This was the first original Pink Panther movie, starring Peter Sellers, David Niven, and a very young Robert Wagner. I grew up watching the comedic brilliance of Peter Sellers, playing the bumbling detective, Jacques Clouseau, how somehow seems to always get his man. He sort of reminds me of the other bumbling detective we all love to watch, Columbo. I wonder if the filmmakers drew inspiration from Columbo, I don’t know for sure but it would make a lot of sense. This did however create the foundation for a series of funny films, not counting the recent remakes starring Beyonce and Steve Martin, to me those were a disaster. You have to love the wholesomeness of this film, and the cinematography was great in parts. The skiing scenes were really cool looking. But this film at its heart was trying to be a comedy. At this, the film was kind of weak. Having not seen the more recent Pink Panthers staring Peter sellers, I would not have thought of this film as being foundational. It stretched a bit long for me in the middle. Unfortunately for these reasons, I really didnt like it that much and can only give it two stars. I would only recommend this film to die-hard fans of Peter Sellers.
**
