Return Of The Pink Panther
Sometimes a popular movie franchise can hit its peak at the most inopportune times for both an actor and director. The year was 1975. It had been over 10 years since A Shot In The Dark had come out and solidified Inspector Jacques Clouseau as a veritable legendary comedy character. But since then the careers of both star Peter Sellers and director Blake Edwards had been on the downslide and the Clouseau character himself had taken a hit with the release of the failed interim sequel Inspector Clouseau in 1968 which had featured Alan Arkin badly attempting to fill Sellersâ shoes in the title role. In fact, when Edwards approached United Artists with his concept to do a new movie he was flatly rejected as the executives felt that the franchise itself had nothing new to offer, leading Edwards to find his own financial backing before cutting a split distribution deal between United Artists and Universal Pictures. The final key needed to fall into place was that of Peter Sellers himself, sorely needing the money but nonetheless still reluctant to sign on because he was bored with the idea of playing Clouseau yet again. At some point though, an accord was struck on the pretense that THIS Panther film (the third in the series) would go all out on the humor and slapstick (not to mention wanton mass destruction) while serving as a a pseudo remake of the original 1963 Pink Panther, a film which in hindsight appears much more subdued today due to Clouseau only being a supporting character (yet still stealing scenes) and putting far too much focus on David Nivenâs Sir Charles Litton (aka The Phantom), a gentleman thief and suave playboy who was always just a little bit too cool for Clouseau to outsmart. The differences here were (obviously) Sellers as Clouseau being the clearcut lead character and with Niven unavailable, another acting legend in one Christopher Plummer would take on the role of Sir Charles, this time playing him as more of a rugged, heroic James Bond type instead of the dapper, debonair gentleman whom Niven had essayed, with Catherine Schell filling Capucineâs shoes as his wife, Lady Litton (who is also Clouseauâs ex wife, although that is not directly referenced here). Thankfully, Herbert Lom was also brought back on board as Clouseauâs homicidally crazed boss, Chief Inspector Dreyfus, successfully bringing an element of pathos to the character here as the viewer can almost emphasize and understand just why it is so hard for him to handle having Clouseau as an underling. The film begins by displaying how The Pink Panther Diamond is now on display in a museum in its home country before quickly showing how a daring masked thief manages to outwit the intricate security system in place and make off with the diamond. Problem is that the thief has left in place a monogrammed glove that was the trademark of the original Phantom in Sir Charles, who becomes so concerned that someone is using his old calling card to try and frame him that he decides to launch his own personal investigation into the matter including hitting up some old criminal friends of his. Meanwhile the countryâs government has personally asked France to have Clouseau put on the case (it being that he ârecoveredâ it last time), but when we first see him, Dreyfus has demoted him to merely walking a beat up and down the sidewalk as he winds up missing a bank robbery in progress because he was too busy arguing with a street musician about whether or not he has a licence to be playing his accordion on the sidewalk. Despite this (and much to Dreyfusâ mentally deteriorating dismay), Clouseau is promoted and put on the case, but not before surviving a sneak attack at the hands of his servant Cato (Burt Kwouk also returning) that results in an all out brawl that completely destroys his apartment with the finishing touches being put on by a mad bomber (Dreyfus) that blows the place to kingdom come even as Clouseau still manages to survive. The fights with Cato here are a prime example of the âbigger is betterâ mentality with the two of them managing to lay waste to everything in sight (and Sellersâ stunt double more than earning his money while crashing through entire closets and tables). Indeed, the film is a much crazier redo of Pink Panther 1, but with Cato and Dreyfus now both thankfully in the mix since they werenât introduced until Shot In The Dark (Part 2) and the film benefits from that as Clouseau chooses to stake out Lady Litton all the while being dumb enough to try and wear disguises when heâs around his literal ex wife, a ploy that doesnât work for a second and even has her openly giggling and laughing at his lame attempts to fool her (maybe dinner and a glass of wine with the ex under his own guise would have worked better?). Meanwhile, Plummer as Litton is going all 007 against members of the criminal underworld who think that taking out the notorious original Phantom and serving him up to the Pink Panther diamond home countryâs government would be a good enough consolation prize even if doing so doesnât actually do anything to recover the diamond itself (since Sir Charles really didnât steal it this time). Meanwhile, Dreyfus is always plotting, dreaming of a world with Clouseau dead as if this little problem being wiped away would make everything in his life a virtual Shangri-La as far as heâs concerned. Itâs always a good idea to up the ante when itâs time to do the sequel in any franchise, but this one stands out for not only being the third (and best) in the series, but for throwing out any and all caution to the wind when it comes to divine comic inspiration and yes, that definitely includes setting Peter Sellers loose, sometimes even having him be all by himself in a scene armed with a vacuum cleaner or any other device that is being used to justify his presence in a private residence or hotel room. But the same goes for Lom too, his maniacal tendencies growing so profound that he tends to shoot people randomly (including himself) and even going so far as to make animalistic grunts and noises whenever he goes off the deep end completely as he knows that the only way to âend his painâ is to hunt down and eliminate Clouseau completely, respectable career be damned. Again, as with Shot In The Dark, the actual plot here almost seems like window dressing in order to continue the unholy bond of hatred that exists between Dreyfus and Clouseau (although Clouseauâs seemingly almost complete lack of animosity being shown towards Dreyfus is part of what makes it so endearing) although the Plummer subplot does seem to occupy a good portion of the film and keeps the filmâs pacing to almost feeling leisurely. Of course, Edwards was well aware of the comic gold to be mined from the idea that a police commanding officer could be driven into such a frothing, murderous rage by one of his own men and many of the hilarious dynamics of the Dreyfus / Clouseau relationship would take center stage in the next two entries in the series (which would also be the last two films that Sellers would complete before his death), but the tradition would be upheld extremely well here by having Dreyfus turn out to be an inadvertent hero in saving the day even though that was obviously NOT his intent. But the film remains the best (or at least the liveliest) in the series for the anything goes comic setpieces involving Clouseau, Dreyfus and Cato (or any combination of them in a given scene) with Clouseau and Cato ending the movie in grand style by absolutely destroying a Japanese restaurant with one of their sneak attack brawls (again giving off the impression of them being two crazy little kids just laying waste to everything in their path) followed by Dreyfus being shown straitjacketed in a rubber room where he literally âseesâ (and interacts with on screen) the animated Pink Panther cartoon character who would also become recognized as a lasting figure of this series. As consistently good as the whole series was, it was this whole âback to basics but on a much larger and grander scaleâ approach of the film that sets it apart from the others (and virtually reduces the original 1963 Panther film to being non essential viewing), both in entertaining its audience and earning a place in the hearts of devoted Peter Sellers fans for its commitment to focusing on being funny first and foremost while leaving many of its other trimmings on the floor (unlike the original film, Clouseau was on the right track here all along) and thus being recognized as a comedy classic to be cherished foreverâŚ
9/10