The Pink Panther Strikes Again

Last updated

The Pink Panther Strikes Again
Pink panther strikes again movie poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Blake Edwards
Screenplay by Frank Waldman
Blake Edwards
Produced byBlake Edwards
Tony Adams (Associate Producer)
Animation:
Richard Williams
Starring Peter Sellers
Herbert Lom
Colin Blakely
Leonard Rossiter
Lesley-Anne Down
Cinematography Harry Waxman
Edited byAlan Jones
Music by Henry Mancini
Production
company
Amjo Productions
Distributed by United Artists
Release dates
  • 15 December 1976 (1976-12-15)(United States)
  • 17 December 1976 (1976-12-17)(United Kingdom)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million
Box office$75 million [1]

The Pink Panther Strikes Again is a 1976 comedy film. The fifth film in The Pink Panther series, its plot begins three years after the conclusion of The Return of the Pink Panther . Unused footage from the film was later included in Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), released after Peter Sellers's death.

Contents

Plot

After three years in a psychiatric hospital, former Chief Inspector of the Sûreté Charles Dreyfus has recovered his sanity and no longer is obsessed with killing Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Dreyfus is informed by his psychiatrist that he is to appear before the sanity board that afternoon pending release. Clouseau, who has since replaced Dreyfus as Chief Inspector, arrives unannounced to speak on behalf of his former boss and within five minutes manages to drive Dreyfus insane again. Dreyfus later escapes from the hospital and again tries to kill Clouseau by planting a bomb while the chief inspector (by periodic arrangement) duels with his manservant Cato. The bomb destroys Clouseau's apartment and injures Cato. However, Clouseau is unharmed, as he is lifted from the room by an inflatable hunchback disguise. Deciding that a more elaborate plan is needed to eliminate Clouseau, Dreyfus enlists career criminals and abducts professor Hugo Fassbender, a renowned nuclear physicist and the professor's daughter Margo. Dreyfus forces the professor to build a "doomsday weapon" in exchange for their freedom.

Clouseau travels to England to investigate the kidnapping and wreaks havoc in the Fassbender home while ineptly interrogating the domestic staff, including Jarvis, Fassbender's cross-dressing butler. Although Jarvis is later killed by the kidnappers, to whom he had become a dangerous witness, Clouseau discovers a clue that leads him to the Oktoberfest in Munich, West Germany. Meanwhile, Dreyfus, using Fassbender's invention, disintegrates the United Nations Building in New York City and blackmails the leaders of the world, including the president of the United States and his secretary of state (based on Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger respectively), into assassinating Clouseau. However, many nations instruct their operatives to kill Clouseau to gain Dreyfus's favor and possibly the doomsday machine. As a result of their orders and Clouseau's obliviousness, all of the assassins kill each another until only the agents of the Soviet Union and Egypt remain.

One of Dreyfus's henchmen disguised as Clouseau, is killed by the Egyptian assassin after mistaking him for Clouseau. The Egyptian is seduced by Russian operative Olga Bariosova, who makes the same mistake and falls in love with him. After the Egyptian departs, the real Clouseau arrives in his hotel room. He is surprised to find Olga in his bed and is perplexed by her affections. From her information, Clouseau ascertains Dreyfus's location at a castle in Bavaria. Dreyfus is elated at the erroneous report of Clouseau's demise but suffers from a toothache and sends for a dentist. Arriving in Bavaria, Clouseau learns that a dentist is needed at the castle. He disguises himself as a German dentist and finally gains entry to the castle (his earlier attempts at sneaking into the castle had been foiled by his general ineptitude and the castle's drawbridge). Unrecognized by Dreyfus, Clouseau intoxicates both of them with nitrous oxide. While both are laughing uncontrollably, Clouseau mistakenly pulls the wrong tooth, and Dreyfus realizes that the dentist is actually Clouseau in disguise. Clouseau escapes, and a vengeful Dreyfus prepares to use the machine to destroy England. Clouseau, eluding Dreyfus's henchmen, unwittingly foils Dreyfus's plans when a medieval catapult outside the castle launches him on top of the doomsday machine, causing it to malfunction and fire on Dreyfus and the castle. As the remaining henchmen, Fassbender, his daughter and Clouseau escape the dissolving castle, Dreyfus plays "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" on the castle's pipe organ while he disintegrates, until he and the castle vanish into thin air.

Returning to Paris, Clouseau finds Olga waiting for him in his bed. However, their tryst is interrupted first by Clouseau's apparent inability to remove his clothes, and then by Cato's latest surprise attack, which causes all three to be hurled into the river Seine when the reclining bed snaps back upright and crashes through the wall.

