The Pink Panther (franchise)

## Original film series

### *The Pink Panther*

*The Pink Panther* (1963), the original film of the series, centered on the Phantom/Sir Charles Lytton, portrayed by David Niven. Peter Sellers's performance was so popular that the resulting series was built on the Clouseau character, rather than the Phantom character. Niven's and Sellers's co-stars included Capucine, Robert Wagner, and Claudia Cardinale.

### *A Shot in the Dark*

*A Shot in the Dark* (1964) was released less than a year after *The Pink Panther*, and was the first to feature the Clouseau character as the protagonist of the film, investigating a murder. This film marked the first appearance of many of the tropes and supporting characters long associated with the series, including Commissioner Dreyfus (portrayed by Herbert Lom), his assistant François (portrayed by André Maranne), and Clouseau's manservant, Cato (portrayed by Burt Kwouk). It also co-starred Elke Sommer, George Sanders, Graham Stark, Tracy Reed and Douglas Wilmer.

### *Inspector Clouseau*

The 1968 film *Inspector Clouseau* stars Alan Arkin as Clouseau, and does not feature any other recurring characters from the rest of the series. Although it was produced by the Mirisch Corporation (who owned the rights to the character), few people associated with the earlier films such as Peter Sellers, Blake Edwards, and composer Henry Mancini were involved in the making of this film; as a result, *Inspector Clouseau* is not usually considered a true *Pink Panther* film.

### *The Return of the Pink Panther*

More than a decade after his previous portrayal, Peter Sellers returned as Clouseau in 1975's *The Return of the Pink Panther*. The film marked the return of the famous "Pink Panther" diamond as well as most of the creative team associated with the prior films, including director Blake Edwards, composer Henry Mancini, Herbert Lom as Dreyfus and Burt Kwouk as Cato. David Niven did not reprise the role of Sir Charles Lytton; Lytton is portrayed by Christopher Plummer; the film also co-starred Catherine Schell, Peter Arne, and Graham Stark.

### *The Pink Panther Strikes Again*

In *The Pink Panther Strikes Again* (1976), Dreyfus' insanity reached its zenith, as he tried to blackmail the rest of the world into killing Clouseau. With co-stars Leonard Rossiter, Lesley-Anne Down and Colin Blakely, and featuring a cameo by Omar Sharif.

### *Revenge of the Pink Panther*

*Revenge of the Pink Panther* (1978) pitted Clouseau against the French Connection. It is the last in which Sellers played Clouseau. He died two years after its release. With co-stars Robert Webber, Dyan Cannon, Tony Beckley and Robert Loggia.

### *Romance of the Pink Panther*

*Romance of the Pink Panther* was to be the sixth film in the franchise, to be written by Peter Sellers. Due to hostility between Sellers and Blake Edwards, Edwards would not have directed the film. The basic plot was to involve Inspector Clouseau becoming smitten with a cat burglar called "the Frog", played by Pamela Stephenson. Two drafts were written before Sellers' death, each with different endings.[*citation needed*] Shortly afterwards, it was suggested that Dudley Moore should play Clouseau, but Blake Edwards chose to introduce a new character in the series to replace Clouseau.

### *Trail of the Pink Panther*

*Trail of the Pink Panther* (1982) was the first Pink Panther film made after Peter Sellers' death in 1980. Sellers' role is created by using scenes cut from *Strikes Again*, as well as flashbacks from the previous *Pink Panther* films. This movie was intended as a tribute to Sellers, but after its release, Sellers' widow Lynne Frederick successfully sued Edwards and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for tarnishing her late husband's memory. David Niven and Capucine reprise their original roles from the first Pink Panther film. *Trail* was a critical and commercial failure.

### *Curse of the Pink Panther*

1983's *Curse of the Pink Panther* is the first to feature a different lead character, bungling American detective, Sgt. Clifton Sleigh, portrayed by Ted Wass. Inspector Clouseau and the Pink Panther diamond, both of which had disappeared in *Trail*, are pursued by Sleigh. Clouseau returns, after having plastic surgery to disguise his identity, in a cameo played by Roger Moore (who is credited as "Turk Thrust II"). Although intended to spawn a new series of misadventures for Sergeant Sleigh, the film's dismal box-office performance and critical drubbing, along with a series of back-and-forth suing between MGM and Edwards led to a decade-long hiatus of the series. This was eventually settled out of court in 1988, around the time Edwards came up with one final film idea that would ultimately become the unofficial series finale.

### *Son of the Pink Panther*

In 1993's *Son of the Pink Panther*, Blake Edwards tried one last time to revive the series, this time by casting Roberto Benigni as Gendarme Jacques Gambrelli, Inspector Clouseau's illegitimate son by Maria Gambrelli, the murder suspect from *A Shot in the Dark*. Once again, many former Panther co-stars return – Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk, and Graham Stark, and a star of the original 1963 film, Claudia Cardinale. Although intended to relaunch the series with the bumbling Jacques as a lead, *Son* failed critically and commercially and became the final installment in the original Pink Panther series. It was also the final film for both Edwards and composer Henry Mancini, the former retiring from directing, writing, and producing, and the latter passing away the following year.

1. ↑ PinkPantherMania.com, Romance of the Pink Panther - the Never Released Pink Panther Movie.
2. ↑  (1985) *Final Cut: Dreams and Disaster in the Making of *Heaven's Gate**. New York: New American Library, page 262. ISBN 0451400364.