"That is impossible. How can a blind man be a lookout?"
"How can an idiot be a police officer?"
"Well, all he has to do is enlist..."
"Shut up"
The famed Pink Panther diamond of Lugash has been stolen. This time from the secure Lugash National Museum. The only clue is a single white monogrammed glove: the calling card of the infamous Phantom. The Shah of Lugash only wants one man for the job: Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Sellers).
Back in France, Clouseau has been demoted to traffic cop, but he still causes problems for Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Lom). But when the call comes from the Commissioner, Clouseau is reinstated and sent to Lugash. The clues lead Clouseau to the same conclusion he reached before: the diamond was stolen by "Sir Charles Phantom, the notorious Litton" and sets out to find his old foe.
Sir Charles (Plummer) is living the quiet life of retirement with his wife, Claudine (Schell) in France. When news of the robbery reaches their home, Sir Charles claims innocence and vows to bring the guilty party to justice. He leaves for Lugash to use old contacts to find the truth, but no one believes him. Crime boss The Fat Man (Pohlmann) wants to collect the reward on Sir Charles' head and has squeamish henchman, Pepi, (Stark) track him. And the head of the Lugash Secret Police, Colonel Sharky (Arne), has other plans for Sir Charles.
Meanwhile, Clouseau tries to get information from Claudine by following her to Gstaad, Switzerland. And Dreyfus tries to keep his blood pressure and sanity in check, in spite of Clouseau's antics and a gun mixup.
The third film in the Pink Panther series, and probably one of my least favorites. Why is that? The same formula that worked in it's predecessor, "A Shot in the Dark" (made eleven years earlier), and that works in the subsequent films, is present... but too much of the film feels familiar. The story is like the far superior Alfred Hitchcock film "To Catch a Thief."
The opening sequence is brilliant. Beginning with a tour guide explaining the history of the Pink Panther diamond, and all the security precautions in place, and then the actual robbery, with the thief's face in the shadow the entire time. There are other funny sequences, such as the scenes between Dreyfus and Clouseau (like the one quoted and shown at the beginning of this post)... but many fall flat, such as Clouseau trailing Claudine in the hotel. Perhaps part of the problem lies in his cohort, the bellboy... but gags just aren't as funny.
Another problem with this film is the Littons. Christopher Plummer is great, but I wish his character was a different Litton, Sir Charles brother or another nephew or a cousin or something... because Sir Charles from the original film, played by David Niven, was in a relationship with Clouseau's wife Simone, played by Capucine. Changing the actress and the name of this woman changes the story... new Lady Litton doesn't know Clouseau, while Simone obviously did. But, if this was a different Litton, Claudine could be a legitimate character. Perhaps this is a small point, but it annoys me. I'm also not a fan of the actress, Catherine Schell. She laughs at several points, understandably but distracting, and just comes off as more annoying than knowing.
Not the worst in the series, but definitely close (for me).
Back in France, Clouseau has been demoted to traffic cop, but he still causes problems for Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Lom). But when the call comes from the Commissioner, Clouseau is reinstated and sent to Lugash. The clues lead Clouseau to the same conclusion he reached before: the diamond was stolen by "Sir Charles Phantom, the notorious Litton" and sets out to find his old foe.
Sir Charles (Plummer) is living the quiet life of retirement with his wife, Claudine (Schell) in France. When news of the robbery reaches their home, Sir Charles claims innocence and vows to bring the guilty party to justice. He leaves for Lugash to use old contacts to find the truth, but no one believes him. Crime boss The Fat Man (Pohlmann) wants to collect the reward on Sir Charles' head and has squeamish henchman, Pepi, (Stark) track him. And the head of the Lugash Secret Police, Colonel Sharky (Arne), has other plans for Sir Charles.
Meanwhile, Clouseau tries to get information from Claudine by following her to Gstaad, Switzerland. And Dreyfus tries to keep his blood pressure and sanity in check, in spite of Clouseau's antics and a gun mixup.
The third film in the Pink Panther series, and probably one of my least favorites. Why is that? The same formula that worked in it's predecessor, "A Shot in the Dark" (made eleven years earlier), and that works in the subsequent films, is present... but too much of the film feels familiar. The story is like the far superior Alfred Hitchcock film "To Catch a Thief."
The opening sequence is brilliant. Beginning with a tour guide explaining the history of the Pink Panther diamond, and all the security precautions in place, and then the actual robbery, with the thief's face in the shadow the entire time. There are other funny sequences, such as the scenes between Dreyfus and Clouseau (like the one quoted and shown at the beginning of this post)... but many fall flat, such as Clouseau trailing Claudine in the hotel. Perhaps part of the problem lies in his cohort, the bellboy... but gags just aren't as funny.
Another problem with this film is the Littons. Christopher Plummer is great, but I wish his character was a different Litton, Sir Charles brother or another nephew or a cousin or something... because Sir Charles from the original film, played by David Niven, was in a relationship with Clouseau's wife Simone, played by Capucine. Changing the actress and the name of this woman changes the story... new Lady Litton doesn't know Clouseau, while Simone obviously did. But, if this was a different Litton, Claudine could be a legitimate character. Perhaps this is a small point, but it annoys me. I'm also not a fan of the actress, Catherine Schell. She laughs at several points, understandably but distracting, and just comes off as more annoying than knowing.
Not the worst in the series, but definitely close (for me).
The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) 113 minutes
Director: Blake Edwards
Starring: Peter Sellers as Inspector Jacques Clouseau
Christopher Plummer as Sir Charles Litton
Catherine Schell as Lady Claudine Litton
Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus
Peter Arne as Colonel Sharky
Peter Jeffrey as General Wadafi
Gregoire Aslan as Police Chief Lundallah
David Lodge as Mac
Graham Stark as Pepi
Eric Pohlmann as The Fat Man
Andre Maranne as Sergeant Francois Chevalier
Burt Kwouk as Cato Fong
Christopher Plummer as Sir Charles Litton
Catherine Schell as Lady Claudine Litton
Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus
Peter Arne as Colonel Sharky
Peter Jeffrey as General Wadafi
Gregoire Aslan as Police Chief Lundallah
David Lodge as Mac
Graham Stark as Pepi
Eric Pohlmann as The Fat Man
Andre Maranne as Sergeant Francois Chevalier
Burt Kwouk as Cato Fong
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