The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) United Artists/Comedy RT: 114 minutes Rated G (comic violence, mildly suggestive content) Director: Blake Edwards Screenplay: Frank Waldman and Blake Edwards Music: Henry Mancini Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth Release date: May 21, 1975 (US) Cast: Peter Sellers, Christopher Plummer, Catherine Schell, Herbert Lom, Bert Kwouk, Peter Arne, Graham Stark, Peter Jeffrey, Gregoire Aslan, Eric Pohlmann, David Lodge, Andre Maranne, Victor Spinetti, Mike Grady, John Bluthal, Peter Jones. Box Office: $41.8M (US)
Rating: ***
After more than a decade, Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers reunited for The Return of the Pink Panther, the fourth installment of the series centered on bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the Surete. This one is just pure slapstick silliness as Clouseau once again sets out to recover the Pink Panther diamond stolen from a museum in Lugash.
By now, the character of Clouseau has been firmly established as a blithering idiot who drives his boss bonkers. So bonkers that Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Lom) now requires the services of a psychiatrist to deal with his obsession with the clumsy, incompetent detective who somehow always manages to solve cases. I have to admit that I laughed several times during The Return of the Pink Panther. It’s a silly, mindless comedy caper that owes a huge debt to Casablanca and To Catch a Thief.
So the Pink Panther diamond has been stolen again and the chief suspect is purportedly retired jewel thief Sir Charles Litton aka “The Phantom” (Plummer, The Sound of Music). Besides the fact that a white monogrammed glove was left at the scene (the Phantom’s calling card), only a master thief could have pulled off such a job. The museum is highly secured and heavily guarded. The Lugash government wants Clouseau, who’s been demoted to beat cop by his boss, to come in and solve the case. Dreyfus’ bosses force him to reinstate Clouseau just moments after he gives him a six-month suspension for failing to stop a bank robbery that happened right under his nose. After concluding that Sir Charles committed the robbery, Clouseau heads off to Nice to stake out his manor.
Meanwhile, Sir Charles heads off to Lugash to find out who framed him for the theft. There, he encounters several shifty types like a crime figure known as “The Fat Man” (Pohlmann) and shady Colonel Sharki (Arne) of the secret police. In an attempt to throw Clouseau off his trail, his wife Lady Claudine (Schell, Space: 1999) tricks the detective into following her to a resort hotel in Gstaad (Switzerland) where he thinks she’ll be meeting up with Sir Charles. Along the way, a mysterious assassin makes several unsuccessful attempts on Clouseau’s life.
The Return of the Pink Panther runs a bit longer than it needs to, but it has enough laughs that you don’t really mind. I laughed my head off at the bit involving Clouseau, posing as a hotel employee, fighting a losing battle with a powerful vacuum cleaner. Seller does his usual masterful job with his character and his trademark exaggerated French accent and mannerisms as well as his tendency to demolish places- e.g. an office, a hotel room, a museum and a Japanese restaurant. The surprise attacks by faithful servant Cato (Kwouk) are hysterical. Lom is also hilarious with his character on a fast track to a complete nervous breakdown as a result of Clouseau’s escapades. There’s some funny business with a lighter that resembles a pistol.
As usual, the opening titles are a lot of fun with the animated Pink Panther evading the accident-prone detective. Henry Mancini’s score is terrific. In addition to the theme, he contributes a song entitled “The Greatest Gift”. It’s heard twice; instrumentally and later with vocals by The New Seekers. I love this guy! Nobody makes music like this anymore. The international locations are gorgeous. The scenery in Nice is…. well, nice. Despite its imperfections, The Return of the Pink Panther is a fun movie sure to make you laugh.
