Historically, the film was meant to be a vehicle for David Niven. Niven was the suave lead, and Sellers was the supporting comic relief. However, Sellers’ performance was so magnetic and hilariously specific that he hijacked the film. In this first installment, Clouseau is not yet the completely inept man-child he would become in later sequels (like A Shot in the Dark or The Pink Panther Strikes Again ). Here, he is somewhat arrogant but incompetent, a man trying desperately to maintain dignity while his wife (played by Capucine) is having an affair with the prime suspect right under his nose.
When you pull up that 1963 TokyoVideo stream, keep an eye out for these three moments: la pantera rosa 1963 tokyvideo