The production and creation of the Pink Panther series is a pretty good reflection of its most famously bumbling character, Inspector Clouseau. There are several competing stories as to who conceived the prideful and accident-prone French detective. Director Blake Edwards claims it was based on a French concierge he had met in a Parisian hotel. A friend of Peter Sellers claimed that Clouseau was based on one of Princess Margaret’s hairdressers. Sellers himself suggested his behavior was based on the uprightness of Capt. Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel. Webb also happened to have a rather ornamental mustache, which influenced the (very) fake mustache that adorns Clouseau’s face.

Interestingly, no one imagined that Inspector Clouseau would become a breakout character. In fact, The Pink Panther (screening July 2) was devised as a vehicle for David Niven. But almost by accident, Sellers (who filled in at the last minute for Peter Ustinov, originally cast as Clouseau) stole the spotlight—in a big way. Less than a year after The Pink Panther hit the screens, A Shot in the Dark (July 9), Edwards’ and Sellers’ second Clouseau comedy, was released. In the mid-’70s, the director and star teamed again for another trilogy of very funny and hugely successful “Panthers”: The Return of the Pink Panther (July 16), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (July 23), and Revenge of the Pink Panther (July 30).

The “Pink Panther” itself is actually a reference to a diamond in the first film, and not the main character, but it became such a popular phrase that it stuck with all subsequent films, regardless of whether a diamond showed up or not. With the help of the catchy Henry Mancini score, the animated panther who appears in the credit sequences for each of the films ultimately became the star of his own cartoon series, sold a million plush toys, and endorsed a line of fiberglass insulation.

Inspector Clouseau is an enduringly entertaining character that lights up just about any type of audience. Biographer and film historian Ed Sikov noted that Sellers’ comic value came from his “bedrock dignity in the face of his own buffoonishness,” while Sellers himself said that he had “a certain pathetic charm that the girls found seductive.” On Wednesdays in July, join us as we stumble through the best of the Pink Panther movies.

–Michael Neault, Associate Programmer, Motion Picture Department