Also Panther is a strait forward movie, with very little slapstick, while Shot is just the opposite. He is basically normal in Panther and just the opposite in Shot..While there was some slapstick movies then-they were made by Jerry Lewis types..Sellers up until that time made non slapstick movies. His characters were eccentric yes but not bumbling idiots..And although there are glimpses of that in Panther it is greatly toned down to fit the times and what audiences expected of Sellers...I think the production records were switched to help hide the mistake of not releasing the first movie. An inspectors wife would not have left him in that time even he did go to prison..Even sir charles says that they will let him out when all evidence is uncovered. Yes maybe she would have been Charles' mistress, but she would have stayed with her husband..Therefore because there is no mention of her in Shot..it must have been made first..I do buy Edwards coming on board to help
Sellers for Shot and to make it a Clouseau role, because he already had the Idea for Panther which he had been writing for awhile.....Movie audiences were much more tame than the typical theater goer back then...Thats why they thought Shot would be a failure...

You could make all of those arguments, but in addition to being paper thin and ad hoc in nature, they would all be blatant lies, seeing as you took them straight out of your a$$.

"A Shot in the Dark" was written, filmed and released after "The Pink Panther".
That is documented history, as witnessed by countless people still alive to tell about it.

The Trivia page on the imdb is the only place in the universe which claims otherwise, and it is simply wrong, just like countless other imdb trivias.

There is no conspiracy, lies, politics or anything else that comes into.

"The Pink Panther" is the first Clouseay film made and released, "A Shot in the Dark" is the second. That's all there is to it. Deal with it.

Tesla was robbed!

[–] nursewratchet_romanorn 14 years ago

If you watch TCM at all they say that A shot in the dark was made first and shelved, because it didn't preview well at all. Audiences liked the cartoon intro better than the movie. Also if Clouseau was married in the first movie, then where was his wife in the second? The wife of an inspector in that time would not be working, so why was she never there in his apartment, especially when being attacked by Kato????????????? Not to mention the fact that at the end of the Pink Panther, he is blamed for all the crimes, which means he would no longer be an inspector. A shot in the dark was a stage play first, Panther was created mostly by Edwards and his writing partner. Logic alone dictates that A Shot in the Dark was made first. They brought David Niven in to give the story some class and respectability. Robert Wagner and Claudia Cardinale for the younger set-and Clouseau's wife and overall character were toned down to fit in more with the times. Had A shot in the Dark been made a few years later it probably would have been a smash. Audiences then were very conservative overall; however they did expect more ridiculous slapstick kind of stuff on stage. Blake Edwards was hoping that success would translate to the movie-but they just weren't ready quite yet. Even Inspector Dreyfuss' is toned down in Panther.

[–] BijouBob8mm 14 years ago

With all due respect, Nurse, this is too well documented (that is, if anyone actually takes the time to do the research). As for TCM, I've seen them announce the wrong title for the movie they're about to show, so information appearing there isn't automatically gospel. Production records document PINK PANTHER was made first, and Blake Edwards has confirmed this. (Since he directed both, I'd say he would know better than anyone else.) You might find his PANTHER DVD commentary of interest. All the information (dates screenplays were registered, stopping and starting dates for each production) on file also establish this. (Industry trade publications from that time confirm THE PINK PANTHER was given a preview in Hollywood the exact same month that A SHOT IN THE DARK "started" filming. It would have been impossible to have a preview showing of THE PINK PANTHER at the start of production on A SHOT IN THE DARK unless PANTHER had been made first. You simply can't preview something that doesn't exist yet.) This myth was debunked long ago but, like the equally untrue story that actress Caroline Munro is the daughter of actress Janet Munro (which Caroline has corrected repeatedly), it still gets blindly repeated as fact. Also keep in mind that if SHOT had not gone over well and had simply been shelved, the studio would not have spent the money to make a sequel or prequel to a movie they had never even released. The business just doesn't work like that. Instead, if they were going to sink more money into Clouseau, it would be to film new material to salvage SHOT. (A good example of this would be the Bogart film THE BIG SLEEP, the DVD of which let's you see the shelved version and the revised version that was finally released.)

