Thursday, April 18, 2013

TCM Presents The Pink Panther

I watched Pink Panther movies with my family as a kid, so it was a treat to see this free screening of The Pink Panther at the Castro Theatre on Tuesday, presented by TCM in their Road to Hollywood tour promoting the Classic Film Festival in LA next week. A man called Rob Collins, with the up-to-date title of VP of Brand Activation, introduced the show, then host Robert Osborne had a conversation with actor Robert Wagner on the stage. Mr. Wagner has a gentlemanly presence. He told us how fun it was to work on the film & shared a bawdy story about David Niven involving an unconventional use for a glass of brandy. Mr. Wagner also claimed that Dean Martin mistook him for Jane Wyman on the set of Prince Valiant. We learned that Peter Ustinov was initially offered the role of Inspector Clouseau but turned it down. The film began as a star vehicle for David Niven, but once shooting started with Peter Sellers, it shifted toward Clouseau.

Robert Wagner photo IMG_20130416_191430_zps036e638e.jpgThe Pink Panther was shown in a wide-screen print with vibrant colors. The theater was packed with sociable movie buffs. A man in the row behind me talked to the screen as if he were watching at home on his couch. The organist included Henry Mancini tunes in his pre-show performance, & the audience applauded when San Francisco turned into the Pink Panther theme. The audience also applauded Fran Jeffries singing Meglio Stasera within the film.

§ The Pink Panther (1963)
dir. Blake Edwards, 115 mins.

TCM The Road to Hollywood
Hosted by Robert Osborne
Special Guest: Robert Wagner

Tuesday, April 16, 2013, 7:30pm
The Castro Theatre

2 comments:

Civic Center said...

The most important part of the movie: The Goddess who was Capucine.

Axel Feldheim said...

Very good, yes! We learned that Elizabeth Taylor & Ava Gardner were both offered the part of Clouseau's wife before Capucine. Ava Gardner's excuse was that she didn't want to deal with all the paparazzi during shooting in Italy.