Hello and welcome to Goonpod, the podcast in which we look at
classic comedy through the filter of the goons.
My name is Tyler Adams, and this week, do you have a license for
this podcast? License the
OK, let's try again. Hello, and welcome to Goonpod,
the podcast in which we look at classic comedy through the
filter of the goons. My name is Tyler Adams, and this
week it's returning guest, former podcaster and now
published novelist Adam Leslie. Hello, how are you?
Very good and all the better of seeing you and having you back
on the podcast. I.
Mean I'm not sure I'm a former podcaster because I'm here on
time. Yeah, but I mean, well, the your
podcast is is on ice. It's.
Kind of officially paused, because it turns out being a
published novelist is quite a lot of work.
See here we here we go. Because the last time you were
on, which was August last year, I think you were talking about
the fact that it was, it was brand new news then that you had
this book due to be published. And it has literally just come
out in the last month. It's a hefty volume lost in the
garden. Yes.
Now I hold my hands up. I do have it.
I got it, you know, hot off the press.
I haven't read it yet because I've been, I've been working
and, and podcasting and I do actually have a family who
sometimes sort of expect that I spend time with them, you know?
That's where you that's where you're ahead of me.
Yeah, yeah. But I'm I'm going on holiday in
a few weeks, so I will take that with me and and disappear into
the pages. How would you describe it?
Atmospheric folk horror. I think so, yeah.
Or nostalgia horror. It may be a good thing as well
to describe it as it's, it's folk horror in tone and texture,
but it's not particularly horrific in terms of spurting
and limbs coming off and anything.
Stephen Hot, Stephen King sort of horror.
It's much more about an easy atmosphere and it's quite haunt,
illogical and unsettling and spooky.
And also it's quite a nice summer read.
So it's it's folk horror, but I think it's relatively unusual
that it's set during the height of summer.
In fact, it's a perpetual summer that's lasted for six, six years
so far. So it's it's quite a good summer
read if you fancy something strange and evocative.
Well, it begins with ice cream. Doesn't.
It it does and continues with ice cream throughout.
Right. I'm glad you said there's no
spurting. I wouldn't want to read that
sort of book. So brilliant.
So, so obviously that's just out available now.
Do you go into Waterstones book shops and do you try and sort of
see where it's positioned in in the shop?
Yeah, it's it's. I've been in a few and it's on
quite a few of the tables. It's often in horror on the
horror tables. It's it's in a few of them.
It's just unlike here's a nice new read, which is, which is
quite flattering to be in with the the, you know, the general
literature. I mean, there's nothing wrong
with being in horror as well, but it just if you if you've got
a little bit of crossover, that's quite flattering as well.
So it's quite exciting to actually be on the table in
Waterstones. It's like a little bit of a
little bit of a bonus. But yes, I've always wanted to
say it, but it's available in all good book shops.
Do you stand behind a pillar and see if anyone walks in and picks
it up and reads the blurb on the back?
Yeah, I mean, I do that anyway. So it's quite, it's, it's quite
nice to also have a book to keep an eye on.
And you, you work at a bookshop, don't you?
I do, I'm part time in a, in a branch of Black Whales.
So which is quite good actually for promoting a book because
I've been there for eight years. So I can, I can leverage a few
favours or just, you know, I'm a nice fellow, promote my book.
And so I've got a big poster in the window and we've, we've sold
quite a few copies as well. And people I've never even met
are buying it, which is quite exciting.
Very good. Do you reckon it's up for the
Booker? I'd be.
I'll be disappointed if it's not, frankly.
And you'll be robbed if you don't get it.
Yeah, and you can. One of the somebody who used to
work at my branch of Black Whales just slightly before I
started, has been up for the Booker, so if she could be up
for the Booker then I don't see why I can't.
It wasn't Iris Murdoch, was it? No.
You're not that old, are you? I'm getting there.
So really excited this week because finally after what,
three years now of podcasting, finally we have reached the
point where we are going to talk about my favorite EVs Peter
Sellers film, which is a shot in the dark.
And, and I know, you know, I've already nailed my colours to the
mouse and said that it is my favorite Peter Sellers film.
It's probably the one I've watched the most.
In fact, I know it's the one I've watched the most, but I'm
not quite sure. Your history with the Adams?
Is this a film you remember from childhood or or more recently?
I think I did see a lot of Inspector Clouseau films in
childhood, but it's difficult to tell them apart in one's memory.
They kind of blur into one. But I think I must have seen
this one. I've seen it.
I've probably seen it three times since then.
Yeah, including last night for this making notes.
But I guess I really like it. I'm not going to keep you in
suspense and, you know, be I might be really down on it.
I really like it. I mean, it's not, it's not my
absolute favorite Peter Sellers film because we've already done
that one. That was Doctor Strangelove from
the same year. He's just 64.
Was sort of his his peak of quality perhaps, wasn't it?
Yeah, and we will. We will mention Strangelove a
little later as well, because this film ties in with that ever
so slightly. One another shared cast member
at least. Yes, yes, but also something
else. Anyway, we'll we'll get to that.
To me, it's the well, obviously, because it's my favorite Sellers
film. It is by virtue of that the best
ever Clueso film. Although I'm very fond of Return
of the Pink Panther, this is probably the first Peter Sellers
film I ever saw, or at least the one I the the the first one I
consciously remember. And it's because my sister I I
saw it first in the 80s when I was probably about, I would have
been about 10 or 11 and my sister at the time was living,
she older than me. She was living with her fiance
and I used to go and stay at their house on weekends because
I, you know, it was like a treat for me to do that.
And she was one of the first people in the in the town to
have Avhs player. And I'm exaggerating, but you
know what I mean. It was still kind of a rather
exotic to, to, to have some, someone in the family or, or a
family friend to have a, a VHS recorder.
And there was a, a video rental place.
And we must have, or I must have asked to have this film rented
out half a dozen times at least, you know, And it was my sister,
I think, who first rented it out.
And that's how I first saw it because she said, Oh, you might
like this. And I absolutely adored it.
And I just found, even though it was even then, it was 20 years
old, you know, in the mid 80s, it was a 20 year old film.
It was and I was AI was a kid. I just found it so engaging and
funny and to me there's no fat at all.
You know, it's not baggy anywhere.
There's no. Proper lick, doesn't it?
Yeah, it does. And so I've always, I've always
adored it. And also, you know, I watched it
again for the purpose of this and I probably haven't watched
it probably for five years before this week.
And there's always that little bit of worry, particularly since
I've been, you know, since I've been doing the podcast and
immersing myself a lot more in, in sellers career and output.
There was a little bit of worry that, oh, I'm going to watch it
for the first time in five years and is it going to be as good?
And thankfully, it stood up. Hooray.
Hooray, but it was also it was when we had the The Listener
poll at the end of last year. Game Pod Listeners Top 20 Peter
Sellers films This came out at #3 just just behind Strangelove
and Being there. Being there, I mean, that's a
pretty decent top three I think. And I know being there, it's not
one of your favourites, is it? No, it's not.
Yeah, I really like it though. Yeah, I don't.
I don't know, but I'm just going to.
Say about about the fact that you saw it when it was 20 years
old in the mid 80s, but I bet it looked in the mid 80s as ancient
then as it does now. When it's 60 years old, it's
probably more. So it probably seemed more dated
in the mid 80s than it does now because it's actually quite a
like to look at. It's very crisp and beautiful
colour and very well filmed. It doesn't look really sort of
creaky and all particularly goes along at such a pace.
But I remember in the in in the 80s particularly, sort of mid to
late 80s, the older stuff from a decade or even stuff from the
70s a decade before looked really old and really creepy.
Yeah. Absolutely, because I remember
very vividly because I love my favorite film period.
Now, if you like, or decade, film decade is the 70s, nine,
two. But I remember very clearly in
the 80s as a child becoming a, you know, becoming a teenager
thinking any films from I didn't want to watch any films from the
70s because they just looked dated.
Maybe, maybe likewise as we get into the 90s, I didn't want to
watch films from the 80s as they look dated.
And actually I still feel that way.
I don't really like the 80s generally and 80s films with
with exceptions, of course. But maybe it's the fashions,
it's the, the music, you know, the, the ubiquitous sax on the,
on the soundtrack in a lot of those 80s films.
But no, I don't remember if I felt that shot in the dark was I
mean, I must have known it was an old film, but I don't know
whether I as a kid thought, Oh my God, I hate to make
allowances for that. I I don't honestly remember.
What I do remember was although I love Clouseau, I do remember
thinking that the my favorite character in the whole film was
the character played by Graham Stark.
Oh, really? OK, little cool, the meek little
assistant. Who I just the, the there's a
couple of sequences where Clouseau is lecturing virtually.
He's lecturing Hercule on the, on the facts of the case fact.