Cast

Cast notes

Production

The Pink Panther Strikes Again was rushed into production by United Artists following the success of The Return of the Pink Panther . [3] Blake Edwards had adapted one of two scripts that he and Frank Waldman had written for a proposed Pink Panther television series as the basis for that film, and he adapted the other as the starting point for The Pink PantherStrikes Again. As a result, it is the only Pink Panther sequel that has a storyline (Dreyfus in the insane asylum) that directly follows that of its previous film. The plot does not concern the famous Pink Panther diamond of previous films, but is played more as a parody of James Bond films.

The film was in production from December 1975 to September 1976, with principal photography taking place between February and June 1976. [4] The strained relationship between Sellers and Edwards had further deteriorated by the time that production of The Pink PantherStrikes Again was under way. Sellers was ailing both mentally and physically, and Edwards later commented on the actor's mental state during production of the film: "If you went to an asylum and you described the first inmate you saw, that's what Peter had become. He was certifiable." [3]

The original cut of the film ran for about 120 minutes but was trimmed to 103 minutes for theatrical release. Edwards originally conceived The Pink Panther Strikes Again as an even longer 180 minute epic, zany chase film, in a similar vein to his earlier comedy The Great Race , but UA vetoed the long version and the film was kept to a more conventional length. The excised footage was later used in Trail of the Pink Panther . There have been rumors that a 180 minute cut did exist as well, but given that only around 17 minutes of unused material was used in Trail, this does make it unlikely since it would mean an entire extra hour's worth of footage has gone unused and unreleased. No photograph, cast or crew comments or script evidence of any additional scenes not included in either Trail or Strikes Again has ever emerged either, leading to the conclusion that there likely never actually was a 3 hour cut and rumors of its existence may have simply come from Edwards's conception instead of from the actual filming. The Pink Panther Strikes Again was marketed with the tagline "Why are the world's chief assassins after Inspector Clouseau? Why not? Everybody else is."

During the film's title sequence, there are references to television's Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Batman as well as the films King Kong , The Sound of Music (starring Edwards's wife Julie Andrews), Dracula , Singin' in the Rain , Steamboat Bill, Jr. and Sweet Charity , placing the Pink Panther character and the animated persona of Inspector Clouseau into recognizable events from the films. There is also a reference to Jaws in the ending credits sequence. The scene in which Clouseau impersonates a dentist who uses laughing gas and extracts the wrong tooth is inspired by Bob Hope's role in The Paleface (1948). [5]

Richard Williams (later of Who Framed Roger Rabbit fame) supervised the animation of the opening and closing sequences for the second and final time; original animators DePatie-Freleng Enterprises would return on the next film with animation influenced by Williams's style.

Sellers was unhappy with the final cut of the film and publicly criticized Edwards for misusing his talents. Their tense relationship is noted in Revenge of the Pink Panther 's opening credits that list it as a "Sellers-Edwards" production.

French comic-book writer René Goscinny, the original writer of the Asterix series, was reportedly trying to sue Edwards for plagiarism in 1977 after noticing strong similarities to Goscinny's script titled Le maître du monde (The Master of the World), which he had sent to Sellers in 1975. [6]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 75% based on 24 reviews, with an average score of 7.30/10. [7]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film two and a half stars out of four and wrote, "If I'm less than totally enthusiastic about The Pink Panther Strikes Again, maybe it was because I've been over this ground with Clouseau many times before," stating that a time would have to come "when inspiration gives way to habit, and I think the Pink Panther series is just about at that point. That's not to say this film isn't funny—it has moments as good as anything Sellers and Edwards have ever done—but that it's time for them to move on. They worked together once on the funniest movie either one has ever done, The Party . Now it's time to try something new again." [8]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that the characters of Clouseau and Dreyfus "were made for each other," and further stated, "I'm not sure why Mr. Sellers and Mr. Lom are such a hilarious team, though it may be because each is a fine comic actor with a special talent for portraying the sort of all-consuming, epic self-absorption that makes slapstick farce initially acceptable—instead of alarming—and finally so funny." Canby also enjoyed Clouseau's French accent, and wrote, "Both Mr. Sellers and Mr. Edwards delight in old gags, and part of the joy of The Pink Panther Strikes Again is watching the way they spin out what is essentially a single routine". [9]

The film earned theatrical rentals of $19.5 million in the United States and Canada [10] from a gross of $33.8 million. [11] Internationally, it earned rentals of $10.5 million for a worldwide total of $30 million. [10] By March 1978, the film had grossed $75 million worldwide and was hoping to earn another $8 million by the end of the year. [1]

