Thursday, December 16, 2010

He's Not Pink, He's Blue Today

There's just come word that Blake Edwards has passed away. What a sad day this is.

I didn't realize he directed Days of Wine and Roses. If you haven't seen that drama, you owe it to yourself to rent it. Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick give incredible performances.

He also directed Breakfast at Tiffany's, which was probably the defining role for Audrey Hepburn. Later, he would do the same for  Bo Derek in 10. And he reignited his wife, Julie Andrews' career when she played the lead roll in the movie Victor/Victoria.

I know him for his Pink Panther movies. Steve Martin is NOT the Pink Panther and some movies shouldn't be redone.

If you've never seen the original ones, here is the order:


The Pink Panther
A Shot in the Dark
The Return of the Pink Panther
Pink Panther Strikes Again
Revenge of the Pink Panther

Peter Sellers, the original Inspector Clouseau, died in 1980 and there is one more movie to utilize his leftover footage, Trail of the Pink Panther. It's hard to sit through it. A lot of critics didn't like Edwards' humor and some of his later movies can be perplexingly bad.

The cartoon started in the movies and became its own series. That was worth sitting through the credits to see just what the cat would do to the Inspector. And this was before it became customary for studios to put footage at the end. 

I think the Pink Panther series is what I'll best remember him for. He got the best cast to give wonderfully over the top pinpoint performances.

Rest in peace.

Beverage:  water

Deb

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