And you have Hercule standing there in front of the blackboard
with his hands behind his back, looking quietly tolerant as
Clouseau goes through the facts. Yes.
Looking resigned to his resigned, yes.
You 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 4 bullets in the chest.
Fact The bullets were fired at close range from a .25 calibre
Beretta Automatic fact Maria Gambarelli was discovered with a
murder weapon in her hand. Fact the murder weapon was
registered in the name of the deceased Miguel Ostos and was
kept markieu in the club compartment of the balloon Rolls
Royce. Fact Now then members of the
household staff have testified that Miguel Ostos beat Pepper.
You're full. You've broken my pointing stick.
I've got nothing to point with now have have testified that
that that that Miguel Ostos beat Maria Gambrelli frequently.
And now finally comes a sworn statement of Monsieur and Madame
Balon, as well as all the members of the staff, each of
them with perfect alibis. Now then, Hercule, what is the
inescapable? Conclusion Maria Gambrelli
killed the chauffeur. What, you idiot?
Impossible. She's protecting someone.
How do you know that? Instinct.
But the fact. You are forgiving the most
important fact, motive. He beat her.
He was Spanish. He tore a dress off or.
Don't be ridiculous. Would you kill somebody who tore
your dress off? I suppose not.
No, of course not. No, no.
He's not in a huge amount, but I just, I remember thinking he was
great. He still is.
He still. Is yeah, that is he's, he's
doing a lot with a small amount, I think because he doesn't
really have anything to do other than be passive and resigned.
He's not giving the usual sort of quite big Graham Stark
performance. It's very, very, very passive.
And I think he has no expressions other than, you
know, just he wears the same facial expression throughout.
Although he does have a couple of scenes where he and Sellers
get to improvise. Certainly the watch
synchronizing scene, Oh yes, was largely improvised.
And I'm sure that the scene where Clouseau was taken off the
case and he's in the garden of the Chateau and he he's kind of
dejectedly walking back to the car and he trips over Hercule.
I'm sure that was improvised. There's some great cascading
pratfalls in this that they're never content or rarely content
in this film with having one pratfall.
They're often, they're often like domino topples of not
literally, but you know, they're or Jacob's ladders of of
pratfalls that they'll just keep going into each other.
And yeah, that makes it a lot of fun.
Blake Edwards was interviewed in January 64, and he said, he said
people nowadays make a joke and leave it at that.
What's really fun is to top it and then top the Topper.
It's a challenge, but it's in the great tradition.
And what he was referring to there was that he was very, very
influenced by the early silent and, and silent comedies and the
and early talkies with the likes of, you know, Buster Keaton.
I was going to say Lawrence, Harvey, Laurel and Hardy and
others. Before we talk about the film
and what we like about it and, and all that kind of jazz, I
just wanted to give the the background to how the film came
about. So.
Yeah. So the Pink Panther came out in.
Well, it it received its world premiere in Italy in December
1963, and it wasn't released in the US until March 64.
I know, obviously, as everyone knows, although it it was kind
of ostensibly a David Niven starring film, Clouseau, the
character of Inspector Clouseau stole the film.
And then three months later in June, 64 shot the Dark comes
out. So literally three months have
passed. That's pretty good going, isn't
it? Well, The thing is that Shot the
Dark was brought forward for summer release.
It was. I think it was going to be
coming out end of 64, but obviously because of the success
of the Pink Panther, they wanted to capitalize on the success so
it comes out then. It was actually released in the
UK in January 65. It came about because there was
a comic mystery play by a playwright called Marcel Archard
called Lydiot or The Idiot. Nothing to do with Dostoevsky,
but it was first performed in France in 1960 and then there
was an English language version staged on Broadway the following
year with the title A Shot in the Dark and that was adapted by
Harry Kernitz and the cast included Walter Mato and William
Shatner. Really.
OK, so was Walter Mato the detective, the one that would
become the Clueso character? There wasn't a detective as
such, there was an examining magistrate who was played by
William Shatner on. Broadway, right.
OK. OK.
And I think Walter Mato kind of fulfilled, although a much
larger role, but kind of fulfilled the Hercule role.
OK. Oh no, that sounds interesting.
In some way, I, I think it's very difficult to get a, a
Direct Line on that, but I think that's how it worked out.
And anyway, that was successful on Broadway.
So there was a studio that wants to make it a film version and
they cast Sellers as the French magistrate.
So the, the William Shatner role.
And it was, it was like a pre trial murder investigation where
activity was mostly restricted to judicial chambers.
So by the sound of it, it was going to be quite, you know,
like a play on screen. Yes.
And they, they had a director lined up called Anatole Litvak,
I think. I think I'm pronouncing that
correctly. But Sellers didn't get on with
him. That's a surprise.
Can you believe it? And, and so the studio fired him
and they asked Blake Edwards if he would come on board, and he
agreed only if he could completely overhaul the thing,
completely rewrite the whole script.
OK. And.
Thank goodness he did it sounds the one entirely set in the
chamber. Sounds quite dull potentially.
Yeah, well, I mean, it may not be, Yeah, it may not have been
entirely set there, but largely I, I, I get the the feeling that
it was how it was going to be now.
So Blake Edwards came on board as producer and director.
OK. And he bought with him William
Peter Blatty. Oh yes, of course.
Somebody that Mark Kermode never stopped talking about.
Yeah, absolutely. Yes.
He's Kermode catnip, I suppose, isn't he?
He went on to become famous as the writer of The Exorcist, but
in the earlier days in his earlier days as a writer, he was
writing comedies and. He's the American Terry Nation.
Yes, that's a brilliant comparison.
Yeah, he, he'd been AI guess he'd been a sort of a hack
writer holding down a day job. And then he went on the
television quiz show You Bet Your Life, which was the Groucho
Marx game show. OK, yes, of course, I've seen a
few of those. And he won.
Blatty won $10,000 on that show in 1961.
That would be a heck. That's a heck of an amount of
money. Yeah, but what it did was it
allowed him to quit the day job and devote himself to being a
being a full time writer and screenwriter.
So Blake Edwards and he collaborated quite a bit in the
early days and and Blake and Blatty wrote or rewrote the
shot, the dark script incorporating this character
that had been such a a hit in the Pink Panther in the shape of
Inspector Clouseau. From what I understand, the
final script, the, the, the, the script for the film that we have
watched, the only elements from the original play that remain
intact were the murder, right? And the maid being the suspect.
OK, am I right in thinking this is the only Pink Panther film
with killings in all the rest? Just about, just about stealing
a diamond. And this is the only one that's
not about stealing the diamond. This is about this is the only
one that's about solving a murder.
Yeah, I'm just trying to scrolling through my memory
here. You're probably right.
I mean, were there any accidental killings in return?
I think they may have been. Possibly.
Actually, yeah. Anyway, Blake Edwards is on
board. He's got Blatty, he's got
Sellers as the star as to be to be Clue so and the the film that
Sellers had originally signed up to appear in to be directed by
this Anatole Litvak who was fired.
It was it was to have Walter Mattel reprising the role he
played on stage and a major International Film star to play
the Maria Gambrelli role. Right.
And and someone who figures quite largely in in in Peter
Sellers world. In any case, who do you think
that might have been? Might it have been Brit Eckland?
Possibly. Oh no, the no.
Oh no, the Italian Sophia. Sophia.
Sophia Loren. Yes, of course.
Sophia Loren So she she Both Mato and Sophia Loren have been
attached to the project and both dropped out.
Sophia Loren, presumably because she doesn't want being harangued
by Peter Sellers. Constantly, I don't know.
I don't know there was right. So we've got here and I want to
just say thanks again. Thanks again to a mutual friend
of ours, Paul Abbott. Hello, Paul.
Paul provided me with a bunch of articles, contemporary news
articles, newspaper articles, magazine articles about Shot in
the Dark. OK, so I've got a wealth of
information from those. And there was an article, brief
article in an American film trade magazine from August 63
which said Walter Matthau, who won the Antoinette Perry Award
on Broadway for his performance in the hit comedy Shot in the
Dark, has been signed to recreate his stage role in the
Mirish Corporation filmed version of the play, which
director Anatole Litvak will begin shooting in Paris in early
November. Matal joins stars Sophie Loren
and Peter Sellers in the United Artists release.
OK, so you know, he was, he was still on board in August.
Shooting in Paris is interesting though, because it wasn't.
It was shot and tidy in London. Yes, it's very studio set,
isn't. There's not a lot of outside
stuff at all. No, no and then the following no
two months later. Daily Mail 28th of October 1963
headline Sophia says no to sellers right Sophia Loren I'm.
Surprised. Sophia Loren has told Peter
Sellers that she cannot Co star with him in a new British film,
A Shot in the Dark. If he's going to act like that.
