The year is 1964, and when wasn't starring as three different characters in the biting Cold War satire , he cemented the unorthodox and silly Inspector Jacques Clouseau as a cinematic jewel in one of the best sequels ever made. is a sparkling follow-up movie and should be on any cinephile's list of top ten sequels. It seems almost impossible to equal, or even improve upon, the greatness of made just a year prior, but Sellers is so damn spot-on as the bumbling Clouseau that his unapologetic physical buffoonery became the gold standard that many of the comic actors that followed would seek to duplicate. Sometimes, because Dr. Strangelove was such a brilliant collaboration between the actor and the auteur , it feels like A Shot in the Dark gets slightly overshadowed, and it shouldn't. .

. It appears that a beautiful chambermaid, Maria Gambrelli (), may be responsible for the murder of her lover. When she turns up at the scene of more dead bodies, she becomes the prime suspect. However, Clouseau's uniquely absurd investigative techniques lead to someone else being the perpetrator. , giving Sellers carte blanche to do his thing. Furthermore, the unlikely romance that evolves between Clouseau and Maria works as the inspector seems to fall ass backwards into envious character arcs.

In the 90 minutes of runtime after the whodunit is set up, Sellers' physical comedy holds up 50 years later and firmly entrenches how buffoonery sells to a mass audience. Sellers is entirely in his prime of hapless physical comedy. returns as the beleaguered Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus, as does in the role of Clouseau's karate sparring partner, Kato, who launches a series of hilarious surprise attacks on the Inspector.

Before Peter Sellers, aside from perhaps , there wasn't anyone tapping into the brand of physical comedy that he was. There were silent performers like and who had to exaggerate their mannerisms without the benefit of sound to communicate with the audience. Still, as film rolled into the middle of the 20th century, the big screen had a dearth of silliness. It was who is seemingly blissfully unaware that he comes across as a complete buffoon, drawing the ire of the other characters, particularly Dreyfus.

Alongside Lewis, who could be considered the father of daffy, rubbery-faced absurd comedy, Sellers established the gold standard that others like , , and would strive to achieve as Lt. Frank Drebin, Mr. Bean/Johnny English, and Ace Ventura in the decades that followed, respectively. In particular, Nielsen's interpretation of Drebin in , the comedy series, and movies has the same unfounded confidence and lack of self-awareness that juxtaposes so effectively against slapstick physicality. Unlike Lewis, however, Sellers mastered the art of pratfalls and swinging door-to-the-nose type physical comedy that would become his trademark.

Sadly, 0 at just 54 years of age. Because he died so soon and unexpectedly, some of the Millennial and Zoomer generations may not be familiar with the genius of this genuinely gifted performer. Suppose you happen to be a fan of current actors like Carrey, , or even someone like from Only Murders in the Building. In that case, you owe it to yourself to see A Shot in the Dark and appreciate where the physical funnymen of the last 30 years look for inspiration.