The Pink Panther

The Pink Panther (1963) is Blake Edwards' caper comedy you can watch online on iFILM. This is the film that launched the whole franchise and introduced cinema's most accident-prone detective, Inspector Clouseau, played by Peter Sellers.

The Pink Panther itself is a fabulous diamond, flawed by a leaping-panther shape at its heart, owned by Princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale). A suave jewel thief known as the Phantom is out to steal it — really Sir Charles Lytton, played with effortless charm by David Niven. The chase converges on a Tyrolean ski resort, where the princess, the gentleman thief, his scheming nephew and the bumbling Clouseau all collide. Clouseau is certain he's about to nab his man, never suspecting that the Phantom is also his wife's lover.

The screenplay was built around Niven, but Sellers and his pratfalls quietly stole the picture and turned Clouseau into the star of the series. Henry Mancini wrote the slinking theme, instantly recognizable even to people who've never seen the movie. It's elegant, unhurried comedy from an age when laughs came from timing rather than volume. Stream The Pink Panther (1963) online on iFILM.