The Curse of the PINK PANTHER Films

When I was a kid, you would occasionally see a Pink Panther cartoon, those colorized but silent shorts with a crafty panther at their center. As I was browsing through Leonard Maltin’s movie guide, I happened to notice there was a live-action film, which I always assumed would have an animated or real panther as part of the package.

This was back when buying movies on VHS was an expensive endeavor. In the period where they were new releases in video rental shops, the price was nearly one hundred dollars. It took almost a year for the film to be marked down where you could afford it and, even then, it was a pricy habit. Hard to remember those days with the technology being completely out of favor.

I tracked down a copy of 1963’s The Pink Panther and was extremely disappointed as any kid would be. It seemed a slow film—a movie lacking verve—that attempted to balance romance, heist films, and slapstick comedy. I was too young for it. It would be years before I could appreciate the talent of Peter Sellers or the laid-back, European vibe of the original film.

Recently, I watched all of the original films in the series, which lasted thirty years. There was at least something funny in each one of them, but the trajectory of this franchise is wild and Sellers, talented as he was, would eventually be the literal and metaphorical death of the films as will be demonstrated below.

The Pink Panther (1963)

The original Pink Panther is based around the attempted theft of the largest diamond in the world whose flaw, when held up to the light, resembles a leaping panther and gives off shades of pink. The original film was to focus on The Phantom, a worldly jewel thief played by the dashing David Niven, who received top billing. He is attempting to seize the diamond, which was a gift given to Princess Dala of the fictional faux Arabian country of Lugash. Sellers, as Inspector Clouseau, became the breakout star of the film with his (again, mostly silent) slapstick humor as he plays a detective for whom the word bumbling was invented. The cast is rounded out by good-looking and suave actors like Robert Wagner (as The Phantom’s nephew), Capucine (Clouseau’s wife who is The Phantom’s lover), and the late Claudia Cardinale as the Princess. While Niven and Cardinale have some wonderful scenes, Sellers runs away with the movie, making a franchise that would outlast him.

A Shot in the Dark (1964)

The best film in the entire series (reboot and all) is the sophomore effort, and one must check their neck from the whiplash of how it came about. Originally intended as a stand-alone film based on the Broadway adaptation of Marcel Achard’s farce The Idiot, it is (save Strangelove), Seller’s best comic performance. A madcap farce, Clouseau finds himself defending a scapegoat from a series of murders, Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer). This is the first inclusion of the staples of the franchise in the characters of Commissioner Charles Dreyfus (the lovably tortured Herbert Lom), Hercule Lajoy (played by Graham Stark), and Clouseau’s martial arts instructor Cato (Burt Kwouk). They would outlive Sellers to appear in all of the remaining films. Funny on its own terms, the movie was adopted into the Pink Panther franchise regardless of the fact that no trace of the jewel can be found.

The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)

The diamond and the Phantom return in the sequel made eleven years later. This time, The Phantom is Christopher Plummer and the setting is the charming town of Gstaad. Clouseau is once again on the case and drives Dreyfus to the point of insanity. While the inclusion of a lot of racist jokes toward Asian people is a bit distracting (and a common criticism of director Blake Edwards’ work), it is a film that is hard not to enjoy. Sellers was already suffering from heart problems, so many of his slapstick scenes are done in slow motion. The plot is given its inevitable back seat as one simply enjoys the setups to slapstick Heaven. Stark appears in this film also, but not as Hercule.

The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)

With Dreyfus barking mad, he becomes the evil genius villain in this film as he gathers all the top bad guys in the world to take out Clouseau, who remains as clueless as ever. Stark once again plays another minor character, that of a hotel clerk. The comic set pieces are part and parcel with The Return of the Pink Panther and one can say this film represents the franchise at its peak, doling out madcap fun at the expense of all involved.

Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)

The last film to feature an original performance by Sellers, the sixth film is oddly prescient as Clouseau is widely believed to be dead, which brings Dreyfus back to life (and his old job, despite threatening the world). This is the first appearance of Professor Auguste Balls, Clouseau’s disguise expert played (this time) by Stark. The film has a very funny ending set in Hong Kong where the Italian mob and the masterminds of the French Connection come together for an explosive finale (a terrible pun; see the picture).

Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)

Films concurrently with Curse of the Pink Panther, Trail is the most famously off-kilter film in the Franchise, made up of alternate takes and extended scenes Sellers had shot for The Pink Panther Strikes Again. Sellers had passed away two years prior and the film was made as a Citizen Kane-like tribute to Sellers. Marie Jouvet, played by Joanna Lumley, is a reporter on the scoop after Clouseau’s death. She interviews various folks involved with him to get an idea of the real man (whom France believes to be a genius). This film brings back Stark as Hercule Lajoy as well as the original Phantom and Clouseau’s ex-wife. It also uses footage of Professor Balls (this time with Harvey Korman) setting Clouseau up with his many disguises. A kind of best of-sketch show feeling.

Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)

The true curse of the Pink Panther franchise was Sellers himself. An obviously talented comedian (see Dr. Strangelove), he was part and parcel of what made the series famous and, with his death, the last two films proved you couldn’t make a competent film without him. In Curse, a super computer, futzed with by Dreyfus, picks a New York cop named Clifton Sleigh to come to Paris to find the Pink Panther diamond. Played by Ted Wass, who would go onto be Blossom’s father, the film is overly long and only sporadically funny, killing the series for a decade. The Phantom and his wife (Capucine) are back—along with Robert Wagner—and the usual suspects of Dreyfus, Cato, and Balls (another Korman performance). In perhaps one of the funniest sequences, Clouseau is shown to be alive, having had plastic surgery that turns him into Roger Moore, who was playing James Bond at the time. Not entirely devoid of humor, but enough to show the series should have stopped two films ago.

Son of the Pink Panther (1993)

Even though they never make sense, the only title not picked was “Son of,” so Edwards brought back Lom, Kwouk, and Stark to reboot the series with Clouseau’s offspring with Maria Gambrelli (from A Shot in the Dark). Though weirdly played by Cardinale (who, if you’ll remember, played Dala), it is fun to see her return to the series to introduce Jacques Gambrelli, played by a pre-Life is Beautiful Roberto Benigni. The only thing the film had going for it was an impressive opening animation (the only time you see the Pink Panther the panther in most of the films) that included Henry Mancini’s terrific theme arranged by Bobby McFerrin. Otherwise, the plot is instantly forgettable and Benigni was virtually unknown outside of Italy. Though he definitely has the slapstick chops, the film reminds you that slapstick is on the lower rung of comedy styles.

Aside from the films above, there are three more unofficially in the series: 1968’s Inspector Clouseau with Alan Arkin as the bumbling detective and not directed by Edwards, and two atrocious films for a reboot with Steve Martin. I’ve only walked out of seven films in my life and 2006’s The Pink Panther was one of them. I never had the heart to stick around for part two.