Revenge of the Pink Panther

Infobox Film
name = Revenge of the Pink Panther


caption = original movie poster
director = Blake Edwards
producer = Blake Edwards
Tony Adams
Ken Wales
writer = Blake Edwards
Frank Waldman
Ron Clark
starring = Peter Sellers
Herbert Lom
Dyan Cannon
Robert Webber
music = Henry Mancini
Leslie Bricusse (songwriter)
cinematography = Ernest Day
editing = Alan Jones
distributor = United Artists
Jewel Productions LTD.
released = July 19, 1978
runtime = 104 minutes
country = UK / U.S.
awards =
language = English
budget =
preceded_by = "The Pink Panther Strikes Again"
followed_by = "Trail of the Pink Panther"
amg_id = 1:41178
imdb_id = 0078163

"Revenge of the Pink Panther" (1978) is the sixth film in the "Pink Panther" film series and last with Peter Sellers, though a later film in the series ("Trail of the Pink Panther") used Sellers footage compiled from previous Panther movies.

Plot

A French businessman/mobster named Philippe Douvier (Robert Webber) is making a deal with a New York Mafia for a multimillion-Franc drug-smuggling operation, whose officers suspect Douvier of being too old and no longer strong enough to handle it. Douvier, along with his secretary/paramour Simone LeGree (Dyan Cannon), attempts to prove his strength by assassinating the most famous person in France, the one "believed" to be the best of his colleagues: Chief Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers).

Douvier's first two attempts fail; his attempt to blow Clouseau up with a bomb fails, and the subsequent attempt by a Chinese assassin called Mr Chong (an uncredited appearance by the Founder of American Kenpo, Ed Parker) is thwarted when Clouseau knocks him out of a window, believing him to be his (Clouseau's) valet Cato, who had orders to keep his employer alert by means of random attacks. That night, Douvier anonymously calls Clouseau and poses as an informant to tell him the whereabouts of a criminal known as the French Connection. Despite being warned by Cato, Clouseau drives toward the location, but his car and clothes are stolen by a transvestite named Claude Rousseau. Rousseau drives into the trap and is killed by Douvier's men. Subsequently, the majority of people believes Clouseau to be dead.

As a result of this assumption, Clouseau's mad boss, ex-Commissioner Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), is deemed sane, and is to be released from the Mental Asylum to try and crack the case, while Douvier's plans continue.

In Rousseau's clothes, Clouseau is taken to the mental asylum (a scene featuring a cameo by Andrew Sachs), but escapes into Dreyfus' room. Dreyfus faints at the sight of Clouseau, whom he believed dead, whereupon Clouseau disguises himself as Dreyfus and is driven home in a car by operative Francois.

At home, Clouseau finds Cato, who (despite having turned Clouseau's apartment into a Chinese-themed brothel) is relieved to see him alive, and the two plan their revenge on whoever ordered the assassination, taking advantage of the belief that Clouseau is dead.

Dreyfus, led to believe that the man he saw was Claude Rousseau, is assigned to read a eulogy at Clouseau's funeral. His objections are overridden by political necessity when it is revealed that the speech was composed by the police chief's wife, who apparently is able to dismiss Dreyfus if he refuses to recite. During the recital, Dreyfus is unable to control his laughter at the (to him) ridiculous statements he is obliged to speak, but conceals his amusement by giving the impression that the emotion he is unable to control is sorrow rather than amusement. When Clouseau surreptitiously reveals himself among the attendants of the funeral, Dreyfus faints into the burial pit moments before the master of ceremonies completes his oration.

Meanwhile, shortly after his wife threatens him with a divorce, Douvier, needing her respectability and her silence pertaining to his crimes, tells Simone that their courtship must end. Angry, Simone storms out of Douvier's office, giving an impression that she may blackmail Douvier. Douvier therefore gives orders to have Simone killed at a nightclub called Le Club Phut (a play on the word "clubfoot") that very night.

That same night, having been told by an informant of the possibility of trouble at the nightclub, Clouseau and Cato investigate and accidentally save Simone from being murdered by Douvier's assassins. Clouseau and Cato are separated, because Simone has not noticed Cato and is eager to take Clouseau (whom she considers her savior) home. At Simone's flat, Clouseau tells Simone that he is the supposedly dead Chief Inspector; although Simone denies it- both of them being more than slightly drunk- he eventually convinces her of the truth, prompting her to reveal that Douvier is the man responsible for the assassination attempt. As the assassins enter, having tracked them down, Clouseau and Simone escape into the flat below, in which lives Dreyfus. Dreyfus faints again while the two depart, but not before overhearing Simone telling Clouseau of Douvier's plans.

Simone tells Clouseau of Douvier's plans to meet with the New York Mafia Godfather, Julio Scallini, in Hong Kong; Clouseau sees this as a chance for his revenge. Clouseau, Cato, and Simone travel from Paris to Hong Kong on a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar flight courtesy of Cathay Pacific Airlines. Disguised as an archaic Chinese- under the name "Mr. Low Key"- Clouseau, Cato, and Simone tail Douvier to Hong Kong, unaware that Dreyfus is also after Douvier.

Clouseau disguises himself as Scallini while Simone stalls the real Scallini, so that Clouseau can uncover Douvier's plans. He succeeds; however, the plan goes terribly wrong when Clouseau's disguise is exposed. A car chase begins.

Eventually, everyone crashes; a shoot-out (provoked by a crazed Dreyfus, who has recognized his rival) in a firework warehouse leads to the arrests of Douvier and Scallini. Clouseau is awarded for bringing down the mobsters. Thereafter he and Simone spend the evening together, talking about their histories.

The Pink Panther theme

The theme, and much of the soundtrack from this entry in the series, draw heavily from the "disco" trends of the late 1970s. The theme itself was reworked to include a more dancy bassline, electric piano, and guitar solo.

Opening animation

The opening animated titles in the film were designed by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, who had been involved with the series since the animated titles of the original 1963 film, "The Pink Panther". It was the first time since "A Shot in the Dark" in 1964 that DePatie-Freleng animated the opening titles of a Pink Panther film ("Return" and "Strikes Again" having been done by Richard Williams' Studio). They later went on to produce the animated television series "The All-New Pink Panther Show".

Trivia

* Was the last Panther movie to be a box office success until the MGM reboot in 2006 starring Steve Martin as Jacques Clouseau. The sequels made without Sellers were derided by fans and critics, who believed the series should have stopped when Sellers died.

*In this film we get a glimpse of Clouseau's special car, the "Silver Hornet". The name of the car is a reference to the 'Green Hornet' character/TV show, much like Cato's name. The car is in fact a Citroën 2CV exhibiting some added features including plastic wings on each side. The "Silver Hornet" is quite useless as it breaks down whenever it is used.
* This is the third Pink Panther movie that has nothing to do with the Pink Panther jewel.

* Actress Sue Lloyd, who plays Claude Rousseau, was in effect a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Blake Edwards would later direct a whole film based around this concept.

* In the trailer the narrator calls Clouseau "Inspector Henri Clouseau" rather than Jacques Clouseau.

* Hercule LaJoy from "A Shot in the Dark" makes a small appearance as the Commissioner's secretary, but was not played by Graham Stark, who portrayed costume artist Prof. Auguste Balls.

Romance of the Pink Panther

"Romance of the Pink Panther" is a Pink Panther film Sellers was working on, and willing to make without Edwards, before Sellers' fatal heart attack. It was documented in the book "Peter Sellers - A Celebration".

External links

*imdb title|id=0078163|title=Revenge of the Pink Panther