Classic 60s Movie: “The Pink Panther”

January is Classic 60s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Will King.

Movie Title: The Pink Panther

Year: 1963

Writers: Maurice Richlin, Blake Edwards

Lead Actors: David Niven, Peter Sellers, Capucine, Claudia Cardinale, Robert Wagner

Director: Blake Edwards

IMDb Plot Summary: Bumbling and conceited French police inspector Jacques Clouseau tries to catch The Phantom, a daring jewel thief whose identity and features are unknown — and is acting right under his nose.

Why I Think This Is A Classic 60s Movie: The Pink Panther, in its way, reflected changing social values as the Baby Boomer generation started to become a force in the consumption of entertainment.

Taken at face value, here is the story of a debonair con man who is having an affair with the police inspector’s wife (whom he uses for intelligence about the inspector’s progress in uncovering his crimes), who steals unashamedly from the rich so he can also enjoy the trappings of the rich life, who is unfazed by his nephew’s corruption at college and accepts him as an apprentice, while the relentless police officer not only fails to capture the culprit but is framed by the person he tried to protect and goes to jail for a crime he didn’t commit.

And we’re good with it. The following year audiences would get essentially the same outlook with the release of the Rat Pack musical Robin and the 7 Hoods. It’s doubtful either of these films would have done as well had they been released a decade earlier.

My Favorite Moment In The Movie: The scene in which The Phantom — Sir Charles Lytton — (David Niven) and his no-account nephew George (Robert Wagner), both dressed as gorillas while attending Princess Dahla’s costume party, attempt to crack the safe and steal the jewel, each unaware of the other’s presence. This is an uninterrupted camera shot (except for a quick cut-away to the confusion going on outside) that requires precise timing by both actors. This approach to comedy is a hallmark of Edwards’ style.

My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie: Blake Edwards was not above using simple puns for some of his comedy, but he also would often have the characters give a nod to the wordplay as if to say, “Yeah, I know I’m going for a cheap laugh, but, hey, at least I acknowledge it.”

In this scene, Clouseau and Lloyds of London representative Tucker are at the party to secure the safety of the Pink Panther gem against The Phantom. During their discussion, two of Clouseau’s officers, costumed as a zebra, take a drink from the punchbowl. Clouseau threatens to “have your stripes” for drinking on the job, then comments to Tucker how witty he thought his comment was.

Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie: The Pink Panther marks a turning point in Blake Edwards’ career as a writer and director. Much of his prior work in television and movies used serious, dramatic storytelling. With the release of The Pink Panther, Edwards begins a shift to comedic and farcical stories that would reach its heights with the releases of The Great Race (1965) and Victor/Victoria (1982). Edwards became particularly adept at using cartoon tropes in his live-action films. In The Pink Panther, there is a chase sequence near the end with several cars whizzing about during an attempted getaway, only to all collide (off-camera) in one massive dog-pile accident. The sequence also makes a nod to early film comedy by playing up the chase with a Keystone Cops panache (complete with bijou-style piano soundtrack).

The Pink Panther left an impression on 1960s American culture in many forms. Henry Mancini’s iconic theme is instantly recognizable the world over, even today. Just about anyone can Name That Tune in the first four notes. Mister Mancini would score more of Edwards’ productions, including Mr. Lucky, Peter Gunn, 10, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, S.O.B., and Victor/Victoria. (The team of Edwards and Mancini was an early model of other collaborative teams that would follow, including Lucas and Spielberg with John Williams, and Tim Burton with Danny Elfman.)

The animated opening credits sequence featuring the iconic cat was produced by DePatie-Freleng studios, which was co-founded by long-time Warner Brothers animator Fritz Freleng. The Pink Panther character would continue to grace all of the sequels, as well as become a staple of Saturday morning children’s cartoons, and serve as the non-speaking spokes-model for Owens Corning insulation.

Peter Sellers’ comedic genius brought to life what could have been a pathetic character and gave it a flair and style that could never be recreated (with all due respect to the extraordinary talents of Steve Martin). The key, I think, was to remain slightly understated, avoiding hitting the audience between the eyes with every joke. Clouseau is both a competent police officer and yet frustratingly dim at the wrong moments, observant and yet easily blindsided, tenacious and yet focused on the wrong clues. In a way he’s everyman, reflecting how we sometimes feel about our places in the larger world.

One interesting scene in the film is an après ski party which prominently features Fran Jeffries performing the song Meglio Stasera (It Had Better Be Tonight). Like the safe robbing scene, there is only one cut in the entire musical number. In addition, unlike the rest of the cast throughout the movie, Fran plays primarily directly to the camera, breaking the fourth wall.

Because of the prominence of the animated character and its use in several sequels, the name “Pink Panther” is often wrongly associated with the story’s jewel thief; however, the thief is known as The Phantom. The Pink Panther diamond is the jewel which belongs to Princess Dahla, so named for a specific flaw contained within. Although there are many Pink Panther movies, only the first two use the jewel in the storyline.

Thanks, Will! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!

We have a set of classic 70s movies, 80s Movies and 90s Movies. This month, we’re working on 60s Movies.

We already have 20 volunteers. I have put in bold those who have already sent their guest post to me.

Ipsita Barik — Rosemary’s Baby
Bookman Film — The Sound of Music
Brandnewusedcar — Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Markham Cook — Jules et Jim
Steve Cook — The Blue Max
Felicity Flesher — The Music Man
JasperLamarCrab — 2001: A Space Odyssey
D.L. Gill — Zulu
Jeff Guenther — Cool Hand Luke
Kate Hagen — Repulsion
John Henderson — Night of the Living Dead
hoernsch — The Graduate
Zach Jansen — They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
Will King — The Pink Panther
Lisaisfunny — Blow Up
Jack McDonald — Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Daryl Powell — The Apartment
jprichard — Persona
Ally Shina — The Jungle Book
Michael Waters — Dr. No

I’m looking for 31 guest posts, one for each day of January. Why not pitch in to help add to this online resource to inspire writers to learn about and — most importantly — watch great movies.

If you have a classic 60s movies on which you’d like to do a writeup, please either post in comments or email me.

Thanks in advance!

For the original post explaining the series, go here.

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