The film begins with the child, Princess Dala, receiving an enormous diamond from her father who is a rich and powerful king.  Years later when the grown Princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale) is on a ski vacation in the Italian Alps she is approached by Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven) who has planned to get close to the Princess in order to steal the precious gem.  The legendary Inspector Clouseau is called upon to help guard the stone, but what he is not aware of is that his wife is secretively working for Sir Charles, also known to a few as the Phantom.

The two main characters, Inspector Clouseau and Sir Charles, are from opposite sides in many aspects, which provides attention-grabbing situations.  For example, the film depicts a battle between the criminal element versus the law as the law is portrayed as feeble, clumsy, poor, tacky, and in many instances the looser while the criminal is strong, smart, elegant, attractive, and rich.  The humor that this provides is straight up slap-stick, which occasionally provides sympathy for the hard-working Inspector Clouseau whose wife is cheating on him while leading him in the wrong direction.

The story is well-made and it provides much situational comedy as Inspector Clouseau tends to be in the middle of all farce.  Peter Sellers does a brilliant job performing as the clumsy Inspector Clouseau as he tactfully displays an exaggerated level of clumsiness.  The animated body language of Sellers is slick in an outmost awkward manner, which comes across as very natural and real.  Edwards' first Pink Panther film is a truly amusing and intriguing tale that offers a wonderful cinematic experience that is insightful and clever. 

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COUNTRY

UK / USA

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