Tripti Joshi (Editor)

The Return of the Pink Panther

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
8
/
10
1
Votes
Alchetron
8
1 Ratings
100
90
81
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Rate This

Rate This


Genre
  
Comedy, Crime, Mystery

Music director
  
Henry Mancini

Country
  
United Kingdom

7.1/10
IMDb

Director
  
Blake Edwards

Film series
  
The Pink Panther

Duration
  

Language
  
English

The Return of the Pink Panther movie poster

Release date
  
21 May 1975 (1975-05-21)

Writer
  
Frank Waldman (screenplay), Blake Edwards (screenplay)

Screenplay
  
Blake Edwards, Frank Waldman

Cast
  
Peter Sellers
(Jacques Clouseau),
Christopher Plummer
(Sir Charles Litton),
Herbert Lom
(Charles Dreyfus),
Catherine Schell
(Claudine),
Peter Arne
(Col. Sharki),
Peter Jeffrey
(Gen. Wadafi)

Similar movies
  
Ant-Man
,
The Rescuers Down Under
,
Blackhat
,
Inception
,
The Wolf of Wall Street
,
Let's Be Cops

The return of the pink panther official trailer 1 christopher plummer movie 1975 hd


The Return of the Pink Panther is the fourth film in The Pink Panther series, released in 1975. The film stars Peter Sellers, returning to the role of Inspector Clouseau, for the first time since A Shot in the Dark (1964), after having declined to reprise the role in Inspector Clouseau (1968). The film was a commercial hit and revived the previously dormant series.

Contents

The Return of the Pink Panther movie scenes

Herbert Lom reprises his role as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus from A Shot in the Dark; he remained a regular thereafter. The character of Sir Charles Lytton, the notorious Phantom, is now played by Christopher Plummer rather than David Niven (as in The Pink Panther, 1963), who was unavailable. The Pink Panther diamond once again plays a central role in the plot.

The Return of the Pink Panther movie scenes

Plot

The Return of the Pink Panther wwwgstaticcomtvthumbmovieposters1217p1217p

In the fictional country of Lugash, a mysterious thief seizes the Pink Panther diamond and leaves a white glove marked with a gold-tinted "P". With its national treasure once again missing, the Shah of Lugash requests the assistance of Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) of the Sûreté, as Clouseau had recovered the diamond the last time it was stolen. Clouseau has been temporarily demoted to beat cop by his boss, Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), who despises him to the point of obsession, but the French government forces Dreyfus to reinstate him. Clouseau joyously receives the news after fending off a surprise attack from his servant Cato (Burt Kwouk), who had been ordered to keep the Inspector on his toes, and duly goes to Lugash.

The Return of the Pink Panther The Return of the Pink Panther dvd cover 1975 R1

Upon examining the crime scene in the national museum — in which he wrecks several priceless antiquities — Clouseau concludes that the glove implicates Sir Charles Lytton (Christopher Plummer), alias "the notorious Phantom," as the thief. After several catastrophic failures to stake out Lytton Manor in Nice (which he nearly demolishes), Clouseau believes a mysterious assassin is attempting to kill him. He follows Sir Charles' wife, Lady Claudine (Catherine Schell), to a resort hotel in Gstaad in search of clues to her husband, where he repeatedly bungles the investigation and wrecks her hotel room using an overly powerful vacuum cleaner.

The Return of the Pink Panther The Return Of The Pink Panther DVD Amazoncouk Peter Sellers

Meanwhile, Sir Charles, reading about the theft, realizes he has been framed. Arriving in Lugash to clear his name, Sir Charles barely avoids being murdered and sent to the Lugash secret police by his associate known as the "Fat Man" (Eric Pohlmann), who explains that with the leading suspect dead, the secret police will no longer have an excuse to continue purging their political enemies. Escaping to his suite, Lytton finds secret police Colonel Sharki (Peter Arne) waiting for him, who implies the Fat Man's understanding is correct, but reminds him the diamond must be recovered eventually. Pretending to cooperate, Sir Charles is unable to hide his reaction when he recognizes his own wife in disguise on the museum's security footage. He avoids another plot by the Fat Man and his duplicitous underling Pepi (Graham Stark) and escapes from Lugash, secretly pursued by Sharki, who believes Sir Charles will lead him to the diamond.

