Le Retour de la panthère rose

Return Of The Pink Panther marked Peter Sellers first appearence as Inspector Closeau since A Shot In The Dark (1964) and kicked off a celebrated Pink Panther sequel trilogy. To follow was The Pink Panther Strikes Again and Revenge Of The Pink Panther. I say trilogy because of course 'Revenge' saw Sellers' last outing before his premature death.

This film is a refreshing return to the roots of the original with Closeau on the trail of the PP diamond after it is once again stolen by the infamous Phantom. The Phantom's alter-ego, Sir Charles Webb (Christopher Plummer taking over from David Niven), is naturally assusmed to be the culprit but he is in fact innocent and so joins in the search.

Steve, from the first page, is spot on with his review of the film. It is slow and quite dismal when Sellers is not on screen and the sub-plot involving Sir Charles is weak and uninteresting, which was not the case with Niven in the original but nevertheless Plummer is an inspired choice for the role. Actually, the whole story isn't really clear or upfront, just Sellers at his best. And when he is on the screen, its gleaming with hilarity with a genius at play.

The result is a comedy which has its obvious flaws but also one which has many, many memorable and rip-roaring laughs. Return Of The Pink Panther is an irrestible treat and a must-see. I'm just having trouble figuring out which is better - this or Strikes Again. They're both great!

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.

Out of all of the Pink Panther movies this one is my all time favorite.

Clouseau is at it again, bungling at his best. His boss who is on the edge for terminating him, indefinitely! And I don't mean by saying "You're FIRED!" I mean he's going to kill him! He called everyone aroud him "idiots" especially his assistant after he accidentally shoots off his nose. The fight scene between Kato and Clouseau was nothing more than mockery of the matial arts. Other than that I enjoyed every part of the movie.

10. Case CLOSED!

I very much enjoy this installment of the series. Not very fond of any of the others. The Return of the Pink Panther just has it all in my opinion. You get a crime story, funny/stupid humor, Clouseau who still has no idea of what's going on(this just makes the movie what it is).

The fight between Clouseau and Kato in the apartment is hilarious. One has to wonder how long Kato was waiting in the refrigerator. The fight is just very slapstick and clumsy that it makes me and my girlfriend laugh every time we see it.

Another great point of the film is the numerous cars that Clouseau goes through. Loosing a few into a pool.

The mental breakdown of Herbert Lom's character is also one of the film's fine points.

This is -- my opinion -- the funniest of the series. I have always enjoyed it, and most likely will always enjoy it.