What I said about the French? Never mind: "A Shot in the Dark"

For those of us who came of age in the MTV era, the Pink Panther was a cartoon character used in a commercial or two. I seem to recall him pitching insulation, or maybe paint. Although my dad rented one of the Peter Sellers movies a long time ago, I can safely say I had no appreciation of the man -- Sellers, not my dad -- beyond his unparalleled performance in "Dr. Strangelove." ("Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!")

Also released in 1964 was "A Shot in the Dark," the second installment of the Pink Panther series and considered the best by many, despite the irony of "Panther" not being in the title. In this movie, Sellers continues developing his iconic character of Inspector Jacques Clouseau, and after fidgeting for a few minutes early on, I eventually was won over by the silliness of it all.

Our story has Clouseau investigating what turns out to be a series of murders, with a beautiful maid (Elke Sommer) as the prime suspect. Alas, Clouseau refuses to believe this maid could kill -- dude, she's hot -- despite the growing number of bodies. All the while, Clouseau's boss, Commissioner Dreyfus, grows increasingly irritated at Clouseau's bumbling.

Directing this madness is Blake Edwards, who -- and it could just be me -- never seemed a bastion of high comedy. For some reason, I equate him with such stinkers as "A Fine Mess" -- paging Howie Mandel -- and "Blind Date," Bruce Willis' first stab at movie stardom. Little did I know that Edwards also brought us "Breakast at Tiffany's" and "Operation Petticoat" way back in the day. Neither may be my cup of tea, but they're certainly respectable comedies.

So is "A Shot in the Dark," although it's really due to Sellers. Like I said, his talent isn't readily apparent, but as I watched the movie, it became clear he was a master of slapstick. Where amateurs fall down and assume everyone will laugh, Sellers as Clouseau never broke character, and all the bizarre situations he got himself into -- usually punctuated by a ride in the police paddy wagon -- were pretty believable.

No question this movie may be a bit dated; hey, it's more than 40 years old. But I easily laughed at Clouseau's karate battles with his valet, Cato. And the non-physical stuff was good, too, from Commissioner Dreyfus's twitching annoyance at Clouseau to Clouseau and his assistant, Hercule (based on Poiroit, perhaps?), trying to synchronize their watches. But don't take my word for it. Go waste some cash on this hugely crappy remake of "The Pink Panther" -- Steve Martin must need rent money -- then rent "A Shot in the Dark." Then pour some of your beer on the floor for our homey Sellers. Awight?