The Return of the Pink Panther The Return of the Pink Panther 1975

Still in Gstaad, Clouseau, who unwittingly has been on the trail of the real thief all along, is suddenly ordered by Dreyfus over the telephone to arrest Lady Lytton. When Clouseau calls back to clarify the order, however, he is told that Dreyfus has been on vacation. Sir Charles confronts Lady Claudine, who admits she did it to spark excitement in their sedate existences, but not before the Colonel gets there first. However, just as Colonel Sharki prepares to kill them both, the Inspector barges in — and in the process, Dreyfus, the "mysterious assassin" trying to kill Clouseau from the beginning, accidentally kills the Colonel instead.

The Return of the Pink Panther The Return Of The Pink Panther 1975 DVD 1976 Amazoncouk

For once again recovering the Pink Panther, Clouseau is promoted to Chief Inspector, while Sir Charles resumes his career as a jewel thief (Lady Claudine's fate is not mentioned). At a Japanese restaurant in the epilogue, Cato unexpectedly attacks Clouseau again and triggers a massive brawl, naturally destroying the premises. In a (literal) mid-credits scene, Dreyfus is committed to a lunatic asylum for his actions, where he is straitjacketed inside a padded cell and vows revenge on Clouseau. The animated Pink Panther appears and films his antics, and concludes the credits with a smoke ring.

Tagline

The Return of the Pink Panther Reliance Home Videos The Return Of The Pink Panther

You can rest assured that there's trouble, because Inspector Clouseau is on the case. (That's the trouble.)

Cast

The Return of the Pink Panther Is The Return of the Pink Panther available to watch on UK Netflix

  • 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
  • Burt Kwouk as Cato Fong
  • Peter Arne as Colonel Sharki
  • Peter Jeffrey as General Wadafi
  • Grégoire Aslan as Chief of Lugash Police
  • David Lodge as Mac
  • Graham Stark as Pepi
  • Eric Pohlmann as The Fat Man
  • André Maranne as François
  • Victor Spinetti as Hotel Concierge
  • John Bluthal as Blind Beggar
  • Mike Grady as Bell Boy
  • Peter Jones as Psychiatrist
  • Home media release

    The film had been released on VHS, Betamax, CED , and Laserdisc a few times in the 1980s by Magnetic Video, CBS/Fox Video, and J2 Communications respectively.

    In 1996, LIVE Home Video under the Family Home Entertainment label re-released the film on VHS as part of the Family Home Entertainment Theater lineup and on a Widescreen Laserdisc. In 1999, Artisan Entertainment (LIVE's successor) re-released the film on VHS and debuting on DVD for the first time in the original widescreen format. The only bonus material seen on this release were cast filmographies, production notes and the film's original theatrical trailer.

    In 2006, rights holder Granada (owners of the ITC catalog) sub licensed the film to Universal Studios Home Entertainment under Focus Features for distribution in the US and UK, with a new, bare-bones release featuring an anamorphic widescreen transfer being released in 2006 by Universal in both territories. In 2015, the 2006 UK DVD was reissued by Fabulous Films still under licence from Universal and ITV Studios (who acquired Granada and the ITC library), followed by a UK Blu-ray release by Fabulous in 2016.

    As MGM has recently acquired all US distribution rights from Universal and ITV Studios (although ITV still has international ownership with Universal handling distribution), Shout Factory has announced that they plan to release the film, along with the other Peter Sellers Pink Panther films, in a 6-disc set for the first time on Blu-ray under their Shout Select label. The set was released on June 27, 2017.

    References

    The Return of the Pink Panther Wikipedia
    The Return of the Pink Panther IMDbThe Return of the Pink Panther Rotten TomatoesThe Return of the Pink Panther themoviedb.org