A Shot in the Dark (1964 film) as Burt Kwouk as his stalwart man servant Cato and André Maranne as François, all of whom would become series regulars. Elke Sommer portrays the murder suspect, Maria Gambrelli. The character of Gambrelli would return in "Son of the Pink Panther" (1993), this time played by Claudia Cardinale, who appeared as Princess Dala in "The Pink Panther" (1963). Graham Stark, who portrays police officer Hercule Lajoy, would reprise this role eighteen years later, in "Trail of the Pink Panther" (1982). The film was not originally written to include Clouseau, but was an adaptation of a stage play by Harry Kurnitz
The Old Dark House (1963 film) been as well received by modern critics as the original film. Craig Butler of the film database Allmovie wrote of the 1963 film, that "When compared with the James Whale original upon which it is based, this remake of "The Old Dark House" is pretty sorry stuff." "Halliwell's Film and Video Guide 2000" describes this film as "a travesty which has nothing to do with the 1932 film and possesses no merit of its own. The cast is left floundering". "The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films" called it "one of the oddest pictures [Hammer Film Productions] ever