History Film / AShotInTheDark

* TheOner: The

* IconicSequelCharacter: With this film promoting Clouseau from a supporting character to star of the series, Kato and Dreyfus were introduced as his manservant and his eternally frustrated boss, respectively.

* AnimatedCreditsOpening: By George Dunning & Associates, who are more famous for ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine'' (though Creator/DepatieFrelengEnterprises still produced the titles).

Loosely adapted from a 1961 Broadway play of the same name, which was itself based on a French play called ''L'Idiote (The Idiot)'' and featured a cast including Creator/WilliamShatner, Julie Harris, and Creator/WalterMatthau (who won a Tony Award for his performance). Director Creator/BlakeEdwards wrote the same screenplay adaptation with William Peter Blatty, who later went on to write ''Literature/TheExorcist''.

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a_shot_in_the_dark_poster.jpg]]

* NeverTheObviousSuspect: Exaggerated for laughs. Throughout the whole movie, Maria Gambrelli is constantly found standing over dead people, with her hand on the murder weapon, she's completely incapable of providing an explanation, and she has a few dark secrets involving the murdered people. The only thing that would make her an even more obvious suspect would be if she broke out into a MotiveRant right then and there. All other policemen believe this to be an open-and-shut case. And to their exasperation, Clouseau ''never'' believes her to be the murderer.

* KarmaHoudini: Dreyfus (accidentally) kills four innocent bystanders in an attempt to kill Clouseau, yet no one calls him on it.

Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Creator/PeterSellers), now single, is summoned to the estate of the aristocratic Benjamin Ballon (Creator/GeorgeSanders) to investigate the murder of Ballon's chauffeur. Clouseau's judgment is immediately clouded by his infatuation with the prime suspect, the maid Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer), even as more murders pile up around her. His bungling drives his boss, Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), to homicidal madness. In the meantime, we also meet Cato Fong (Burt Kwouk), Clouseau's Chinese manservant, who -- on Clouseau's orders -- keeps springing surprise martial arts attacks on him.

* AnimatedCreditsOpening: Once again animated by [[Creator/DePatieFrelengEnterprises DePatie-Freleng]], who'd done the credits for the first ''Pink Panther'' film.

* TooDumbToFool: Clouseau refuses to believe that Maria Gambrelli is the murderer, despite her turning up at every murder scene with the weapon and a motive for murder, out of sheer stupidity and love-struck foolishness. He is proved right.

* BeleagueredAssistant: Hercule Lajoy is this to Clouseau. The character didn't appear in subsequent films, although his actor (Graham Stark) did return [[YouLookFamiliar in other roles]].

* NeverMyFault: Guilt of the murders fell, according to everybody but Clouseau, on Maria Gambrelli -- until the end.

* TooStupidToFool: Clouseau refuses to believe that Maria Gambrelli is the murderer, despite her turning up at every murder scene with the weapon and a motive for murder. He is proved right.

Loosely adapted from a 1961 Broadway play of the same name, which was itself based on a French play called ''L'Idiote (The Idiot)'' and featured a cast including Creator/WilliamShatner, Julie Harris, and Creator/WalterMatthau (who won a Tony Award for his performance). Director Creator/BlakeEdwards wrote the screenplay adaptation with William Peter Blatty, who later went on to write ''Literature/TheExorcist''.

* InstrumentalThemeTune: Once again composed by Music/HenryMancini. It was later used as the theme for ''WesternAnimation/TheInspector'' cartoon series.

* RecycledSoundtrack: The opening theme during the credits would be reused in ''WesternAnimation/The PinkPanther'' cartoon "Dial 'P' For Pink, where a burglar tries to break into the Pink Panther's safe, which he uses as a house. S remixed version became the opening and closing theme of ''WesternAnimation/TheInspector''.

* NudistResort: Inspector Clouseau infiltrates a nudist colony to get to Maria, a key witness in the murder he's investigating. The two then have to escape an assassination attempt and end up arrested for public nudity.

* DolledUpInstallment: The original play had nothing to do with Clouseau, but after the success of the first ''Pink Panther'' film the adaptation was written to incorporate him as the lead character.

* NakedFreakOut: When Clouseau and Maria Gambrelli are [[spoiler:caught naked in public]].

* SummationGathering: Subverted; Clouseau has no idea who the killer is, and is just hoping they'll expose themselves by panicking.

* InsaneTrollLogic: Maria keeps turning up at the scene of a murder, holding the murder weapon. Clouseau takes this as evidence that she's innocent.

Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Creator/PeterSellers), now single, is called to the estate of the aristocratic Benjamin Ballon (Creator/GeorgeSanders) to investigate the murder of Ballon's chauffeur. Clouseau's judgment is immediately clouded by his infatuation with the prime suspect, the maid Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer), even as more murders pile up around her. His bungling drives his boss, Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), to homicidal madness. In the meantime, we also meet Cato Fong (Burt Kwouk), Clouseau's Chinese manservant, who -- on Clouseau's orders -- keeps springing surprise martial arts attacks on him.

* BeleagueredAssistant: Hercule Lajoy is this to Clouseau. The character didn't appear in subsequent films, also his actor (Graham Stark) did return [[YouLookFamiliar in other roles]].