Peter Sellers' final performance as Inspector Jacques Clouseau is also one of the best.
Looking for a way to restore the Godfather's faith in him, a mobster (Robert Wbber), sets out to eliminate the greatest enemy of the French underworld: Clouseau, whose dumb luck has allowed him to accidentally bust crime again and again! Through a strange turn of events and a case of mistaken identity, the mobster thinks he has succeeded in killing Clousea.
The Pink Panther was originally a diamond in the first film in this series, but at this point the name has become synonymous with Clouseau. The presumed dead Inspector teams up with the villain's ex-girlfriend (Dianne Cannon) and seeks out to solve his own murder and get his "revenge." There are now glaring inconsistencies in the continuity of the series. Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), who tried to take over the world and was disintegrated in the previous film is now not only alive and well but is reinstated to a position of responsibility in the police force.
But the Pink Panther series isn't about continuity, anyway. It's about humor. And Sellers and crew serve it up in generous quantities. While some routines are recycled from previous films, there are a few new bits that make the movie worthwhile.
There are two especially hilarious scenes. One is a trip through the insane asylum during which Clouseau has a run-in with a jealous "Hercule Poirot" (you'll see). It's subtle, clever, and very funny. The second is a sequence in which Clouseau finds out his manservant Kato (Burt Kwouk), believing Clouseau to be dead, has turned the detective's apartment into an Oriental brothel.
Then there's wacky disguises, Clouseau's ridiculous accent (crazier here than ever), and the comic "action" scenes involving shoot-outs and car chases. Kato is given a bigger sidekick role than usual here, and Sellers' final moment as Clouseau is perfect: walking off into the moonlit night, arm-in-arm with a beautiful woman, explaining what made him decide to become a policeman in the first place. This film was truly the end of an era.
Looking for a way to restore the Godfather's faith in him, a mobster (Robert Wbber), sets out to eliminate the greatest enemy of the French underworld: Clouseau, whose dumb luck has allowed him to accidentally bust crime again and again! Through a strange turn of events and a case of mistaken identity, the mobster thinks he has succeeded in killing Clousea.
The Pink Panther was originally a diamond in the first film in this series, but at this point the name has become synonymous with Clouseau. The presumed dead Inspector teams up with the villain's ex-girlfriend (Dianne Cannon) and seeks out to solve his own murder and get his "revenge." There are now glaring inconsistencies in the continuity of the series. Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), who tried to take over the world and was disintegrated in the previous film is now not only alive and well but is reinstated to a position of responsibility in the police force.
But the Pink Panther series isn't about continuity, anyway. It's about humor. And Sellers and crew serve it up in generous quantities. While some routines are recycled from previous films, there are a few new bits that make the movie worthwhile.
There are two especially hilarious scenes. One is a trip through the insane asylum during which Clouseau has a run-in with a jealous "Hercule Poirot" (you'll see). It's subtle, clever, and very funny. The second is a sequence in which Clouseau finds out his manservant Kato (Burt Kwouk), believing Clouseau to be dead, has turned the detective's apartment into an Oriental brothel.
Then there's wacky disguises, Clouseau's ridiculous accent (crazier here than ever), and the comic "action" scenes involving shoot-outs and car chases. Kato is given a bigger sidekick role than usual here, and Sellers' final moment as Clouseau is perfect: walking off into the moonlit night, arm-in-arm with a beautiful woman, explaining what made him decide to become a policeman in the first place. This film was truly the end of an era.