Retrospective Film Review

The Pink Panther (1963) • 60 Years Later —you’ll still be tickled pink by this classic comedy

The bumbling Inspector Clouseau travels to Rome to catch a notorious jewel thief known as The Phantom…

The iconic theme practically bounces across the screen: De-Dum… De-Dum… I’ll let you hum the rest. You’re certain to know it. That’s because there are few scores quite as instantly memorable as the one in The Pink Panther; one could argue the score is more engrained in our pop culture subconscious than the film itself. The franchise has had so many additions — with anything released after 1978 being an appalling, desperate mishmash of unoriginal slapstick fueled by nostalgia — that the perception of the original has likely become clouded, its memory unjustly hazy.

60 years after its release, The Pink Panther remains a hilarious romp. Despite its uproarious absurdity, the film somehow manages to remain grounded, never veering into mere silliness or excessive wackiness. Instead, this ensemble piece strikes the delicate balance of being just the right amount of…