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Summary: The inspector looks for the Pink Panther diamond.
Review: This is one of the best pink panther films
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Summary: The Pink Panther Mayhem Continues!
Review: Return Of The Pink Panther may not be as good as the first, but it's still darn funny, with the very funny "Kato" fight scenes returning! This time Clouseau is tracking the Pnk Panther once again that has been stolen, he finds himself tracking a new "Phantom" thief all across the world. Nice gags and funny humor make it all worth while.
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Summary: NOT The Same
Review: Make no mistake, this is not the same sort of movie as the original "Pink Panther". David Niven, Capucine, and Claudia Cardinale are long gone, and, whereas the original had a large dose of sophistication, wit, and style to go along with some classic slapstick from Peter Sellers, this addition to the franchise is entirely a vehicle for Sellers. The change is not necessarily a negative, but the product is much different. Christopher Plummer replaces Niven and Catherine Schell takes Capucine's role. In addition, Herbert Lom (as Clouseau's boss, Chief Inspector Dreyfus) and Bert Kwouk (as Cato) have joined the mayhem. The animated Pink Panther and Henry Mancini's musical theme are still here to help maintain continuity.Again, the changes aren't necessarily a negative. It simply depends on what you're looking for. A quick look at the other reviews here will show that some even prefer this sort of "Pink Panther" movie to the original. Personally, I wouldn't go that far. This isn't quite the stylish classic that the original was. Sophistication and subtle wit are gone and the underlying plot is stretched a bit thin. It begins with another theft of the fabulous "Pink Panther" (supposedly the world's largest diamond). This time, it has been cleverly snatched from a museum in the fictional country of Lugash. Given his past success in recovering the diamond, the local authorities request the services of Clouseau to get it back once again. The retired Sir Charles is the prime suspect. Sellers performs his brand of slapstick with brilliance. Observe the edgy relationship with the increasingly twitchy Inspector Dreyfus, Cato's efforts to keep him alert and prepared for trouble, the scene with the blind man and the monkey, and his attempt to bug Sir Charles' phone. There are more funny hotel room antics, too. If you're a Sellers fan and a large dose of him is what you crave, this flick is right up your alley, but if you're looking for something along the lines of the original "Pink Panther", you may be a little disappointed. I liked it and recommend it to anybody who likes great slapstick comedy in large doses.
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Summary: DA DUM DA DUM, DA DUM, DA DUM DA DUM DA DUM...
Review: Has there ever been a more catchy theme than Mancini's "Pink Panther?" I can't think of any off hand, and in this third entry in the Clouseau series, the music and the animated panther are back in fine form.
Mainly a vehicle for the superb Peter Sellers, this sequel is tired in plot, and struggles for some of its laughs, but one cannot deny the superlative hijinks of Sellers as the impossibly inept Inspector Clouseau. He has so many brilliant moments, it's hard to think of them all, but Sellers is in top form. Christopher Plummer and Catherine Schell do okay, but Herbert Lom and Burt Kwouk as Dreyfuss and Kato are outstanding in their supporting roles. Lom's slow decline into mental illness is hilarious in its cartoonish way, and Kato's fights with Sellers are priceless.
It's an entertaining if inconsequential movie, but I had lots of fun watching it!!
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Summary: The Best Pink Panther Movie
Review: Although I love all of the Pink Panther movies, I think this one is the best. It has tremendous flow and even more quirkiness than the others. Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers are exceptional and flawless as far as their work in the entire series, but this is the most brilliant, seamless, and polished of all of the films. I believe it is truly the crown jewel. I think Christopher Plummer's performance has something to do with this; he is wonderful.
I heard a theory at one time that the Inspector Clouseau character was actually the brilliant villain "behind the scenes" of the crimes in these films; but we were never actually told that for sure, we were just left wondering if it might be so. His bumblings and antics would certainly be the perfect cover for a mastermind of criminal evil. This film in particular makes me believe that theory is true - that Inspector Clouseau is really behind everything. His comic actions in this one are so hilarious, with such perfect timing, I truly believe he is a master manipulator and could be an evil genius. Of course the ensemble of characters for this film was perfectly cast, with superb performances, to add to that of the main character. Though I am only expressing my opinion, I really think this is the best Pink Panther movie of the entire series. I laughed harder during this one than in watching the others, and never left the couch. Great job and highly recommended.
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Summary: The return of Sir Charles to the Clouseau films
Review: More than a decade had passed since "A Shot in the Dark". Reportedly, Sellers did not want to be Clouseau again, but needed the money. This film brings back the jewel thief, Sir Charles Litton, and the whole delightful Clouseau Crew. This time the beauty is Catherine Schell who is Litton's girlfriend and also makes time with Clouseau.
The somewhat jarring aspect of the film is that Litton is not played by David Niven (was he too old or too uninterested in the part? Plummer is seventeen years younger David Niven and looked good in the film. Maybe he was willing to work for less than Niven? In any case, the plot of this one involves the Phantom (supposedly Sir Charles) returning and stealing the Pink Panther from its secure display in a museum. Clouseau, who saved the diamond in the first movie (actually he was convicted and sent to jail), is asked to come and crack this case.
The twist is the Sir Charles knows he did not steal the diamond and feels compelled to go and find out who is impersonating him and disturbing his retirement.
