The Pink Panther (1963)

For most of my life, the Pink Panther was only a cartoon character from an animated series. Then, quite recently, I learnt that that character originated from Blake Edward's crime comedy The Pink Panther, and being a fan of crime movies and having heard good things about it, I decided to check it out. 

The story follows a French detective, Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers), who is obsessively trying to catch a jewel thief known as "The Phantom". A lead takes him to Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, at a ski resort where English playboy Sir Charles Lytton (David Niven) and bored Princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale), who has with her the Pink Panther diamond, are also staying. 

For most of its running time, The Pink Panther doesn't really a plot nor a real focus and relies on a silly and pointless scene after another. In addition, with all the subplots being revelled at the beginning —Clouseau's wife (Capucine) having an affair with Lytton and Lytton being "The Phantom"—, there's very little mystery and, after a while, the story becomes dull, uninteresting and unengaging, and it takes some turns that make no sense whatsoever.

The characters are the reason why not much happens for the majority of the film. There are a lot of them and apparently all of their backstories need to be unveiled before the story moves any further. I wouldn't normally consider this a flaw but this time I do since this doesn't add much to the story. Also, most of them are annoying and unlikeable.

United Artists

All of that being said, The Pink Panther is not the kind of film you watch for a complex story or characters as it's more about the comedy. While it occasionally falls flat, whether it's physical or verbal, the humour is quite delightful and there are many laughs spread throughout the film.

The cast is also a pleasure to watch. Although he's underused —his was supposed to be only a minor character, after all—, Peter Sellers does a very good job as the clumsy Inspector Clouseau and provides most of the film's humour. David Niven is equally good as Sir Charles but he's given way too much screen time with his uninteresting subplots. As for the actresses, both Claudia Cardinale and Capucine are here just for eye-candy purposes.

The highlight of the film? The amusing animated opening credits featuring the Pink Panther and Henry Mancini's iconic theme song.

Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)

When it comes to old Italian movies, I kinda suck as the titles are often all I know about those movies. It was the same with Big Deal on Madonna Street (Italian: I soliti ignoti) which ended up on my watch-list many years ago, but only because I've heard people mention it many times over the years and I thought I should eventually check it out.

The film starts with small-time thief Cosimo (Memmo Carotenuto) being arrested for trying to steal a car. After he is convicted, he asks his girlfriend (Rossana Rory) and lawyer to find someone who, for 100,000 lire, will take his place in prison so that he can pull off a heist at a pawnshop. A washed-up boxer, Peppe (Vittorio Gassman), agrees to switch places, but the judge doesn't believe them and they both end up in jail. When Peppe learns about the plan, he tricks Cosimo into explaining him every single detail of it, and when he gets out, months before Cosimo does, he recruits Cosimo's band of petty criminals to pull off the heist. 

Although the pace is quite slow and it feels kinda dragged at some places, it's very interesting to watch these small-time criminals as they plan the heist. As predicted, since this is a Commedia all'italiana, nothing goes right --the apartment next to the pawnshop was supposed to be vacant but all of a sudden, two old ladies move there and they barely leave the house; then, they rearrange the furniture which shrews up their plans even more. 

It's from all these unforeseen situations and resulting actions that comes most of the comedy and it works beautifully, especially to someone who is not fluent in Italian as the English subtitles (I rewatched some scenes with subtitles to see how the jokes were translated) are not able to convey the humorousness of the dialogue very well. The gags, the silly situations, they all are hilarious regardless of your knowledge of the Italian language. 

Lux Film

What I liked about Big Deal on Madonna Street is that the heist is only a part of the story (and I say this as someone who loves heist movies). The film is filled with numerous subplots, all connected to the main plot and therefore not pointless as it often happens, that make the film more entertaining and allows us to get to know the characters a bit better. They still are pretty thin, but we get to know them enough to feel sorry about them when their heist goes bad. There's a romantic subplot that could have been left out though as it adds nothing to the main plot, but it's pretty enjoyable and the source of more laughs. 

The cast is too is great. Vittorio Gassman shines as Peppe, the improvised leader of the gang, and his attitude is simply on point. Amongst the others, a young Marcello Mastroianni stands out as Tiberio, an out-of-work photographer whose wife is in jail and has to take care of his (crying) baby. Also worthy of a mention are Renato Salvatori as Mario, a perennially unemployed orphan, the youngest member of the gang, who wins the heart of Claudia Cardinale's Carmelina, and Tiberio Murgia as Michele, a Sicilian hothead who happens to be Carmelina's brother. Murgia deserves special praise for nailing the Sicilian accent.