The Pink Panther Strikes Again

Blake Edwards, UK 1976, 103 minutes

Think of Pink Panther films and one automatically thinks of formulaic comedies which weren't that funny in the first instance and got worse and worse with each sequel as the films got paler and paler... Right?

WRONG!

Although many of the Panther films were fairly predictable, the Pink Panther Strikes Again is about the only watchable one of the lot with some classic scenes and impressive script-writing.

Although Peter Seller's main reason for doing so many Panther films was to finance his life's work, Being There, the Panther films were the only Sellers films that really took off after Dr Strangelove. The mainstream (especially US) market not exactly appreciating the subtlety of Seller's surreal earlier work such as the Goons and I'm All Right Jack.

The scene is set when former Chief Inspector Dreyfus is coming up for re-assessment in a mental asylum after a previous breakdown (fuelled by the incompetent Clouseau). When Clouseau arrives and completely destroys any chance he might have had of ever getting out of the asylum, Dreyfus escapes, sets up a huge criminal cartel and steals a famous world scientist. He proceeds to create a device capable of destroying cities or even countries at his will. Dreyfus then tries to blackmail the world's leaders to get their best agents to kill Clouseau. Here is the premise for many gags as country after country's agent fail to kill the bungling Clouseau and end up killing only each other. Notable cameo roles here include Omar Sharif and Lesley Anne Down. Clouseau searches out Dreyfus' castle and, disguised as a dentist for Dreyfus' toothache, proceeds to take more laughing gas than his patient and pull out the wrong teeth.

This is Panther at it's best - showing what a genius of comedy Sellers really was, accompanied by fine supporting performances by Herbert Lom (as Dreyfus), Burt Kwouk (as Kato) and Leonard Rossiter (as a world weary British detective inspector).

Watch and chortle all the way home.

Review by Stephen J Brennan
Taken from EUFS Programme 1997-98