Put your hands away. Miss Loren entered a Milan
hospital a week ago and returned to the Italian film she's making
this weekend. Her part in the British film
will now be taken by either Shirley MacLaine or Elizabeth
Taylor, Mr. Blake Edwards, its producer and director, said last
night. Miss Loren's husband told me it
was something to do with the operation.
She may have had something wrong with her that meant she couldn't
continue with Shot in the Dark. You Never.
Know this is like Peter pretending he had a broken foot
so he could get out of doing 4th rolling.
Doctor Strangelove. Absolutely, Absolutely.
Oh, I'm just having my appendix out.
Sorry. Love to Peter, honestly.
And she's doing that thing with, you know, when you make that
gesture, phone me with her hand. Yeah.
Interesting that, that Shirley MacLaine and Elizabeth Taylor
were being considered for Maria Cabrelli.
I could see. I could see Shirley MacLaine.
Not Elizabeth Taylor, though. No, she's not.
I mean, it would be a different spin on the role, but she's not
kittenish enough. Elizabeth Taylor No.
Yes, yeah, I think, I mean, I, I'm seeing it with Elkie summer.
So presumably, yeah, who whoever else it might have been would
have done a completely different role.
But but there's certainly very distinctive Elkie Summer energy
going on in this. I tripped over a route and I
grabbed Miguel to keep me from falling and somehow we both
fell. I cried a little bit afterwards,
but that wasn't because I was sorry it happened, it was
something he said. He insulted you.
Oh no, he lit a cigarette and took a long puff.
And tell me, why do so many men smoke afterwards?
No wonder tobacco companies get rich.
Well, Brick would have been good for it I guess.
Yeah, she would have done a similar sort of thing.
But he, Sellers didn't meet her until the month after filming
completed. But I'm sure if he'd met her
during filming, halfway through even he'd have had Al Kisama
fired. And according to Al Kisama, he
didn't try it on with her during filming.
This is Sellers OK, but he did suggest they get married.
Why not? Which is kind of what he did
with Sinead Cusack about six years later in Hoffman.
Oh, really? Yeah.
He was a funny lad, wasn't he? Wasn't he?
He's an old one. He had things to work through,
didn't he? I think so, yeah.
So. Yeah.
So. So Walter Mattell.
Whether he left of his own accord or was or was pushed, I'm
not sure, but in any case, the role that he was to play was
replaced by Graham Stark, at seller's insistence of course.
Yes, I I suspect that Matal left of his own accord.
I would imagine that the role he played on Broadway must have
been a much more significant role for him to have garnered
such awards and and and acclaim. So I gather, I assume, that the
Blatty Edwards script reduced the Hercule role down to down to
what what we see in the film. Very much kind of second banana
to Cluso, does it? Mean, I think if you're having a
Cluso film, you want Cluso to be very much the main character.
You don't want someone competing with his attention or competing
for his attention on screen. Yes, yeah.
Repeating for our attention with him.
That's it. That's the one I got there in
the air. That's it.
Now I I just said before, I really enjoyed Hercule as a when
I was a kid watching this film. Still do.
It's interesting that he didn't return in return or Hercule
didn't. Graham Stark did as a different
character and then would subsequently return in the next
couple of. Oh yes, of course he has the
line. That is, that is not my dog.
That's right, although he did, Graham Stark did reprise the
role of Hercule 18 years later in Trail of the Pink Panther
1982. Right, which is one I've never
seen. AKA flogging a dead Panther.
I said that Sellers insisted that he be bought onto the film.
Sellers also asked that Dave Lodge and Herbert Long be cast.
Obviously he was great friends with Lodge and Stark and he's
also friendly with Lam and had worked with him on The Lady
Killers and and Mr. Topaz. They bought on board Alki Summer
to take on the the role of the maid who's the suspect, the
murder suspect, Maria Gambrelli. Alki Summer, who's still with us
and the last cast member alive. I was thinking that, yes, I
think she was 23 at the time, so she's now presumably about 83.
Yeah, OK. Yeah.
So so Alki Summer, she's on board as Maria Gambrelli and
Maria Gambrelli, the character would eventually return in a
film. I haven't seen son of the Pink
Panther, which was the what's the name Roberto Benini really?
OK, it's clue. So and that was that was in the
90s and Maria Gambrelli and that was played by Claudia Cardinali,
who played the Princess in the first Pink Panther film.
Right, of course, yes. So there you go.
Filming of Shot the Dart began in November 1963 and completed
in January the following year. So presumably Sellers heard of
the death of JFK while on set while filming.
I suppose so, yeah. This this was this was this
pretty strange love or or post strange love filming wise?
This was this was post. OK, so what's the story here?
I tried to find verification but right so the first Test
screening of Strangelove was scheduled for November 22nd,
1963. OK.
And obviously it was cancelled because of something else that
happened that day to JS. Who was on?
Oh yes, that. And the Telegoons.
But isn't there a story? We may have discussed it when
you came on to talk about Doctor Strangelove, that JFK had a
private screening of Strangelove like days before Dallas.
That rings a bell, yes. Yeah.
Does ring a bell? I'm sure that I should have
listened to the podcaster to check, but but also Sellers had
met Kennedy. There's a there's a photograph
of Sellers at the White House with JFK and with Super Mac with
Harold Macmillan. Yeah, it's, that's some, some
soiree, some, some event, some dinner.
And on the day, the day that JFK was was assassinated, Sellers
was interviewed in the Evening Standard and he was talking
about his success. I'm not going to read out the
whole thing, but there's a little quote here which made me
kind of smile, He said, he said it was only 1948 that I was
appearing at the Windmill Theatre.
You know, it's not a very long time ago.
And I've done it all on my own. No one has helped me.
Wow, I. Think Spike might have something
to say about that? He's only gives Spike a run for
his money in terms of that kind of friend washing.
Yes, and he'd worked with Kubrick by that point.
Of course he had. Yes, Yeah, he'd worked with
Guinness, his hero. He.
Worked with so many talented people the the Bolting brothers,
you know. Yes, of course, yeah.
Who really had to push for him to take the Fred Kite character
which won him a BAFTA? So it's it's not all down to
you, Pete. I've.
Said it already once. He's a funny lad, isn't he?
He's. A funny lad.
So a shot in the dark marks the first appearances of of Herbert
Long as Clouseau's long-suffering boss,
Commissioner Dreyfus, and also the first appearance of Clueso's
stalwart manservant Cato, played by Bert Kwark.
Harry Hill star Bert Kwark. That's right, better known as
Bert Kwark from last of the summer one yes, or if he'd
appeared in Harry Potter, it would be Harry Potter star.
Bert Kwark dies at whatever age he died, which really annoys me
when you see things like, you know, when Michael Gambon died,
it was Harry Potter star Michael Gambon not singing detective
star and lathe fancier Michael Gambon dies, You know which it
should have been. Yeah.
You know he collected lathes. I didn't know that.
No, that's quite. That's quite unusual.
Yeah. Yeah, I do like the the the gag
of introduce introducing Cato because we assume he's just an
assassin, because it just it it that that scene involves Cluso
just being attacked by this mysterious character.
And then the phone rings and he answers it.
Inspector, close those residents.
One moment, please. Commissioner Dreyfus.
Bert Quark said late. Later, he said Cater was a
physically very agile human being in those days.
So was Bert Quark. He looked at this a bit as well
when he the middle one that did yeah, the second or third one of
his attacks where he attacks them at the end of their date
and is knocked unconscious again.
And Peter Sellers drags him down some step, some steps his his
flat and and Bert Cox head does appear just to bounce off every
step. That's that's him actually just
being dragged feet first down the steps.
So his head is at the far end is bouncing off each of the steps.
And that looks genuine. And if there was, they were like
particularly lightweight stairs. Or if it was just he was dragged
down, he was actually dragged down some stairs.
I don't really know, but it was made me slight slightly made me
wince that did. Yes.
So we've got Katie, we've got Dreyfus making their their debut
and also Andre Moran as Dreyfus's assistant Francois.
Yes, who? Who I believe appeared in Doctor
Who. It's a Doctor Who connection.
I forget the name of the character, but I think he was
in, I forgot to look this up. I think he was in 10th Planet.
He was in one of the early Cyberman stories when it was
like an international, so the 10th planet or moon base when it
was an international base. And he was a local French or
Belgian. He he he was a British.
Yeah, he he was local to Britain and he would play French or
Belgian character. So he was in one of the Cyberman
stories, the early 60s, the 1960s Cyberman story.
So he's, he's the the Doctor Who actor of the piece.
OK, well, he was also famously in the gourmet night evening of
Fawlty Towers. Yes, of course he was.
Playing playing Andre, a local restauranteur.
So during filming, Casellas had just not long been divorced
around this time and he'd been working in Hollywood.
He flew back to film, shot the dark and was put up.
He's living at the Dorchester and the studio picked up the tab
and he was in the best suite. OK.
And I imagined he was having he was he was rinsing them for
every penny I. Can well imagine.