Awards and nominations

Award [12] CategoryNominee(s)Result
Academy Awards [13] Best Original Song "Come to Me"
Music by Henry Mancini;
Lyrics by Don Black 		Nominated
Evening Standard British Film Awards Best Comedy Blake Edwards Won
Golden Globe Awards [14] Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Nominated
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Peter Sellers Nominated
Writers Guild of America Awards [15] Best Comedy – Adapted from Another Medium Frank Waldman and Blake EdwardsWon
American Film Institute Lists

Play adaptation

Around 1981, the film was adapted into a play by William Gleason, mostly for high-school or community-theatre productions. The storyline bears similarities to that of the film, although some locations are changed, and women dressed as pink panthers also perform scene changes. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Sellers</span> English actor and comedian (1925–1980)

Peter Sellers was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show. Sellers featured on a number of hit comic songs, and became known to a worldwide audience through his many film roles, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blake Edwards</span> American filmmaker (1922–2010)

Blake Edwards was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inspector Clouseau</span> Fictional character created by Blake Edwards

Inspector Jacques Clouseau, later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical The Pink Panther series. He is portrayed by Peter Sellers in the original series, and also by Alan Arkin in the 1968 film Inspector Clouseau and, in a cameo, by Roger Moore in the 1983 film Curse of the Pink Panther. In the 2006 reboot and its 2009 sequel, Clouseau is portrayed by Steve Martin. Clouseau's likeness also appears in the Pink Panther animated cartoon shorts and segments, where he is known as simply "the Inspector". More recent animated depictions from the 1970s onward were redesigned to more closely resemble Sellers, and later Martin.

The Pink Panther is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the film The Pink Panther in 1963. The role of Clouseau was originated by and is most closely associated with Peter Sellers. Most of the films were written and directed by Blake Edwards, with theme music composed by Henry Mancini. Elements and characters inspired by the films were adapted into other media, including books, comic books, video games and animated series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Lom</span> Czech-British actor

Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru, known professionally as Herbert Lom, was a Czech-British actor with a career spanning over 60 years. His cool demeanour and precise, elegant elocution saw him cast as criminals or suave villains in his younger years, and professional men and nobles as he aged. Highly versatile, he also proved a skilled comic actor in The Pink Panther franchise, playing the beleaguered Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in seven films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burt Kwouk</span> British actor (1930–2016)

Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk, was a British actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Cato in the Pink Panther films. He made appearances in many television programmes, including a portrayal of Imperial Japanese Army Major Yamauchi in the British drama series Tenko and as Entwistle in Last of the Summer Wine.

<i>The Inspector</i> American animated film series

The Inspector is an American series of 34 theatrical cartoon shorts produced between 1965 and 1969 by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and released through United Artists. The cartoons are dedicated to an animated version of Inspector Clouseau comically battling against a rogues' gallery of internationally styled villains.

<i>A Shot in the Dark</i> (1964 film) 1964 film by Blake Edwards

A Shot in the Dark is a 1964 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards in Panavision. Produced as a standalone sequel to The Pink Panther, it is the second installment in the eponymous film series, with Peter Sellers reprising his role as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté.

<i>Trail of the Pink Panther</i> 1982 comedy film by Blake Edwards

Trail of the Pink Panther is a 1982 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and starring Peter Sellers. It is the seventh film in The Pink Panther series, the first film in the series following Sellers's death and also the last in which he appeared as Inspector Clouseau. Sellers died 18 months before production began; his performance consists entirely of scenes from previous films. The newly shot material in the film stars Joanna Lumley as journalist Marie Jouvet searching for the missing Clouseau – and running afoul of the inspector's enemies who do not wish to see him return.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Stark</span> English comedian, actor

Graham William Stark was an English comedian, actor, writer and director.

<i>The Return of the Pink Panther</i> 1975 detective comedy film by Blake Edwards

The Return of the Pink Panther is a 1975 comedy film and the fourth film in The Pink Panther series. The film stars Peter Sellers returning to the role of Inspector Clouseau for the first time since A Shot in the Dark (1964), after having declined to reprise the role in Inspector Clouseau (1968). The film was a commercial hit and revived the previously dormant series and with it Peter Sellers' career.

The Pink Panther is a series of films featuring the fictional Inspector Clouseau, played by Peter Sellers, that began in 1963.

<i>Curse of the Pink Panther</i> 1983 American film

Curse of the Pink Panther is a 1983 comedy film and a continuation of The Pink Panther series of films created by Blake Edwards in the early 1960s. The film was one of two produced concurrently following the death of the series' star Peter Sellers. Whereas the previous film Trail of the Pink Panther made use of unused footage of Sellers as Inspector Clouseau and starred Joanna Lumley as journalist Marie Jouvet, Curse attempted to relaunch the series with a new lead, Ted Wass, as inept American detective Clifton Sleigh, assigned to find the missing Inspector Clouseau.

