Main Cast: Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Dyan Cannon, Robert Webber, Burt Kwouk
Release Year: 1978
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 99 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
In Revenge of the Pink Panther, for the final time, the bumbling but impeturbable Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) maddens his long-suffering boss Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), sharpens his wits and martial skills with his manservant Cato (Burt Kwouk) and foils the bad guys without ever having a clue about what he is doing. In the story, Clouseau allows a gang of drug racketeers to believe that he has been assassinated and dons a series of disguises as he travels all over the world in order to apprehend the culprits. He is assisted by Simone Legree (Dyan Cannon), the former girlfriend of the drug-lord Douvier (Robert Webber). Though it received a very mixed reception from critics, this, the fifth of the Pink Panther series, did very well at the box-office. Sadly, it was actor Peter Sellers' final screen appearance before his death in 1980 (the later film, The Trail of Pink Panther was composed of outtakes from previous Pink Panther films). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
Review
Comic genius Peter Sellers died two years after making this film. But he went out with a bang--16 of them, in fact. That's how many times his enemies try to assassinate his character, French detective Jacques Clouseau, in this 1978 production. Clouseau's own boss, Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), makes two of the attempts. Throughout the Pink Panther series of films, Clouseau's ineptitude repeatedly drives Dreyfus to the brink of insanity, and Dreyfus lies awake at night plotting Clouseau's murder. In this production, Clouseau pretends that an assassination attempt has succeeded. After he is declared dead, Dreyfus cries tears of joy as he delivers a eulogy. Meanwhile, Clouseau goes sleuthing in disguise to solve his own murder and corral drug-traffickers. From an artistic standpoint, the script of this film is inferior to the scripts of earlier Pink Panther films, for it is really a series of sketches spotlighting Sellers' talents. However, to fans of Sellers, these sketches are among the best--or possibly even be the best--in the entire series of Pink Panther films. In one scene, Sellers shops at a "spy store" for disguises and ends up detecting as a peg-legged sailor with an inflatable parrot, a pinstriped gangster, a priest, and dwarf painter Toulouse Lautrec. Mayhem, mishap, and destruction follow Clouseau everywhere: He explodes a bomb, accidentally sets Dreyfus's office on fire, gets his peg leg stuck in a knothole at a crucial moment, and falls through a floor after a martial-arts romp with his valet Cato (Burt Kwouk). For fans of Sellers, this is a must-have film in spite of its weaknesses. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Paul Stewart - Julio Scallini; Robert Loggia - Marchione; Graham Stark - Dr. Auguste Balls; Sue Lloyd - Claude Russo; Tony Beckley - Guy Algo; Valerie Leon - Tanya; Paul Antrim - Lookout; Alfie Bass - Feruet; John Bluthal - Cemetery Guard; Alec Bregonzi - Douvier's Boardmember #1; Maria Charles - Lady Client; Anthony Chinn - Doorman; John Clive - Aide to President; Adrienne Corri - Therese Douvier; Arnold Diamond - Douvier's Boardmember #2; John Heller - Douvier's Boardmember #3; Brian Jackson - Police Chief; Andrew Lodge - Police Sergeant; Andre Maranne - Francois; Ferdy [Ferdinand] Mayne - Dr. Laprone; Henry McGee - Officer Bardot; Julian Orchard - Hospital Clerk; Steve Plytas - Douvier's Boardmember #5; Andrew Sachs - Hospital Inmate; Lon Satton - Sam Spade and the Private Eyes Member #1; Danny Schiller - Cunny; Michael Ward - Realtor; Rita Webb - Lady at Window; Elisabeth Welch - Madame Wu; Frank Williams - Gentleman Client; Douglas Wilmer - Police Commissioner; John Wyman - Toledo; Charles Augins - Vic Vancouver; Dave King - Douvier's Boardmember #4; Marc Lawrence; Robert La Bassiere - Haig & Haig Guy #2; Me Me Lai - Chinese Lady of Easy Virtue #2; Margaret Anderson - Police Chief's Wife; John A. Tinn - Mr. Chow; Irvin Allen
Credit
John Siddall - Art Director, Tiny Nicholls - Costume Designer, Terry Marcel - First Assistant Director, Blake Edwards - Director, Anthony Squire - Second Unit Director, Alan Jones - Editor, Tony Adams - Executive Producer, Henry Mancini - Composer (Music Score), Lon Satton - Songwriter, Leslie Bricusse - Songwriter, Harry Frampton - Makeup, Peter Mullins - Production Designer, Ernest Day - Cinematographer, Tony Adams - Producer, Blake Edwards - Producer, Ken Wales - Producer, Jack Stephens - Set Designer, Dennis Lowe - Special Effects, Brian Johnson - Special Effects, Roy Charman - Sound/Sound Designer, Dick Crockett - Stunts, Joe Dunne - Stunts, Dick Crockett - Stunts Coordinator, Joe Dunne - Stunts Coordinator, Ron Clark - Screenwriter, Blake Edwards - Screenwriter, Frank Waldman - Screenwriter, Don Lusher - Musical Performer