In January, so filming ended in January 1964, but a a newspaper
report from January 64 reports that Edwards and Sellers were
talking at that time about 1/3 Clouseau film.
But by the end of filming, certainly he and he and Edwards
were not talking. They weren't speaking and they
vowed never to work together again.
They were reunited four years later for the party though.
And and then obviously when both their careers were on the skids
by the mid 70s, they buried the hatchet, got the band back
together and made return the Pink Panther.
But but yeah, by the end of Shot in the Dark, things were a bit
fraught and Sellers saw a rough cut off Shot in the Dark and
thought that it was a disaster as he kind of thought about
every film he made. I I feel.
Yes, I think he's he seemed very insecure, to put it mildly.
Yeah, that. Was maybe just stating stating
the bleeding obvious there Peter Sellers, you know, he seemed
quite insecure he's. Odd man, isn't he?
The following month, so he's still at the at the Dorchester
in in February 64 he meets Britt Britt Eckland and apparently
Michael Caine was supposed to have been going out with her on
a date, right? But he'd not confirmed it.
And somehow Sellers sellers people made contact with Britt
and invited her for a drink. So because she'd been blown out
by Michael Caine, she went and met Sellers instead and and they
actually went out to see the Pink Panther at the cinema and
the rest is history. And then of course, as we know,
there was a whirlwind romance and on the 8th of April, so
literally, you know, two months later, Sellers had his series of
heart attacks in Hollywood. Right.
OK. So that's still still upcoming.
Yeah, and just slight little tangent before we start talking
about the film in more detail. The April 1964 edition of
Playboy features Sellers on the cover dressed up as Rudolph
Valentino. OK.
And so I just thought I wonder how much that would be to buy.
You know I looked on eBay to see if it was that actual issue of
Playboy was available only for the sellers content I of.
Course, yes, right. And the articles.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. By John Updike and Norman Mailer
and people like that. And it's on eBay.
It is on eBay for 15 of your English pounds so I'm not
stretching to that. No, but it says I just want to
read this eBay listing because it's the last line that had me
howling. So on eBay Playboy for April
1964. Peter Sellers minds the great
movie lovers. Ian Fleming's James Bond Double
O 7 in You Only Live Twice, which was I checked that was the
book was published by Jonathan Cape in the UK in March 64.
OK, then, it says Playmates of 1956 Revisited interview with
Jean Genet, so I'd have read it for that.
Yes. Little Annie, Fanny and Playmate
Ashlyn Martin. All.
Right. And then it says very good
condition, like to moderate general wear, centrefold present
and attached right, slight musty smell.
Oh no, 15 lbs. Sold.
Sold to the gentleman in the Mac.
So we should talk about the film.
I mean, we've talked about bits, haven't we?
But yes. Well, actually, while we're on
British TV science fiction, we have another British TV science
fiction actor in here if, if you know who it is I'm going to
refer to. Oh, let me think, let me think,
let me think, let me think. Oh, Reginald Beckwith.
Maybe, but it's Martin Benson who plays Maurice and he played
the head vogue on the poetry reading Vogue on in the TV
version, I think the radio version of Hitchhiker's Guide to
the Galaxy. Yes, I had him down as being in
Hitchhikers, yeah. He has an excellent face.
It's a good, sinister European face, even though he's British.
A face like a sack of anvils. Well, we're on the cast.
We've mentioned El Kissam, We've got George Sanders playing
Benjamin Balon, who's the the millionaire owner of the Chateau
in which all these murders occur.
And George Sanders, I suppose, best known to do best remembered
today, really, is the voice of Shah Khan in The Jungle Book.
That'd be fair. Yeah, I think, I think probably
so and the the the basis for grit pipe thin as well.
Yes, absolutely. He was Mr. Freeze and Batman,
the TV series, although there was a couple of them, wasn't
there? There's a couple of actors that
played Mr. Freeze I believe. I'm not the I'm not the Batman
expert, sadly. OK, he was in the Rebel, of
course, which I rewatched recently.
Rebecca, A film called Operation Snatch, which I'm just including
so I can snigger. Ivanhoe, Manhunt.
And the interesting thing about George Sanders, do you know
about his death? Vaguely, yes.
What do you know? Well, I think it's complicated,
isn't it? Because it was always this idea
that he he killed himself because he was bored or these
suicide notes said he was bored. I think actually it was more
complicated than that, that he did have quite a lot of
debilitating health problems. So I think it's possibly more to
do with the fact that he was, it wasn't just like this is a
really dull afternoon, more that like he would possibly be bored
of having to put up with all his health problems.
But that was always the story that went around suddenly in the
80s, I guess, amongst, certainly not at school, but but yeah,
amongst people who were into the old films and goon shows and
that sort of thing. Did you know George Sanders
committed suicide because he was bored?
That was always the that was always the story.
Yeah, I think, and there's also a suggestion that for years and
years and years leading up to the day that he actually did
kill himself, years he'd been saying right when I reached
whatever age he was, when he died.
I'm not sure what age he was, let's say 63, probably
completely out there, but for years before he was saying when
I reach 63, I'm kidding myself. Right.
I didn't know about that. Yeah, I think, I think that's
the story. But obviously yes what you say
about him being bored as well. Whoever was in that closet
opened the door and knocked Maria unconscious, and whoever
the man was that was in that closet had a reason to be in
that closet. I remember the man.
Because we found his fingerprints.
Missy Bellon and they were your fingerprints.
Why not? It's my house.
I've often been in that closet. For what reason?
Last time was moths. Moths.
Yes, moths.
Maria was complaining of mirths. You mentioned they've got a cast
member from Doctor Strangelove in this, which is I assume
you're talking about Tracy Reed. I am indeed the only woman in
Doctor Strangelove. Yes, yes, it's quite a small
role in this. Even though she plays Madame
Balon, George Sanders wife, it's not a huge role.
She only gets a couple of scenes.
She feels like somebody whose role has been trimmed, like she
was in it more in a longer version or a longer cut.
Possibly, possibly. Yeah, yeah.
Because you'd think of the the wife of the main antagonist.
Is he in the antagon? I mean, I don't know if Dreyfus
is the main antagonist, but you know, the wife of the main
audience suspect. Yes, that.
She would have a a bigger role and she seemed she seemed more
important in the story than the screen time that she was
allowed. Yeah, I think Tracy Read's an
interesting. She seemed to be one of those
names that crops up in a lot of 60s films and early 70s films
without ever really being the star.
Let let's let's just talk the the you know, the the right, the
pre credits sequence, the film. And this is where I was watching
it again. I was thinking 10 or 11 year old
me might have got might have got bored very quickly because
you've got this, this what is it?
5 minute pre credit sequence which is basically just showing
you lots. Of middle-aged people sneaking
around romantically in a Chateau whilst whilst the woman croons a
very repetitive song. Oh, Shadows of Paris, Yes, yeah,
it's and and it's must have been tricky to film that.
Because it's all on take, isn't it?
Yeah, yeah. So what would you call it?
The camera choreography must have been well worked out.
It's the comedy equivalent of Touch of Evil.
Yes, yes. And it's kind of like, yeah,
it's it's like a a typical French sex farce, I suppose.
Or maybe sex comedy. Would you call it I?
Noted it down as being the most 60s possible opening until we
get to the cartoon, which is then now the most 60s possible
opening. Yeah, 60s comedy films up until
about 1966, Yeah, almost. It was obligatory to have an
animated credit sequence, and in this case, it's depati freling.
Is it freling? Yeah, I guess it's Fritz.
Fritz Freling or Fritz Freling? Yeah, which is which is which is
charming. And obviously you've got the the
shot, the dark theme, which is again, Henry Mancini, who did
the Pink Panther thing. He's for me, he's the third one
in the team that he, he, he's, he's the, the, the three people
who who really make Pink Panther films, Pink Panther films at
Sellers, Blake Edwards and Henry Mancini.
I think they're the, that's the, that's the triumvirate.
Is that right word? Yes, that sounds about right,
yeah. That's your your, your vital
trio at the core of the core of what makes a Cluso film a Cluso
film. Yes.
And when we first see Cluso, he's been wrongly or
accidentally assigned to the case because Miguel, the
chauffeur has been shot dead in the shutter and Clouseau has
been assigned to it. In the first shot you see of
him, he's just him in the back seat of the car looking, trying
to look cool and determined. And that's completely undercut
the next scene. He he gets out of the car and
immediately falls in the fountain.
He's swallowing in the water, I suppose.
Hadn't thought of that. Yeah, but this first sequence
where he's interviewing Maria and Maurice, I think.
