Common Sense Media Review
By Charles Cassady Jr.
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Funny and entertaining after all these years.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Pink Panther
What's the Story?
In THE PINK PANTHER, Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven), a globetrotting bachelor who is in secret a super-thief called the Phantom, has been making fools of police around the world for 15 years. No fool is bigger than Inspector Clouseau, whose been pursuing the Phantom all that time, always one step behind. That's because Clouseau's adored wife Simone (Capucine) is Lytton's secret accomplice -- and mistress. Clouseau correctly reasons the Phantom's next target will be the Pink Panther diamond worn by Indian princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale), who is due to visit a ski resort in the Alps. Clouseau travels there to catch the thief, and brings Simone with him. Sir Charles shows up and begins using his considerable charm on Princess Dala. Bumbling Clouseau misses all the signs his treacherous wife has no interest in him, but he does gradually suspect Sir Charles. To complicate matters, Sir Charles' nephew (Robert Wagner) and turns out to be a con artist who also plans to steal the Pink Panther, during a costume ball.
Is It Any Good?
While grownups and older kids might enjoy the verbose farce and the charisma of the stars, younger kids may get more entertainment value out of any given Pink Panther cartoon. Viewers who seek out this first-ever Pink Panther on video might be disappointed to find Peter Sellers isn't the star of this caper flick. He's funny, but the traits of epic-scale slapstick lunacy that made Clouseau famous were to evolve later, in spinoff/sequels. The costume ball is the only part of the picture that really comes to life with the slapstick that Sellers fans came to expect. Most of The Pink Panther is stagier, drawing-room comedy, heavy on pillow-talk dialogue and lovers ducking in and out of adjacent hotel rooms.
While the sex-oriented banter is old-school Hollywood -- very coy and civilized and likely to go over kids' heads -- even young viewers might notice that Clouseau is played with more realism and less clowning. He is actually a rather sad character. He fails to notice his Simone's indifference to him, and she puts off his passionate advances with complaints that she can't "relax" (in fact, she's seeing Sir Charles at every opportunity).
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how this first film compares to the zanier, more slapstick, subsequent Pink Panther movies.
Movie Details
- In theaters : March 18, 1964
- On DVD or streaming : August 14, 2001
- Cast : David Niven , Peter Sellers , Robert Wagner
- Director : Blake Edwards
- Studio : MGM/UA
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 113 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : August 16, 2021
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate