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
I Will Follow You into the Dark CD single was also only released in the UK and contains the same "Brothers on a Hotel Bed" B-side. Critical response to "I Will Follow You into the Dark" was generally positive. In their reviews for the album "Plans", Robert Christgau selected the song as his "choice cut", Pitchfork Media called it the album's "quiet centerpiece" and praised its "unexpected turns of phrase", PopMatters called it "one of the best written pop songs of the year – if not of the past five years", and Tiny Mix Tapes stated that it was "one of the band's best songs to date."