Is. Brilliant, I think because
there's just so much business, so much little, little comedy
business. You can tell Sellers is at this
point, I mean, I haven't seen any of the other the other
Clouseau films recently, but at this point he's really invested
in putting everything into it. So there is he's doing something
all the time, but he's never phoning it in in this film,
right? There's plenty of films he does
phone it in. I don't know as clues whether he
does with the Clueso films, but certainly in this one he's
making the most of every gag and even the silliest gags he makes
them land. And I'm sure that there's a
couple of ad libs, sellers, ad libs in this scene with Maria
Gambrelli in her room. There's the bit where she says
you're all wet. Is it raining?
No, it's just the stupid driver of mine parked too close to the
fountain. You should get out of these
clothes immediately you catch your death of pneumonia.
You will. Yes, yes, I probably will, but
it's all part of life's rich pageant, you know?
That's a seller's line. I just something.
About it, yes, yeah. Also the bit later on where he
gets, I mean, this pulled me out of it slightly because it's an
out of character line. It's not saying that, Clouseau
would say. It's very much a Peter Teller
thing when he gets his hand trapped in the globe.
In the opposite, he says, nurse screens.
That is just directly lifted from the Goon show.
Isn't it? Yes, but Clouseau wouldn't say
that in that. No.
Text at all nurse screens, please.
As he extricates his hand from the globe, he then says, look,
I've got Africa all over my hand.
And you can see that. The scene quite quickly fades as
Stark tries not to laugh. Get.
Me out of here, there's some screams.
Look, I've got Africa all over my hand now.
Elkisema corpses. At one point I.
Don't know if you notice that. Yes, after he.
Tears this is a bit later on in the film after he tears his
trousers he's he's put his key into the lock, but his key is
attached to his trousers and then he closes the drawer the
the the drawer that was formerly locked.
He closes it and his trousers tear.
And yes, she she visibly corpses.
But I think it still works because in that situation the
character probably would be laughing at that anyway, so it's
quite nice. But if you think the the the
next clues, well, the next Sellers clueso film, which is
return of the Pink Panther, which is what 11 years later?
Famously, there's the scene with, well, there's a couple of
scenes with Catherine Shell corpsing at at Sellers business
and they've, and there's there's one famous scene where Cliche is
in disguise, trying to chat her up, trying to get information
out of her. And the actress just can't stop
laughing. And Edwards in the end left it
in because that was they they couldn't do it without her
laughing. And they just thought, Oh well,
it's quite charming, so let's just leave it in.
Yeah, same with Peter Bull and Doctor Strangelove of course.
I wonder if Peter Sellers is is responsible for the most on
screen corpsing in feature films?
Quite, quite possibly, quite possibly that someone needs to
write a monograph on that or a thesis.
Yeah, just in that scene with the trouser ripping and the the
arm of his jacket coming off. I love little, little touches
like he's he's he's talking to Hercule earlier in the scene.
And as he's talking to him, he walks around his desk to the
window and he stands next to a framed photograph on the wall of
Clue. So being decorated by Charles de
Gaulle. Oh, yes.
Which was apparently created by unit stills photographer Norman
Grace. Be it, I think it's pronounced
little touches, little details like that.
I, I really like he also by mistake.
And I don't know if it's intentional.
In the script he calls. At one point he calls Hercule
Miguel, did you notice? Oh, he does, doesn't he?
Yes, Yeah, actually, no, I, I I assumed it was deliberate, but
now you come to mention it might not have been.
But he he makes it work because it is just it's part of who.
So getting increasingly flustered.
Yeah, going back to the scene with Maria Gambrelli in her room
when he lights a cigarette and he puts the lit lighter back in
his pocket and then basically sets his coat on fire.
Now hang on, how's his coat gone on fire?
It's. Soaking wet, I noticed that.
Too. And also, George Sanders doesn't
even attempt a French accent, does he?
Let's face it now, I assumed he was supposed to be English, but
no, he's Monsieur Balon, isn't he?
Of course, yes. But he's, he's making no, no
attempt. I mean, if, if you, if you're
watching George Sanders, you want, you want the full George
Sanders. You don't want him doing a
ruining his lovely mellifluous voice with a cod French accent.
No, you want you want the full thing you do.
Going back to what you said about the he, he parks up and
comes out of, you know, the very start of this scene, the car
parks up and immediately gets out and falls into the water.
I think that's one of the well that's I think that's the
trademark comedy certainly of this film.
The trademark comedy style is that there's no, none of the
gags that I can remember are set up and then paid off later.
They're all all that I remember immediate set up and then
immediately paid off, which in a way makes them funnier.
So it's the scene. I think I laughed the bit I
laughed the hardest at was the bit where he knows he's in his
office and he knows that Maria Gambrelli is coming in back at
this stage. I mean, immediately he gets a
bit of a crush on it because he's he's quite close to the
real Peter Sellers in that regard.
Probably that's true. He's very excited about the real
about Maria Gambrelli coming to coming to his office.
So he he carefully positions a chair for her to sit in, goes
over to the blind, pulls the blind down, turns around and
immediately falls over the chair.
He's just positioned, which I hooted at.
And I think other films might go, oh, he's going to fall over
that chair. Just you wait, he's going to
fall out. Watch he's going to fall over
the chair. But this film he immediately
does it. And there's another bit in the
very fit end scene or the, the the big climactic whodunnit
scene where he's addressing all the the assembled suspects and
he opens a set of double doors to check there's no one there,
closes them, puts his hands in his pockets, then leans back
against the door and immediately falls through, which is great.
So I like that that that it isn't.
It's its own sort of unique take of of just the gag immediately
happening. Millie Here's a few comedy
scenes with doors in this film. There's the bit where he's
knocked Cato out or whatever and and he kicks open the door of
the kitchen triumphantly and then turns to say something else
to Cato and turns back. Just the door smacks him in the
face. And we don't see it.
We see it from the from the inside of the kitchen.
There's also when he it's just the pool scene when he, Oh yeah,
storms out of the pool room but on the wrong side of the door.
Yes, which I remember thinking that was the funniest thing when
I was a kid. I didn't know comedy could do
that. Although I think I'm right in
saying from memory that there's a recurring gag, if you like, in
this film. There's a few recurring gags,
but there's one specific one that I thought was the funniest
thing is when Clouseau keeps releasing Maria Gambrelli from
prison, all these subsequent murders keep occurring and she
keeps going back to prison. And then he keeps, he keeps
releasing her because he wants to follow her because he's
convinced she's shielding the true murderer for whatever
misguided reason. But every time he releases her,
he's he's outside the prison in disguise.
And the first time it's I think he's a balloon cellar.
And then he's a street artist and a policeman comes up on both
occasions and says, do you have a license?
And then license. And then smash cut to this
friendship government of a black Mariah.
With those stupid sirens speeding off to jail even it's
it's an unlicensed balloon cellar, but he'd be still being
speed off to jail at high speed. Yes, True.
Never thought of that. Yeah, It's not like he's a, it's
not like he's been. He's been discovered with a
bloody knife in his hand above a.
Corpse. So he never just says I'm a
policeman. No.
And then and then it happens, it happens twice.
And then it happens two other times.
Once when he when he's dressed as a hunter and he doesn't have
a hunting licence. And then finally when when he
and Maria Gambrelli stuck in a in a traffic smile up naked in
his incluso his mini. And she gets the screaming AB
dabs. Yes, I just remember thinking as
a child that was so. It was the repetition that made
it funny more than anything else, I think.
Yes. And there's also, there's also
always the the gag of whatever's on the back of the police van as
it's speeding away. So the first time it's the
balloons floating out the back. When it's after he gets picked
up for being the hunter, the dead crow is hanging from the
back just kind of dangling. Then the final time after they
get picked up for being naked, it's it's three policemen
attached to back and staring. Yeah.
You have a license to sell these balloons.
License. And incidentally, listeners will
have heard me right at the top of the show just before the the
theme tune paying homage to these sequences.
And I want to thank the brilliant actor Paul Putner for
so kindly lending his considerable acting and vocal
skills to the scene. Paul, thanks mate, Appreciate
it. The the billiard scene is
inspired, of course. I have to say I I really as a as
a clumsy person, I really empathize hard with the scene
where he's trying to put the all the cues back into the rack.
But he does at that point and that is, it is in that scene
that what that scene where the where Clouseau demonstrates that
he has actually done some proper detective work for once because
he's checked Balon's alibi because because the night of the
murder, Balon said that he flew in from London on a on a 11:00
flight or something like that. And, and Clusso says, well, I
checked and that flight was cancelled.
I put it to you that it was, you know, blah, blah, blah.
And then and then Bell on kind of wrong foots him by saying
it's not kind of shrugging. And still it's saying, well,
well, I caught an earlier flight because I wanted to be with
Maria Gambrali while my wife was out.
And this kind of discombobulates Clusso, and there's that famous
line. I submit Inspector Bellon.
He calls him Inspector Bellon. You know it's that.
I didn't notice. That, and I submit, Inspector
Bellon, that you arrived home, found Miguel with Maria
Gambrelli and killed him in a writ of fellas Jage.
