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''A Shot in the Dark'' is a 1964 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and is the second installment in ''The Pink Panther'' series. Peter Sellers is featured again as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté. Clouseau's bungling personality is unchanged, but it was in this film that Sellers began to give him the idiosyncratically exaggerated French accent that was to become a hallmark of the character. The film also introduces Herbert Lom as his long-suffering boss, Commissioner Dreyfus, and Burt Kwouk as his stalwart servant Cato, both of whom would become series regulars. Elke Sommer plays Maria Gambrelli. Gambrelli would return in ''Son of the Pink Panther'', this time played by Claudia Cardinale, who played Princess Dala in ''The Pink Panther''. Graham Stark reprised his Hercule Lajoy role in ''Trail of the Pink Panther''. Kato was named after The Green Hornet character. For legal reasons, the spelling was later changed from "Kato" to "Cato." The film was not originally written to include Clouseau, but was an adaptation of a stage play by Harry Kurnitz adapted from the French play ''L'Idiote'' by Marcel Achard.〔''(A Shot in the Dark )'' by Marcel Achard and adapted by Harry Kurnitz had a 1961-1962 Broadway run, directed by Harold Clurman. Its cast included Julie Harris, Walter Matthau, and William Shatner.〕 The film was released only a few months after the first Clouseau film, ''The Pink Panther''. == Plot == Inspector Clouseau is called to the country home of Paris plutocrat Benjamin Ballon to investigate the murder of his Spanish chauffeur Miguel. The chauffeur was having an affair with the maid, Maria Gambrelli, who claims that he often beat her. Although all the evidence points to Gambrelli as the killer, Clouseau refuses to admit her guilt after he develops an instant attraction to her. For the real culprits to keep the truth hidden from Clouseau's boss, Commissioner Charles Dreyfus, they must commit more murders. With the murders of Georges the gardener, Dudu (Ann Lynn) the maid, and Henri LaFarge, the head butler, Maria is arrested. Clouseau sets her free each time, but is himself arrested police four times in quick succession (first for selling balloons without a license, then for selling paintings without a license, then for hunting without a license, and finally with Maria Gambrelli for public nudity, after they flee a nudist community). In order to keep his mind sharp for the case, Clouseau eventually instructs his manservant Kato to attack him at every opportunity (which becomes a staple running gag for the rest of the ''Pink Panther'' films featuring Sellers). As Clouseau continues to bungle the case, Commissioner Dreyfus becomes increasingly agitated, accidentally cutting off his thumb and stabbing himself with a letter-opener. Concealing himself, he stalks Clouseau in order to assassinate him, but accidentally kills a doorman instead, as well as two café customers and a Cossack dancer. When Clouseau confronts the Ballon household with his conclusions, it is revealed that Ballon, his wife Dominique, Madame LaFarge, Pierre the driver, and Simone the maid are all guilty of murder (each of them having killed one of the earlier murder victims, mostly due to a highly intricate web of extramarital affairs within the household), Maurice the manservant is a blackmailer, and Maria innocent of any crime. As a massive argument breaks out, Clouseau's aide-de-camp Hercule LaJoy knocks out the power as part of an earlier, now unnecessary ruse to catch the murderer. The guilty take the opportunity to escape in Clouseau's car, but it is destroyed by a bomb set by Commissioner Dreyfus, injuring them. Having witnessed the explosion, Dreyfus angrily confronts and attacks Clouseau and indirectly confesses to his own earlier murders, but Clouseau has Hercule drag him away to cool off. Clouseau and Maria celebrate the clearing of her name with a long and passionate kiss - which is swiftly interrupted by another sneak attack by Kato. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「A Shot in the Dark (1964 film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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