Friday Movie Review - The Pink Panther

Well kitties, we still have a few Reader's Requests that we haven't gotten to yet, but mommy needs to add them to her Netflix so that I can watch them and give you the proper critique. This means that while I wait, I am opening back up the request line for anyfurry who would like me to review a film for them. I plan on starting back up the Reader's Requests by October at the latest.



In the meantime, mommy and I have been watching a lot of BBC America lately, and this past Monday they had a "Pink Panther" marathon. I was understandably excited about seeing a fellow kitty so honored.

The Pink Panther (1963)
Directed By: Blake Edwards
Written By: Maurice Richlin and Blake Edwards

Kitties, this film isn't what I expected. With a title like "The Pink Panther," a mancat would expect to see a lot of, well, a pink panther. Sort of like this:

But guess what the pink panther really is! It is this:


Yep! A pink diamond.

When you get over that disappointment, the film is actually very good. It is funny in that combination of clever writing and slapstick humor that the 60s comedies are known for. Peter Sellers plays the french detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. He is a very clutzy manbean who tries very hard to make it look like every mistake he makes is deliberate. (Inspector Clouseau is where a lot of the slapstick humor comes in.) The Inspector is trying to track down and discover the secret identity of the infamous Phantom, a notorious and mysterious jewel thief whose only trace left behind at the crime scenes is a single monogrammed glove.


Inspector Clouseau's lovely wife is, unknown to him, not only the lover but also the accomplice of the notorious Phantom! And the handsome and debonaire Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven), who has the room next to them at the ski resort, is not just a wealthy playboy after the stunning Princess Dala, he is the Phantom! And he is most definitely scheming to get his hands on the Princess' most famous and valuable jewel, the Pink Panther.


Things get even more complicated and tricky once Sir Charles' nephew George arrives on the scene. Not only does he discover his uncle's secret, he also attempts to seduce Inspector Clouseau's wife away from Sir Charles! Oh, what a tangled web! And it is all good fun. (Mommy wanted me to point out that the nephew is a very young and very "hot" Robert Wagner.)

I give "The Pink Panther" two paws up and a trill, even though it could have used more kitty action.