A Shot in the Dark (1964)

Clouseau: Listen to me, Hercule, and you will learn something. Now then, the facts in this case are: the body of the chauffeur was found in the bedroom of the second maid. Fact! Cause of death: Four bullets in the chest. Fact! The bullets were fired at close range from a .25 caliber Beretta automatic. Fact! Maria Gambrelli was discovered with the murder weapon in her hand. Fact! The murder weapon was registered in the name of the deceased, Miguel Ostos, and was kept, mind you, in the glove compartment of the Ballon Rolls-Royce. Fact! Now then, members of the household staff have testified that Miguel Ostos beat... [breaks his pointing stick] You fool! You have broken my pointing stick! I have nothing to point with now!... have testified that Miguel Ostos beat Maria Gambrelli frequently. And now, finally comes the sworn statement of Monsieur and Madame Ballon, as well as all the members of the staff, each of them with perfect alibis. Now then, Hercule, What is the inescapable conclusion?
Hercule LaJoy: Maria Gambrelli killed the chauffeur.
Clouseau: What? You idiot! It's impossible. She's protecting someone.

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Maria Gambrelli: Tell me, why do so many men smoke afterwards? No wonder tobacco companies get rich.

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Clouseau: Facts, Hercule, facts, behind them lays the whole fabric of deductive truth. Now, Hercule let us examine these facts: 1 [holding up 1 finger] she was found with the murder weapon in her hand, 2 [holding up 3 fingers] the murder weapon was fresh with blood, 3 [holding up 4 fingers] there were no fingerprints on the murder weapon other then hers and 4 [holding up all 5 fingers] all the members of the Ballon household staff have perfect alibis. Now then, Hercule what do these facts add up to?
Hercule LaJoy: Maria Gambrelli killed Georges the gardener.
Clouseau: You are an idiot, only a fresh faced novice would come up with a conclusion like that.
Hercule LaJoy:But the facts.
Clouseau: Listen, who even killed Miguel, killed Georges the gardener and he did it to cover up the first crime. Now what he is trying to do is lay the blame at the foot of this, this poor servant girl.
Hercule LaJoy: Well who do you suspect?
Clouseau: I suspect everyone.
Hercule LaJoy: Well I suppose that is possible.
Clouseau: Possible? What do you mean possible? I deal in certainties.

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In the scene where Clouseau rushes through a Paris apartment, only to go out the window - into the Seine - three cameras were set up to record the action. Of course a stunt double was employed, and told to "waggle" his legs on the way down, for more humour. The scene was filmed inside MGM's Stage 5 (in Boreham Wood, outside London) where a huge, 154,000 gallon tank, of tepid water, had been readied. Here, a set representing the first three stories of a French apartment house had been erected, right beside the tank. Because one cameraman had partly missed the fall the first time, the stuntman was asked to do it again. He changed out of his wet clothes, and duly did so, some minutes later. But the director felt he needed another, to be sure, and so a third take was done. Eventually only one camera angle was used, of course. The stunt man was paid about a hundred pounds for his part, it is believed.
The character of Maria Gambrelli first appears in this film and was played by Elke Sommer. The character resurfaced in Son of the Pink Panther, played this time by Claudia Cardinale, who played Princess Dala in the original The Pink Panther.
Contrary to the oft-repeated rumor that "A Shot in the Dark" was filmed prior to The Pink Panther, it did not go before the cameras until September of 1963, the same month "The Pink Panther" was being previewed in Hollywood.
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