There's a very, very brief appearance by a later member of
a very famous sitcom with a with a French Connection, Not the
Fringe connection, but. Oh yes, I know who you mean
because I saw the name in the credits but I didn't spot who it
was. So for some reason, I'm not
quite sure why Clouseau wants to go because Madame Bell on Tracy
Reed has gone off the the the the she almost runs over
Clouseau and her kill as she drives off somewhere and
Clouseau wants to question her, I guess.
So he. Goes to this rather swanky
apartment building where she's reportedly at.
I guess it's she's she's attending some sort of recital.
Is it some, some, something, some society event?
And this is the bit where he rushes through the door and goes
right through the window and down into the canal.
But the but the singer, the soprano is that I don't know.
Who it was? Is is Rose Hill?
Was the knobs, the knobs, the flashing?
Madam Fanny, that was her name, wasn't it from?
Was it from a lower low? Yeah, he was often in bed with
Jack Hague. Yes, that's right.
As Monsieur Leclaire, she was one of my favorite characters
from a lower low, actually. Oh yeah.
She she because she, she just, she didn't take any shit from
Renee, did she? That, I mean, that was a very
good. It got a bit as most British
sitcoms did. Eventually it kind of got a bit
silly and. It did, yes.
Unravelled. But the early ones, same with
like last, the Summer Wine, like the early ones are really,
really good. Yeah.
Before it just sort of started, a lot of, I think a lot of long
running British sitcoms just start to do the thing that they
do. But before, before they've
decided upon the thing that is that they do, they're they're
often quite inventive and quite tightly written and interesting.
And I think that's one of them. Yeah.
It was just, yeah, it was just a bit kind of lazy farce.
Which is a bit like what happened with the Clueso
franchise. Yes.
By the end, by Revenge, it was fart gags more or less.
Well, actually on that, on that thought, it's, it's, it's, it's
a thought I had about Clouseau. And and Clouseau isn't written
as a full clown yet. And you, you, you often see many
comedy characters there. There are several essay videos
on YouTube about Homer Simpson as an example of that, or even
something sort of well respected and quite recent like Friday
Night Dinner. There's a couple of characters
in that Martin and Jim start off seeming like quite rounded human
beings and by the end of it are clowns just doing comedy things
rather than acting like real people.
And Homer Simpson is is the platonic ideal, I think is maybe
the word. Yeah, because you've you've got
Golden era Simpsons, Homer and Simpsons, which is really
series, series 3 to series eight maybe.
And then and then you start getting what they what they now
refer to as Jackass Homer. Yes.
He's just grass. That's it where he his only
function is to be the cartoon Homer Simpson.
So in in the early days and in golden era, he's playing an A
recognizable, exaggerated archetype of that kind of post
glory days Boomer. So post post sixties 70s, he's
he's an 80s boomer, essentially, which I think is also without
wanting to, to get into a too much into a, a Simpsons essay.
I think that's possibly a, a big reason why modern Simpsons
doesn't work because they have to keep the characters the same
age, but update them generation in hom Homer just isn't he's not
a millennial, he's he's a boomer.
That's his, that's his, that's what he's representing.
And that's what he's the, he's the archetype.
He's a he's of that free electric band generation that
happened. Yeah, because he was listening
to Queen at college when they wear flashbacks to his youth.
Yeah, and I think Marge was in like the the peace movement and
everything for the Vietnam War. Oh yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. In fact, he saw the moon
landing, didn't he as a child? That's right.
Yes, Well, he would. No, he didn't.
His dad was watching it and he was listening to I think sugar,
Sugar by the archies. If if my.
Yes. Was it yummy?
Yummy, yummy. One of the Yeah, he's listening
to bubble gum pop. And and then by, I don't know,
season 1516, he's into grunge something.
Yeah, he's not Gen. X and he's not a millennial.
He's tried being a Gen. X and he's tried being a
Renault, but that's not the it's he's not an archetype of those
generations. He's he's he only works as an
architect, the same way that Mr. Burns only works as a Edwardian
and Grandpa only works as somebody who fought in World War
Two or was around in the 20s and a young man in the 30s.
Yeah. That those characters don't
really work shifted forwards in time.
And I think that's a big reason that that he that Homer has just
become the cartoon Homer Simpson rather than anything resembling
a real human being, which is possibly not why it happened to
Clouseau. But I think it's interesting in
this film, you know, having more of an idea of Clouseau from the
other films that a he's he's a moderately OK police detective.
He's not brilliant. He's not Colombo, but he's OK at
his job. And he's for the wrong reasons.
But he's correct in because all the the whole the the recurring
scenes of him saying the facts are the case to to Hercule all
the facts of the case point very definitely to the fact that Elke
Summers is the murderer and on that strength, you know,
circumstantially. But it's it's looking very, very
likely that she's the murderer. Of course we know she's not
because she's Elke Summer and he's infatuated with her.
So he doesn't believe her. She's the murderer.
But he's correct. He's made to look a bit stupid
for the fact that in the face of overwhelming evidence, he
refuses to believe that she could possibly be the murderer.
But he's correct. He's correct, isn't he?
Absolutely, yeah. But also the whole what the the
bit that I that possibly the bit I almost enjoyed the most just
for its its own sake, was the date scene where he goes on an
extender. It's about 10 minutes of the
runtime. He goes On this date with Maria
Gambrelli and interestingly, they both have a lovely time.
They don't know. So there's murders happening in
the background. It's it's it's quite it's
actually quite dark, but they don't notice the murders and
they have a lovely time and he actually seems like a really fun
date. They have a really nice time to
get. So he's not play he there's 10
or 15 minutes where he doesn't ruin anything.
He's he's he's he's the romantic lead in the film.
And she because she's quite a, quite a goofy cat, not goofy,
but she's not she's she's they're they're a, they're a
sweet couple, I think. Yeah, they are.
Yeah, she's got. No, there's not.
There's no side to her or anything.
And and yeah, Cluso doesn't do anything wrong.
It's just the the assassin. Yes, that's it.
Who we can spoilers, who we come to realize later is is Dreyfus
the assassin has got really poor shot.
It's a really poor shot, basically.
The the date is ruined, but by two other people who aren't
actually on the date. It's Cato eventually ruins the
date. Well, it's a combination of Cato
and and Dreyfus, because Dreyfus leaves a bomb in the flat and
then Cato attacks them. It's them that ruins the date.
But they're having a lovely time and they're they're really well
suited to each other and they have great chemistry and she's
not upset by anything he does, which you think probably in the
later films, it would likely be will bring as much comedy out of
this as we can. But it's at that point kind of
the the outright gag rate stops and we but not in a bad way.
But we just have a, you know, see them having a really fun day
together and and work. And even he seems less clumsy
when he's really drunk, because the only slightly clumsy thing
is that he he's carrying her up to his room and he lightly bumps
her head, but she doesn't mind. It's not a proper bonk and it's
not really played as a gag. And it maybe even was just part
of, you know, actually when they were filming it that he did
that. But she doesn't like, it's not a
proper noise that you get or anything like that.
And a coconut colliding sort of thing.
And he's, he look, he's, you know, he's almost going to,
they're almost going to go all the way.
And then and then like you say, KJ ruins it.
And then, and then there's the bomb.
And. And just on bomb there's there's
little flourishes, little linguistic flourishes that
sellers is is bringing into the accent of clueso like berm and.
Berm and mirth. Mirth and that, but it's not as
pronounced, no pun intended, as it would become in later films.
The. Yes, it's not full Crabtree.
No, no, it's not getting back to All Out, though.
Also in that date scene, nice little appearance by the actor
Toot Lemkoff. He's been in a number of Sellers
films that we've talked about on Goon Pod.
He was in wrong Arm of the Law, he was in the wrong box.
He was in something else, which I've forgotten, but he was in.
He's worked with Sellers before. Which character does he play?
He's the Cossack. I didn't show them that right.
But I suppose the sequence of this film that most people
remember is the camp sunshine. Yes.
Which is a nudist camp. Nudist colony?
I don't quite know why Maria Gambrali goes there, do you?
I mean, I have an idea why Blake Blake.
Blake Seven. I have an idea why Blake Edwards
your Terry Nation. I I have an idea why Blake
Edwards wanted I could to go there, but no, it yeah, I
couldn't quite what I mean. I I just say it's pretty, even
if it's the most, It's probably my least favorite scene in the
film. Oh, really?
OK. Just because it's it's just kind
of the one gag that now he's in the nude.
Yes, well, there's a nice little that love the little bit where
Cluso is has just discovered the body of Doo Doo, the maid, yes,
who's for some reason being well, we later find out why
she's been killed. But anyway, and then and then
Maria Gambrelli is behind a hedge and she beckons closer
over and he walks around the hedge and as he walks around his
eyes widen as he takes her in in her in her all her glory.