<i>Son of the Pink Panther</i> 1993 film by Blake Edwards

Son of the Pink Panther is a 1993 comedy film. It is the ninth and final installment of the original The Pink Panther film series starting from the 1963 film. Directed by Blake Edwards, it stars Roberto Benigni as Inspector Clouseau's illegitimate son. Also in this film are Panther regulars Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk and Graham Stark and a star of the original 1963 film, Claudia Cardinale. It was the final film for both director Blake Edwards and composer Henry Mancini; Mancini died on June 14, 1994, and Edwards retired from film-making two years later in 1995.

<i>The Pink Panther</i> (2006 film) 2006 comedy film directed by Shawn Levy

The Pink Panther is a 2006 American comedy-mystery film and a reboot of The Pink Panther franchise, marking the tenth installment in the series. It is also the first Pink Panther film to be released since Son of the Pink Panther in 1993. In this film, Inspector Jacques Clouseau is assigned to solve the murder of a famous soccer coach and the theft of the famous Pink Panther diamond. The film was directed by Shawn Levy, stars Steve Martin as Clouseau and also co-stars Kevin Kline, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, and Beyoncé Knowles.

<i>The Pink Panther</i> (1963 film) 1963 detective comedy film by Blake Edwards

The Pink Panther is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and distributed by United Artists. It was written by Maurice Richlin and Blake Edwards. It is the first installment in The Pink Panther franchise. Its story follows inspector Jacques Clouseau as he travels from Rome to Cortina d'Ampezzo to catch a notorious jewel thief known as "The Phantom" before he is able to steal a priceless diamond known as "The Pink Panther". The film stars David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine and Claudia Cardinale.

<i>Inspector Clouseau</i> (film) 1968 detective comedy film by Bud Yorkin

Inspector Clouseau is a 1968 British comedy film, and the third installment in The Pink Panther film series. It was directed by Bud Yorkin, written by brothers Frank Waldman and Tom Waldman and stars Alan Arkin as the title character. It was filmed by Mirisch Films at the MGM-British Studios, Borehamwood and in Europe.

<i>Revenge of the Pink Panther</i> 1978 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards

Revenge of the Pink Panther is a 1978 comedy film. It is the sixth film in The Pink Panther comedy film series. Released in 1978, it is the final on-set performance of Peter Sellers in the role of Inspector Jacques Clouseau. It was also the last installment in the series that was distributed solely by United Artists; the company was absorbed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer three years after the film's release.

<i>The Pink Panther 2</i> 2009 American film

The Pink Panther 2 is a 2009 American comedy-mystery film directed by Harald Zwart. It is the eleventh installment in The Pink Panther film series and the sequel to the 2006 film The Pink Panther, a reboot of the popular comedy series. The film was released on February 6, 2009 in North America. In the film, Inspector Clouseau must team up with detectives from other countries to rout a daring burglar, The Tornado, who has returned after a decade's inactivity.

References

  1. 1 2 "New 'Pink Panther,' Set For July Bow, Tops $7-Mil in Blind Bids". Variety . 22 March 1978. p. 39.
  2. ↑ Allmovie Cast
  3. 1 2 Thames, Stephanie "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" (TCM article)
  4. ↑ IMDB Business Data
  5. ↑ Starks, Michael (October 1982). Cocaine fiends and Reefer madness: an illustrated history of drugs in the movies. Cornwall Books. p. 190. ISBN   978-0-8453-4504-7.
  6. ↑ (in French) Pascal Ory, Goscinny (1926–wall): la Liberté d'en rire, Paris: Perrin, 2007, ISBN   978-2-262-02506-9, p. 221.
  7. ↑ The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Rotten Tomatoes , retrieved 17 August 2023
  8. ↑ Ebert, Roger (20 December 1976). "The Pink Panther Strikes Again Review (1976)". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  9. ↑ Canby, Vincent (16 December 1976). "Pink Panther Team Unflappable In Fourth High-Spirited Caper". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  10. 1 2 "UA Film Rental Highlights of 1977". Variety . 11 January 1978. p. 3.
  11. ↑ "The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Box Office Information". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  12. ↑ IMDB Awards
  13. ↑ "The 49th Academy Awards (1977) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  14. ↑ "The Pink Panther Strikes Again – Golden Globes". HFPA . Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "Awards Winners". wga.org. Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  16. ↑ AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs Nominees
  17. ↑ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees
  18. ↑ "The Pink Panther Strikes Again". Dramatic Publishing. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.