Production
The film was "conceived as a sophisticated comedy about a charming, urbane jewel thief, Sir Charles Lytton" (played by Niven); Peter Ustinov was "originally cast as Clouseau, with Ava Gardner as his faithless wife in league with Lytton." After Gardner backed out—the Associated Press reported in November 1962 it was because The Mirisch Company wouldn't meet all her demands—Ustinov also left the project, and Blake Edwards then chose Sellers to replace Ustinov. Janet Leigh turned the lead female role down as she would have been away from the United States for too long a period.
The film was initially intended as a vehicle for Niven, as evidenced by his top billing. As Edwards shot the film, employing multiple takes of improvised scenes, it became clear Sellers, originally considered a supporting actor, was stealing the scenes and resulted in his continuation throughout the film's sequels. When presenting at a subsequent Oscar Awards ceremony, Niven requested his walk-on music be changed from the "Pink Panther" theme, as "that was not really my film."
The film was shot in Cortina d'Ampezzo and Rome, Italy, Paris, France, and Los Angeles, USA, using the Technirama process in an aspect ratio of 2.20:1. According to the DVD commentary by Blake Edwards, the chase scene was an homage to a similar sequence in Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940).
Fran Jeffries sang the song called "Meglio Stasera (It Had Better Be Tonight)" while she danced provocatively around a fireplace.
Read more about this topic: The Pink Panther (1963 Film)
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