Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Peter Sellers | ... | Chief Insp. Jacques Clouseau (archive footage) | |
David Niven | ... | Sir Charles Litton | |
Herbert Lom | ... | Chief Insp. Charles Dreyfus | |
Richard Mulligan | ... | Clouseau's Father | |
Joanna Lumley | ... | Marie Jouvet | |
Capucine | ... | Lady Simone Litton | |
Robert Loggia | ... | Bruno Langois | |
Harvey Korman | ... | Prof. Auguste Balls (archive footage) | |
Burt Kwouk | ... | Cato Fong | |
Graham Stark | ... | Hercule Lajoy | |
Peter Arne | ... | Col. Bufoni | |
André Maranne | ... | Sergeant Francois Duval | |
Ronald Fraser | ... | Dr. Longet | |
Leonard Rossiter | ... | Superintendant Quinlan (archive footage) | |
Marne Maitland | ... | Deputy Commissioner Lasorde |
The Pink Panther diamond is stolen once again from Lugash and the authorities call in Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) from France. His plane disappears en-route. This time, famous French television reporter Marie Jouvet (Joanna Lumley) sets out to solve the mystery and starts to interview everybody connected to Clouseau. Each interviewee: Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), Sir Charles Litton (David Niven) and Lady Simone Litton (Capucine) (an ex-wife of Clouseau), George Lytton (Robert Wagner), Hercule Lajoy (Graham Stark), and Cato Fong (Burt Kwouk) tell of their run-ins with Clouseau. She is also kidnapped by mobster Bruno Langlois (Robert Loggia), who doesn't want Clouseau found, but she continues and finds Clouseau, Sr. (Richard Mulligan), Clouseau's father. Is Clouseau alive or is he dead? Each interview has not-yet-seen or famous clips from the previous movies (since Peter Sellers died) as Marie continues to get a honest view or impression of the great French ... Written by Lee Horton <Leeh@tcp.co.uk>
"To Peter, the one and only Inspector Clouseau" Well, the late Sellers is certainly the essential Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau. That dedication provided by director Blake Edwards was certainly heartfelt and the outtakes from The Pink Panther Strikes Again provide some "new" hilarity for Sellers fans especially during the "massage/message" scene and the beginning Harvey Korman as Auguste Balls one. And seeing Joanna Lumley as a French reporter interview Clouseau's former partner Hercule Lovejoy (Graham Stark in a very touching performance) as well as now marrieds Sir Charles and Lady Simone Litton (David Niven and Capucine) brought some closure to those characters though I did wonder how Charles could remember that old man trying to cross the street in The original Pink Panther when he was in such a hurry in those chase scenes. And both Burt Kwouk as Cato and especially Herbert Lom as now-reinstated Chief Inspector Dreyfus continue to provide their own earned laughs whenever they're on screen. And adding Richard Mulligan as Jacques' father was another stroke of genius for director Edwards. But the subplot concerning Robert Loggia's gangster from Revenge of the Pink Panther didn't really go anywhere though the way he seems to both admire and detest Lumley was amusing. And those scenes from Clouseau's earlier life with other actors portraying him as a younger boy and man were painful to watch. What's even more painful was hearing someone else impersonate Sellers' Clouseau voice at the end. As for the Marvel Productions (which took over Depatie-Freleng Enterprises) animated sequence, it was partially amusing with the now-dated Pac Man reference though it was nice to once again hear Henry Mancini's now iconic Pink Panther theme again. As if to illustrate the beginning dedication, the end credits sequence contains various memorably funny Peter Sellers scenes from all five of his Panther movies starting with his first one when, spinning a globe, he says, "We must find that woman" before placing his hand on the still-moving globe and falling down! So with all Sellers footage used up, you'd think this would indeed be the end of Pink Panther series. You'd be wrong. Next up, Curse of the Pink Panther...