Just I think he's faints. I just love that he's hilarious.
And then and then a little bit later, they're both behind a
tree. We don't see them, we just hear
them. And she says something like, I'm
so cold, look at those goose pimples.
And you just hear the single guitar chord.
What? Are we going to do?
We must do something. We can't live here without our
clothes. I'm getting cold.
Just look at those goose pimples.
But of course, we yes, we have to mention that joke doesn't
work. And if you don't know that he's
to preserve his modesty from the the camera, he's holding a
guitar. Well, he's holding Turk's
guitar. That's right, yes, he's borrowed
Brian Forbes guitar. Right, we've got to talk about
Turk Thrust. Yes.
What do you know about Turk Thrust do?
You know, I know, I know he's billed as an actor even though
he's actually played. But he's, you know, he's
building the cast at the start of the film and introducing Turk
Thrust, who's actually the film director, Brian Forbes, I
believe. Film director and actor Brian
Forbes, who was very good friends with Sellers, he and his
wife. Despite sellers behavior.
Well, yeah, despite Sellers wanting to swap wives with his
with Nanette, wanting Nanette Newman to go and live with him,
and wanting Missus Sellers to go and live with Brian Forbes.
But no, Brian Forbes was a very good friend, very loyal to
Sellers, and both he and Nanette did a lot for him in terms of
when Sellers was going through some, some bad periods, they
would often go around to his house to be with him and, you
know, make sure that he didn't do anything silly or whatever.
You know, so they, they talk him down from things basically.
So they were very close. And it was a couple of years
earlier, Sellers and Forbes were, were at an airport.
They were flying out somewhere, or they were flying in from
somewhere. I'm not quite sure.
But a journalist cornered them and asked them, you know, where
they'd been or where they were going or what they were doing.
And Sellers, just on the spot, said that they were flying to
Paris to sign up a new pop star. And the journalist said, what's
this? What's the pop star's name?
And Sellers said Turk thrust. Oh, really?
OK. And off the back of that, there
was a 1963 LP called Full Britannia that Sellers made with
Anthony Newly and Joan Collins, which was kind of based around
the whole perfumo business. And Turk Thrust's name appears
on that LP. OK.
And then of of course, they decide they want.
I guess Sellers must have insisted that Brian Forbes have
a cameo and Forbes agrees. And they decide it would be
funny if he builds himself as Turk Thrust and then.
And it is. It is, and then in The Curse of
the Pink Panther some 20 odd years later, Roger Moore comes
in and he's credited as Turk Thrust the 2nd.
Really. All that's nice.
But that bit with the ACT, I mean Sellers acting this one
thing he said about Sellers earlier about just how how the
character of Clouseau is in this film, not quite as madcap, not
quite as inept as as he would like to become.
Sellers acting is just so honed in this just so he's he's just
such a good actor in this film. The bit with Turk thrust when
the penny drops that he he can't get into this nudist colony
without taking his clothes off. It's just the, the look of
despairing resignation in his face, even though, right, he's
a, he's a, a, an inspector in the suite.
Surely he could. He could overrule that no nudity
rule, surely. I think most of this film
wouldn't happen if he just simply said, look, I'm a
policeman, OK? Yeah.
I mean most Colombo episodes as well.
Oh yeah. What is it now?
Colombo. But hang on, I'm a policeman.
You have to talk to me. There's been a murder.
There are, there are a few occasions in Colombo where he
does, what's the word pull rank, That's the wrong phrase.
But he does, he does assert himself, but it's always, it's
almost always when he's dealing with someone at the same level
as him in terms of class level social strata.
Yes, whenever he's dealing with the killer or or the people in
the killer's orbit who who always tend to be the sort of
the the the rich set. Yes.
Up across, he's always very deferential up until the point
when he has to kind of show his hand at the end.
Yes, apart from that one occasion.
There's the occasion where he kicks off at Landon Nimoy, which
is which is a brilliant scene. Oh, and yes, a stitch in crime.
Yes, yes. There's also a scene similar
scene in an episode set where there's a motor set at a gym and
it's with the actors, the actor called Robert Conrad, I think,
and he has a go at him as well. It really has a go at him.
I. Warned you in my office, don't
you? I.
Checked your alibi for the time before you got to the house.
It doesn't wash. A little off topic, but I really
like it because it's so rare when you actually see furious
Columbo and yeah, and the the Leonard Nimmo, when he actually
slams his hand on the table, it's like actual furious
Columbo. And it's because it's, in those
cases, I think it's because a second murder has either
happened or is about to happen that Colombo could have, Colombo
could have stopped if, if, if you know what I mean.
Yes. I, I think that's more or less
the reason that he. Yeah, the mask slips.
One day I'll do a Colombo podcast maybe.
Yeah, I think when you've exhausted.
Yeah. British comedy films and the
goon show it's. Colombo time.
But would you believe, and I'm
not joking, there's at least 6 Columbia podcasts out there of
some shape or form. I know.
I can't believe that, actually. Yeah, yes.
So the the final scene with the we mentioned the the
synchronizing watcher scene, which was very funny and and
improvised. And Hercule has to kill the
lights at A at a pre agreed time.
I think 8:00 isn't it? While Clouseau's in with all the
suspects because he wants, I'm not quite sure what is the
reason he wants to kill the lights.
I can't remember what the. I don't know if that's ever
given. Yeah, this is this is a thought
I had because it eventually the lights do.
Yeah. So it's it's unless he's just
trying to do the the actual, you know, the the cliched.
He just thinks that what that's what you do when you have when
you do a Cruden it Agatha Christie style, all in the
drawing room reveal that you kill the lights at some point,
but I don't think it's ever revealed.
And and when he eventually does kill the lights, that gag goes
nowhere, so I don't know if something was edited out.
Well, they just all rush out and they.
Do they just rush outside and go into the car so it doesn't lead
anywhere that that gag? It might just be there for for
the the whole synchronizing watches bit.
In seven seconds it will be precisely 243 2:43.
Your watch must have stopped at 7:46.
Yes, yes, 746. Yes.
No, no, no, no. Now it's nearly 747 I.
Think it's all right 747? Are we synchronizing on 747?
That's what you said. No, I said.
It was nearly at now 10 seconds to 747.
I got 10 seconds after 7:40. You have to put your watch back.
It's all right, all right. 5 seconds yes 443.
Two one now. Strange the second hand is not
moving sticking. It's moving now.
What? Yes, yes it is.
Yes, I know that. I can see that it's moving now.
I now have 747 and 23 seconds. All right, let's synchronize on
747 and a half 5432 one. No, no.
Watcher stopped. You know.
What? Just stop coming here.
I picked up something this time round, which is the first time I
and I might I might have misinterpreted this bit, right?
I probably have. So the whole synchronizing watch
is seen at the beginning before Clusor goes into the Chateau.
At one point his watch stops and then it starts again and then.
I think Hercules watch stops as well.
So Clueso has to give Hercules his watch and Hercules goes to
the wherever the mains are in the Chateau ready to switch off
the electricity. And Clueso is in the drawing
room with all the suspects. And at one point the phone rings
and it's Hercule phoning from the basement or whatever.
And he says to Clueso, what time is it now?
For start, I'd love sellers to have ad libbed.
I have it written down on a piece of papers.
That would have been too much, wouldn't it?
But he says, what time is it? And Cluso says, what?
And he says, your watch has stopped, right?
And then Cluso sort of panics a little bit and just says count.
And then Hercules says what? He says count.
And Hercules says, oh, count yes, now is that.
I can't wonder myself. Is that meant to be?
You're meant to think that he's Miss Miss Heard what he said to
him. I think it might.
Be. I'm assuming that's what it's
meant to be. I don't know, it might not.
Kind of Richard Herring mode. I said count.
No, I did wonder that, Yeah. I wonder if that was a
particularly naughty improvisation.
Also the the the policeman downstairs at the big lever to
turn the power off with a stopwatch or a watch.
That's very Columbo. Yes.
That's almost that's almost identical to a scene in the the
The Twins episode with Martin Landau.
Oh yes, where where the the TV comes back?
The very angry lady with the television, yes.
Missus Peck, whatever her name is.
Yes, and television comes back on purple.
Purple. That's right, people who don't
know what or haven't watched Colombo will wonder what the
hell we're talking about. But.
It's incentive to go and watch Colombo.
Yes. But getting back to this, this
kind of the denouement of Shot the Dark, the greatest, I think
the greatest 4th wall breaking in comedy history.
Yeah. And it only happens once he he
makes the most of, makes the most of it.
And I'd love to know who came up with that, who decided on that.
It's just, it's so everyone's so Clouseau's lost control of the
room. Literally everyone's squabbling
with each other and yes, like a mini brawl.
And, and Clouseau keeps trying to sort of interject and, and
put himself in the middle of all this and he keeps being pushed
away and pushed out of the out of the way.
