The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)

Inspector Clouseau is put on the case when the Pink Panther diamond is stolen, with the Phantom's trademark glove the only clue.

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Frank Waldman (screenplay), Blake Edwards (screenplay)

Stars:

Peter Sellers, Christopher Plummer, Catherine Schell

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Sellers	...	Insp. Jacques Clouseau
Christopher Plummer	...	Sir Charles Litton
Catherine Schell	...	Lady Claudine Litton
Herbert Lom	...	Chief Insp. Charles Dreyfus
Peter Arne	...	Colonel Sharki
Peter Jeffrey	...	General Wadafi
Grégoire Aslan	...	Chief of Lugash Police (as Gregoire Aslan)
David Lodge	...	Mac
Graham Stark	...	Pepi
Eric Pohlmann	...	Fat Man
André Maranne	...	Sgt. François Chevalier
Burt Kwouk	...	Cato Fong
Victor Spinetti	...	Hotel Concierge
John Bluthal	...	Blind Beggar
Mike Grady	...	Bell Boy

Storyline

That famous jewel, The Pink Panther, has once again been stolen and Inspector Clouseau is called in to catch the thief. The Inspector is convinced that 'The Phantom' has returned and utilises all of his resources - himself and his oriental manservant - to reveal the true identity of 'The Phantom'.

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Plot Keywords:

assassination attempt | bread | clumsiness | doorbell | watermelon | 

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Taglines:

You may rest assured that there's trouble, because Inspector Clouseau is on the case. (That's the trouble.)

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 May 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

El regreso de la pantera rosa

Filming Locations:

Djemaa el Fna, Marrakech, Morocco

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$41,833,347

Company Credits

Production Co:

ITC Films, Jewel Productions, Pimlico Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

the "Swine Bird" Parrot in the hotel room scene is the same blue-and-gold macaw that appears in two of the Bond films, For Your Eyes Only and The Living Daylights.

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Goofs

Chief inspector Dreyfus proved to have killed 4 persons in "A Shot in the Dark" but in "The return of Pink Panther" is still Chief Inspector.

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Quotes

[after inadvertently destroying much of the hotel he is in]
Clouseau: I must leave. Zis Hotel is deteriorating rapidly.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, the Pink Panther's actions and costumes provide references to Carmen Miranda, Esther Williams, Charles Chaplin, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Groucho Marx, George Raft and Boris Karloff (as Frankenstein's monster).

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Alternate Versions

The first DVD release, put out by Artisan Entertainment, did not feature the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio version of the film. Instead, the pan-and-scan version of the film was cropped, and the DVD was presented in a matted aspect ratio of 1.85:1--approximately 25% of the screen was lost in this process.

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Connections

Referenced in Victor & Hugo: Bunglers in Crime (1991)

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Soundtracks

The Ride of the Valkyries
(from The Valkyries) (uncredited)
Music by Richard Wagner

User Reviews

Silly, with Sellers in familiar form, but the first two are more classic

Return of the Pink Panther (1975)

Complete with the great Mancini sax theme, the nutty smart Blake Edwards directing, the sassy cartoon panther himself, and of course Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau (taking on many absurd disguises). This is the third of the original Pink Panther movies series (omitting the oddball fourth one from 1968 that didn't have Mancini, Sellers, or Edwards), and it comes over a decade after the first two. Was the public interested? Yes--it did well. It was a great formula. Is it still a good formula in 2012?

Good question. It depends on your taste. But surely the names repeated above are all cinema greats that, like Chaplin, rise above their time. But of course, Sellers, as terrific as he was, was no Charles Chaplin. At his best, the comedy is hilarious. And that makes the movie worth watching for sure. But he is sometimes a bit off in his timing, or is stuck playing a stunt that isn't worthy of him.

There's also a lag in the filler material, the scenes between the great stuff. Some marginal characters (including the leading woman, who is totally a late 60s type, not a 1975 type, and she feels oddly unnecessary) don't command their parts, or their scenes. The drift begins to drift. And then you realize there isn't much of a plot. The whole recovery (sort of) of the famous Pink Panther diamond after an elaborate theft isn't really the driving force of the movie. What takes its place is a slow interplay of the characters all stumbling over each other trying to trick the perpetrator into revealing the gem.

So then you are back to the stumbling as comedy, and sometimes it's great. There are so many ridiculous moments with Sellers being a bumbling fool like no one, you are sure to laugh. And that's what you're here for. "The Pink Panther" is the original, and at times also a bit sluggish, but it's the first. And "A Shot in the Dark" is the best of the three, I think. But if you like them, you'll be just fine here. If you haven't seen any, you might go in order, since the sets and music are really spot on in the first two, and a bit more transporting. There is something a little off kilter here that make it an awkward, but decent, third.