Following the successful French production of Marcel Achard’s 1960 stage play, L’idiote, American writer Harry Kurnitz adapted the story for U.S. audiences. Under the title A Shot in the Dark, the show debuted 18 Oct 1961 at the Booth Theatre on Broadway, where it played for nearly a year before launching a national tour. Just one day after its final Broadway bow, the 23 Sep 1962 LAT indicated that Anatole Litvak planned to direct a motion picture version starring Sophia Loren. A 19 Nov 1962 DV item announced that the Mirisch Corporation had hired Alan Coppel to write the script. Although filming was expected to start the following spring, it was not until 9 May 1963 that DV reported the casting of Peter Sellers in the leading role.
       According to a 28 Oct 1963 DV brief, Litvak left the picture due to illness, and the 30 Sep 1963 DV announced the recent hiring of Blake Edwards, who would serve the dual role of director and producer. A 19 Jun 1964 NYT article claimed that Edwards only agreed to work on the project on condition he be allowed to make “drastic revisions.” Having just completed photography on The Pink Panther (1964, see entry), Edwards decided to refashion the script as a vehicle for Sellers to reprise his role as the bumbling police inspector, “Jacques Clouseau.” After five weeks of rewrites, the updated draft bore little resemblance to Kurnitz’s source material. The 11 Nov 1963 DV reported that Walter Matthau, who was signed to repeat his character from the stage, left the picture in light of the changes. Production was moved to Nov 1963, with locations set in Paris, France, and London, England.
       Just weeks before filming began, the 25 Oct 1963 DV reported that Sophia Loren was recovering from throat surgery in Milan, Italy. Three days later, she was deemed “too ill to work,” and the Mirisch Corp. began to search for her replacement. Shirley MacLaine was reportedly considered, but the role went to Romy Schneider.
       According to a 29 Nov 1963 DV production chart, principal photography was underway on 18 Nov 1963 at the MGM British Studios in England. On 27 Nov 1963, Var reported that Elke Sommer had stepped in for Romy Schneider, who had not yet completed her assignment on Good Neighbor Sam (1964, see entry). A 17 Jan 1964 LAT article confirmed that Sommer used $100,000 of her paycheck to “buy her way out” of two German film commitments in order to sign a three-year contract with MGM.
       The 23 Jun 1964 DV identified Bryan Forbes as the actor who plays “Charlie,” the locker attendant at “Camp Sunshine.” Forbes is credited onscreen by the pseudonym “Turk Thrust.”
       Following production, Sellers immediately went on to film Kiss Me, Stupid (1964, see entry) for the Mirisch Corp., during which time he suffered a series of heart attacks. Ray Walston was hired to re-shoot his role, and its Jul 1964 release date was postponed. Originally scheduled for Christmas, A Shot in the Dark was bumped up to take its place in the summer of 1964. The picture opened 23 Jun 1964 at the Astor and Trans-Lux East Theatres in New York City, earning what the 29 Jun 1964 DV cited as a combined opening day gross of $68,000. According to the 2 Jun 1964 LAT, the Los Angeles, CA, engagement was set to begin 15 Jul 1964 at the Vogue and Fine Arts Theatres. Prior to its release, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre honored Sellers by cementing his hands and feet outside the venue.
       While the 22 Jun 1964 DV review noted that the film’s proximity to the spring 1964 release of The Pink Panther may have diminished the “spontaneous novelty” of Clouseau’s antics, critics generally praised the character’s return, as well as the performances of Sellers and Sommers, and its positive reception led to a joint production deal between Blake Edwards and the Mirisch Corp. AFI ranked the picture #48 on its list of 100 Years…100 Laughs.
       A decade later, Sellers reteamed with Edwards to portray Clouseau in three additional installments of the “Pink Panther” series: The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), and Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978, see entries).
       Opening credits are incorporated into an animated sequence depicting the various mishaps of Inspector Jacques Clouseau.