And at one point he just turns and stares straight down the
barrel of the camera with this really cross expression on his
face. And it's absolutely brilliant.
And it would probably if, if overused, it would be too much.
But just the. Once it's just the once that the
climax of the film, it's this despairing look.
It's. Like guys?
See what I've got to work with. You see what I'm up against?
And, and he gets, and at the end, right at the end, you know,
there's the explosion and Dreyfus has killed all these
people. And and yet Dreyfus doesn't go
to the guillotine because he turns up 11.
Years. That's strange, isn't it?
Yes, he's, I think Dreyfus kills 10 people in 10 people.
Yep. And it's still in his job, his
next film. But right it is the out and out
villain of this film. He is and then he becomes a
cartoon villain in Strikes Again when he wants to take over the
world. But right at the end, Clouseau
has got the girl, he's Maria Gambrelli.
They they, they recognize their love for each other and they
embrace. And then Cato ruins the moment
by attacking them and they all fall in the fountain and and the
credits roll and I think it's a lovely neat little tying up of
of everything. Yeah, and I think there's it
proves there's nothing wrong. It doesn't take away from the
character to allow the comedy wrapful character to get the
girl at the end. Yeah.
And it's like I really like I mentioned earlier Friday night
dinner. I think it's an excellently
written and acted very classy sitcom.
But I think in the final series it it gets very broad.
And one bit that particularly won't say annoyed me, but
frustrated me is there's a bit where I don't know if you know
the the sitcom, but Mark Heaps character, Jim, the strange next
door neighbour who starts off just being a bit strange, but by
the end of it is a a full on Homer Simpson buffoon who
doesn't exist in any way in the real world.
But there's an episode where he he has a love interest with
Sally Phillips. So Sally Phillips is playing a
European au pair, I think, and they they really hit it off and
they they you know, they have sparks and he they're just going
upstairs together at the end. But for some reason they felt it
was necessary that he wasn't allowed to get the girl.
And so she's wearing AT shirt with a picture of a wolf on it.
So he sees the picture of wolf and goes wolf and gets scared
and runs away. It's like, why?
Hey, you know, he's he's not that.
That seems just so that even for Jim, that seems wildly after
character that he would think the drawing of a wolf on her
T-shirt was a real wolf. But also, I think it doesn't
matter. It doesn't ruin the character.
I think you can allow the character to have a happy ending
than to get the girl and it it doesn't matter.
And it's quite nice. And I think we'd actually really
like it if if Jim did have that moment of happiness.
And I think this kind of this this shows it that that Clouseau
is a incompetent buffoon for the most part, even though he's he's
not as big and as big and incompetent buffoon as he is for
the other films. But he's he's allowed to get the
girl at the end and it doesn't detract from him at all.
No, not at all. Not at all.
There was largely positive reviews for the film when it
came out. The Daily Mail was a bit sniffy.
Who'd have thunk it? Daily Mail like that?
The the reviewer, Cecil Wilson said.
Cecil Wilson is ever a more Daily Mail name than.
Cecil Wilson, he said if if he meaning clueso, he leaves me
less limp with laughter than other Sellers creations, it is
because I would rather not see an actor of this comic stature
playing feed to so many props and mechanical gags.
I like the gentle dignity of this Clueso character, but the
fun depends not so much on what he does as on what things do to
him. And in a seller's picture, that
is the wrong way round for me. I.
Mean each their own I suppose, but I think that's slightly
misreading it. Yeah, the People newspaper, 31st
of January 1965. Just a little tiny little piece
saying one important guest was missing from a party given last
week after the press showing of A Shot in the Dark.
It was the star of the film, Peter Sellers, when he did not
turn up for the party at the Hilton Hotel and Park Lane.
I was told he was along the road at the Dorchester biting his
nails, probably squaring Britt Eckland.
'S got to have a hobby. But yeah, so I'm writing him a
little note to set his mind at rest.
Dear Peter, what are you worrying about?
A Shot in the Dark is one of the funniest films you've made.
The audience gurgled with delight all the time.
That's nice. They didn't laugh, but they
gurgled. They gurgled.
Commissioner Dreyfus? Yes, my darling.
I was just about to call you. I'm on my way.
I've got the cheese and the Beaujolais, my love.
Kiss the children for me. Hold on.
Yeah. Your wife is on the other line.
Tell her I'm out of town. The character of Dreyfus is is
quite interesting that he is such such an unsympathetic
character. Like the first thing we ever see
of him is a gag about him philandering.
Yes. He's talking on the phone to to
somebody and that's great. We assume it's his wife.
And then his assistant comes, Andre comes in and says, well,
your wife's on the line. And also he doesn't care what he
hears. There's been a murder at the
Chateau and he says so. So he's he's, he's a very, he's
a very unpleasant person other than murdering 10 people.
But also he reminds he's quite a 1964 character because he
reminded me a lot also of a couple of characters from that
other 1964 film, Hard Day's Night.
He's very like Victor Spinetti's TV producer.
That someone is someone incompetent or meddling.
In that case, Paul's grandfather.
But I've seen your grandfather. He lives in your house.
He he's driving into that kind of stammering.
Everyone's entitled to two, aren't they?
He's he, he's in a similar way he reduces him to that kind of
stammering, insanely giggling wreck.
But also Norm in that the man, the manager, Norm played by
Norman Rossington, who who is inexplicably driven to despair
by John Lennon, who's actually quite well behaved nowadays
night. I've never quite really
understood why Norm has such a beef with John, who's just
really just trundles about being mercurial and mischievous.
But it's a similar sort of thing that this that they're all
they're they're driven a bit bonkers because I think also in
this, this so isn't that bad. He is in the other films
possibly, but he's not in this film.
He's not. He's not bad enough to drive
someone that crazy. No, absolutely not.
The other, the other thought I had is just about the fact that
it is a 1964 film and I think it's sitting right in that kind
of divide, sort of slight no man's land between old fashioned
films from the 50s and early 60s and groovy films from probably
1965 onwards. In the same way that Hard Day's
Night is, because it's in the the nudist colony scene, there
is a band playing and it's a jazz band comprised of
middle-aged men. And I think if the film was shot
a year later, it would be a hot band consisting of young men
playing, kind of. It would be and.
Groovy library music. That band, that band were picked
up from Ronnie Scott's by the way.
Blake Edwards saw them playing at Ronnie Scott's, paid them £12
each to film that. Take your clothes off and blow a
horn or whatever. But even like A Hard Day's
Night, even though that is a a film about young men in a pop
band, it's still a relatively sober film.
It isn't when you compare it to Help, which is very much a
groovy film. Yeah, yeah, it's true.
Yeah, it's true. It's, it's quite, it has it.
Most of the characters are quite middle-aged and everyone's
wearing suits and has a nice neat haircut.
And it's much more of the early 60s comedy.
No, not quite comedy of manners, but quite low key comedy of kind
of like middle-aged men reacting to things.
Yeah. Whereas you go into like 1965
and and help when it's much broader and you have the silly
stroke offensive accents and much more running around and
larking and. And young people.
Yeah, much more. Yeah, much younger people and of
course bright colour as well. But this is but this, this film
we've just watched is a very vividly, beautifully colour.
So it's it's not so much that and they're on beaches and
they're skiing and there's larking in it, but it is just
much it's much groovier. So I think this is this 64 is is
the tail end of of pre groovy, which I like.
I like it. It's quite a it's quite cozy.
It's it's nice, like A Hard Day's Night.
You can have a little holiday in 1964 when you watch this.
Yes, All right. So I think we've, I think we've
gone through that fairly comprehensively.
Brilliant film. If if you haven't seen Shot in
the Dark, please seek it out. I think I sent you a YouTube
link for it, Adam, and I think it occurred to me the other day.
I'm sure it's available on Amazon Prime.
It is on Amazon prime. I actually got the DVD in the
end because I wanted to see it like in nice quality and I'm
glad I did because particularly the Reds, the Reds and are
beautiful yes. So it's definitely worth seeing
in in good quality because because that that mid 60s film
stock is gorgeous. It it really is.
OK. So Adam, thank you so much as
always. Thank you.
Now the the novel, do you want to do you want to give the a
plug for the novel? The title is lost in the garden.
That's Lost in the Garden by Adam S Leslie.
It's has a very distinctive pink and white cover.
And yes, if you'd like a bit of folkology, folk horror and
ontology and shortwave radio and childhood memories of ice cream
and that sort of thing, public information films and distant
villages and mysteries about missing people, then give it a
go. Absolutely can.
Can only be a matter of time before Netflix pick up the
option. Well, that would be lovely.
Come on Netflix, do your bit, do your thing, do do your best.
Adam, thank you so much and catch up with you soon.
Have a good one, speak to you soon.
See you soon. Bye bye.
Cheerio Bye. None.