As the old saying goes, hijinks ensue. For me, of the five films, this is the least strong. There is still plenty of ridiculous humor, but the whole Sir Charles thing never quite comes off because he is off doing his thing separate from Clouseau for almost the whole film. It is like two movies are grafted together and the splice coming only at the end.
Still, you can see a lot worse every day at your local movie mall.
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Summary: Hilarious Film - Terrible DVD
Review: This is one of the funniest PP films - I really enjoyed it. I bought it on 2 dvd's, one in the UK in Fullscreen Format with subtitles and the other in the USA Widescreen Format with no subtitles ! Picture Quality in Both cases is ABYSMAL not to mention sound ! This thing needs to be remastered for sound and picture - there are so many hilarious scenes it it !! Also it it missing from both the New Pink Panther collections issued in the the USA and Europe. Can the powers-that-be give us a plausible explanation for this. Can't they see there's a worldwide demand for the totality of this series to be remastered and presented as a single collection ????
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Summary: The Old Freezer Ambush Ploy
Review: This film is notable not for being such a great piece of cinematic or comedic genius, but rather for getting Peter Sellers back into the role of Inspector Clouseau after an eleven year absence. This is actually my least favorite of the Sellers "Panther" movies, but even my least favorite of the series still gets four stars. Sellers is brilliant as always, as is Herbert Lom as the long suffering Chief Inspector Dreyfus. Burt Kwouk adds to the cinematic mayhem with many dastardly attacks (including the wonderfully infamous "Freezer Ambush Ploy"), as does Dreyfus' increasing level of insanity.
The weak link of the film is the nefarious couple of Christopher Plummer and Catherine Schell, who lack the onscreen chemistry with Sellers seen in the other films of the series. The story is a bit boring through the "Fat Man" bit and in Lugash in general, although the scenes with Sellers in the hotel are quite good, especially the scene with the vacuum cleaner and the parrot.
This is a wonderful film, even if it isn't my favorite "Panther". Although the DVD really doesn't offer any special features beyond the original trailer, I still recommend it to any fans of Sellers or Clouseau.
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Summary: Peter Sellers at his best
Review: This is my favorite Pink Panther film. I love the monkey scene and the vacuum cleaner scene.
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Summary: Sellers is still good in uninspired Pink Panther installment
Review: In the fictional Middle Eastern country of Lugash, which given the fezzes the people there wear, must border Turkey, the national symbol, the Pink Panther diamond, is stolen in an exciting sequence that owes a nod to various caper movies. General Wadafi, who is either the military dictator or head of the army, calls in the detective who last recovered the diamond. That happens to be Inspector Clouseau, of course, who returns six years after the Gambrelli Affair (q.v. A Shot In The Dark), and the diamond, which made its appearance in the first Panther film.
After a mildly funny sequence involving a blind man, his minkey, I mean monkey, and citing city ordinances requiring a licence for commercial enterprises, during which he's totally oblivious of a bank robbery taking place behind him, Clouseau goes to Lugash where he is involved in the usual pratfalls at the museum where the theft took place. Finding a gold-monogrammed white glove leads him to the following conclusion, that the thief was none other than "Charles Phantom, the notorious Lytton."
Well, all that Clouseau needs to do is find Lytton. The thing is, Lytton, who has retired, had nothing to do with it. He thus goes to Lugash to clear his name while his lovely wife goes to Gstaad in Switzerland. "Today, a Swiss paradise. Tomorrow, a wasteland," predicts Chief Inspector Dreyfus, when he finds out Clouseau's following Lady Lytton there. Well, Clouseau's acts of destruction are confined to Lady Lytton's room, and his scenes with a vacuum cleaner with ridiculously strong sucking power is the high point of the movie. Another is his trying to infiltrate the Lytton household disguised as a telephone inspector.
As for Inspector Dreyfus, Clouseau's boss, the nervously twitching eye and coming apart at the seams that began in A Shot In The Dark, has led to more of the accidental acts of self-injury, most of which involves a lighter-a birthday gift from his wife-that's indistinguishable from a gun. He actually hates every molecule in Clouseau's body.
This is where Peter Sellers really butchers the English language-lassanse for licence, minkey for monkey, and that old time classic that debuts here, when he asks the deskman at a hotel in Switzerland, "Do you have a ruum?"
Of the guest stars, Catherine Schell is the beauty of this movie. Where Capucine was exasperated at Sellers' mishaps, and Elke Sommer looked blank, Schell actually laughs and shakes her head at this bumbling fool, but treats him decently. Christopher Plummer plays Lytton this time instead of David Niven, and given some of the action scenes, Plummer was a better choice, but he lacks the graceful suave air of Niven.
However, the whole movie has a tired sort of effect. When Clouseau comes out, it comes to life, but the scenes with Lytton, while adding to the mystery of who stole the diamond, isn't much to shout about. There are scenes involving Pepe, a stooge of the Fat Man, the local crime boss of Lugash, and pain gags involving his fingers, which are supposed to be funny, but aren't. And was this movie so lacking ideas as to use the name of a character from The Maltese Falcon? Yes, there are a few comical destruction scenes with Cato, Clouseau's Chinese servant who attacks him without warning to keep him alert, but they don't deflect from the lackluster quality of this movie, but it's better than Revenge Of The Pink Panther. Thank goodness things got back in high gear in its immediate sequel, The Pink Panther Strikes Again.
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