What it’s about: Hapless Parisian inspector Jacques Clouseau (Sellers) has been on the trail of notorious jewel thief The Phantom for twenty years. Unbeknownst to him, his wife Simone (Capucine) is taken up with The Phantom, bachelor playboy Sir Charles Lytton (Niven), behind his back. Furthermore, Lytton’s American nephew George (Wagner) has come to Europe and seems to be running some game of his own. All of them converge on a ski resort in Cortina, also hosting Princess Dala (acted by Cardinale, dubbed by Garnett), who just so happens to be in possession of the world’s most fabulous diamond, the eponymous Pink Panther.

Reflections: If I’ve seen this before, it hasn’t been for decades. In my mind, I thought of it as a goofball comedy caper film, and it is that, but it’s also very effective as a thriller. There are pratfalls galore, wry dialogue, delightfully absurd situations–the gorilla car chase, a hallway routine acted out on the streets of Rome, stands out in mind–but they exist around a pressure-cooker plot that mostly plays it straight and ends on a surprisingly dark (and code-breaking) note. The best moments of the film play into both these instincts simultaneously–an extended sequence in which Simone has to juggle multiple men in her hotel room wrings tension out of physical comedy in a sharp and cackling way and is incredible to watch.

It also drips with an undeniable ’60s style, starting with that iconic theme music by Henry Mancini and a playful, energetic cartoon title sequence. Niven oozes charm, Sellers walks the line between big-hearted and tightly wound, both Capucine and Cardinale play up their characters as sharp and sexy in different ways. By modern standards, the pace is slow and the gags somewhat restrained, but it gives both the jokes and the various traps and schemes of the characters time to breathe and leaves room for the complexities of each relationship to sink in.

Given that it spawned seven sequels, two reboots, multiple animated series, several television specials, and even a handful of video games, there is clearly a special sauce here that tapped into pop cultural consciousness. Watching it now, it feels like classic entertainment, giving off a certain nostalgic, family-friendly feeling but without sacrificing a naughtily winking edge. A movie that goes as well with a cocktail as a cup of cocoa, and a delight either way.