Der rosarote Panther kehrt zurück

Return of the Pink Panther is an outstanding comedy starring Peter Sellers as the lovable and totally incompetent Inspect Clouseau. I remember seeing this film for the first time just after its release and laughed so hard that my wife refused to sit next to me in the theatre. There are a few slow spots, mainly those without Sellers' charm on screen but there are more than enough belly laughs in this movie to make up for that. Don't miss it.

"The Return of the Pink Panther" is the fourth movie in the "Pink Panther" franchise, marking Peter Sellers' return to what must be his signature role, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Previously, Alan Arkin had stepped into his shoes for one movie, apparently with bad results. In "Return," the fabled Pink Panther diamond is again stolen, with the Phantom's calling card monogrammed glove left as a clue. Clouseau goes back on the case, as does Sir Charles Lytton (Christopher Plummer, taking over for David Niven), the former Phantom himself. Anyway, this movie shows the progress of the "Panther" franchise, when the crazy characters and Clouseau's wacky mannerisms start to really show. Sellers brings slapstick to a fever pitch, making a shambles of everything in his path, not to mention the sanity of his superior, Chief Inspector Dreyfus, played by Herbert Lom. There are lots of funny scenes, including the one in which Clouseau is distracted from a bank robbery by a "blind" accordionist and his chimpanzee "minkey." It's definitely one of the better chapters in the "Pink Panther" saga.

After the famous Pink Panther diamond is stolen from a museum in the fictional Middle Eastern country of Lugash, the Shah requests the services of "Inspector Clouseau" (Peter Sellers) to find the culprits and recover the lost gem. Needless to say, this distresses "Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus" (Herbert Lom) to no end as he is fully aware of how incompetent Inspector Clouseau actually is and only moments before had placed him on an extended suspension for yet another bungled assignment. Regardless, Chief Inspector Dreyfus is forced to put Inspector Clouseau on the case and the first person he suspects is none other than the notorious jewel thief "Sir Charles Litton" (Christopher Plummer) who has long since retired. So while Inspector Clouseau dons a disguise to secretly search through his house, Sir Charles Litton travels to Lugash to find the actual culprit in order to clear his name. In the meantime, Chief Inspector Dreyfus becomes even more incensed each time he receives a report regarding yet another problem resulting from Inspector Clouseau's incompetence. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I enjoyed this particular film and found it to be one of the better additions to the Pink Panther series. I especially liked the scene at a nightclub where Catherine Schell (as "Lady Claudine Litton") appeared to genuinely enjoy Peter Seller's comedic performance. Be that as it may, I recommend this picture to all viewers who might be interested in a comedy of this sort and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

The good: dead pan humor. Over the top silly and childish, but the good kind of silly and childish.

When we were kids in the seventies these were THE comedies we used to watch and we laughed our heads of. Watching it now as a grown up, I must confess there are several scenes that are kinda lame, but overall this movie still stands strong some 50 years later.

More good: Peter Sellers Peter Sellers Peter Sellers. He has perfected the dead pan humor, saying ridiculous things, with a straight and serious face.

There is a lot of slapstick as well, some work, some dont, but overall still a fun watch.

I consider this to be the best of all The Pink Panther series...

Recommended for family viewing, young and old.

This is probably the Panther film that has the funniest gags of the series, but they are scattered disparately throughout. It's clear that Edwards and co. was spoofing James Bond here in the Sir Charles scenes (or, as others have pointed out, perhaps the Bond films were spoofing the Clouseau films?). I was never much of a fan of the Bond series, so naturally these were, perhaps, jokes I just didn't get. But there is much to like here for Peter Sellers fans as well. My favorite is his interrogation of the beggar and his "minkey" that ends with him so wrapped up in trivia that he ignores a bank robbery. As I said, the Sellers bits are what make the film really shine, but I could've done without the emphasis on the Christopher Plummer character (though I must admit I liked him as Sir Charles better than David Niven, in the first Panther film). Watch out for Catherine Schell not even trying to hide her amusement at Clouseau's antics! That's almost worth the price of admission itself...