No shot in the dark: developing the Pink Panther franchise

This essay examines the origins and development of the Pink Panther franchise. A film series, an animated character, a host of related merchandise, an iconic soundtrack, a household name – it might have begun as little more than the concept for a crime caper, but within a few years it had transcended generic and filmic boundaries to become a multimedia, pop-culture juggernaut. Drawing on a range of trade and mainstream press reports – as well as draft scripts and associated visual texts – I explore various contributors’ roles in shaping and reshaping the meanings associated with both Peter Sellers’ iconic detective role, Inspector Jacques Clouseau, and the animated Panther whose likeness would appear across so many different media. Situating the franchise within a broader socio-cultural context, and within debates on 1960s and 1970s cinema in general and United Artists in particular, I offer analysis of the executive and creative decisions that underpinned its success in the US and globally.