You asked why Clouseau's wife isn't with him in the second film? For the same reason she's not with him in ANY of the other films; she left him for Niven's character at the end of THE PINK PANTHER and Clouseau remained a bachelor for the rest of the series. (We're even shown, in the later films TRAIL OF THE PINK PANTHER and CURSE OF THE PINK PANTHER, that the former Mrs. Clouseau is still with Niven's Sir Charles.) Also look at how much more established the classic Clouseau character is in SHOT, as Sellers settled into the role and developed it. SHOT also establishes all the elements that continue throughout the franchise (Kato, Inspector Dreyfus, etc.), which is why none of those elements are to be found in THE PINK PANTHER. You'd also pointed out that since Clouseau was arrested at the end of PANTHER, he couldn't have still been an inspector in SHOT IN THE DARK unless SHOT had been made first. Since he remained an inspector throughout the entire series, even being briefly promoted to chief inspector, his arrest doesn't seem to be a factor in any of the films that followed. (In THE PINK PANTHER, doesn't Niven or someone make the comment that Clouseau will eventually be released because the authorities won't find the diamond in his possession and will have to drop the charges against him due to insufficient evidence?)

[–] worthythorn24 14 years ago

Sir Charles says that Clouseau will be released when the Phantom strikes again.

I've made a huge mistake.

[–] nursewratchet_romanorn 13 years ago

I can barely watch The Pink Panther anymore-it is very plodding and slow. Shot in the dark is great everytime because it is so outrageous, and because it is a great murder mystery. The best part of Panther is the music and the cartoon panther that everyone recognizes-which is why all the sequels were Panther movies..plus it gave a basic reason for every sequel..The diamond being stolen...Clouseau in Panther is too mellow..That version would not turn into the ridiculous idiot of all the sequels....He is more like MONK from tv than a bumbling fool...By the way a big part of MONK's character is derived from Clouseau in The PINK PAnther. ThAT AND Hercule Poirot....He dows too many things correctly in Panther...for Shot to be a sequel..plus no mention of going to prison or wife leaving...I remember watching A shot in the Dark on KTLA 5 in La growing up. Tom Hatton would host a sunday movie show..He talked about how Shot was made first and shelved..until after Panther came out..

[–] ScrambledMess 13 years ago

Thank you, nursewratchet_romanorn for that very long and very boring story.

No, this movie was made AFTER The Pink Panther, even the director himself says this and he would know, now wouldn't he?

[–] BijouBob8mm 13 years ago

Some backstory to the two films that might be of interest:

Blake Edwards has said Peter Sellers was hired to play Clouseau in THE PINK PANTHER only after original choice Peter Ustinov dropped out at the last minute. (Both Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers claimed Sellers came up with how to play Clouseau while on the plane to join THE PINK PANTHER's cast.) When Sellers was signed to do A SHOT IN THE DARK, it was neither a Clouseau film nor a Blake Edwards film, but a comedy based on the old stage play of the same name. Sellers did not like the way things were going in preproduction and decided he wanted out. To appease the actor, Edwards was brought on board since the two of them had gotten along so well on the set of THE PINK PANTHER. Only then, as the two discussed how to salvage the project, was it decided to rework the material into a new Clouseau caper.

[–] oscarunger 11 years ago

yes this WAS filmed before the first Pink Panther....just like Jaws 2 was filmed before the first Jaws...actually Jaws 3 was first, then Jaws 2, then just Jaws...

[–] mcode518 10 years ago

According to Peter Sellers' Wikipedia article, A Shot in the Dark was filmed from November 1963 to February 1964, while The Pink Panther was first released.

Okay, well... filibuster.

[–] spookyrat1 9 years ago

Afterwards!!!!!!🐭

[–] moondawg_32304 8 years ago

You guys(gals) need to check the trivia section. Not an ironclad irrefutable source but would answer this question.