Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk

The sixth Pink Panther comedy was the last to star Peter Sellers (the following film in the series incorporated previously unseen footage), and it was also the last in the series to show any si...( read more  read more... )gns of genuine inspiration. It's a weak entry in the Panther pantheon, involving a rather mundane plot about a "French Connection" drug deal that leads Inspector Clouseau--presumed murdered and now sleuthing incognito--to Hong Kong for a brash, slapstick finale that almost compensates for the routine gags that precede it. Sellers and director Blake Edwards are coasting along smoothly here, and some of the gags pay off in well-earned laughs--particularly with a clever nod to Dr. Strangelove when Clouseau dons a Toulouse-Lautrec costume. Another highlight finds Clouseau disguised as an old sea captain, complete with a leaky inflatable parrot (it looks more like a purple puffin) resting limply on his shoulder. But a later attempt to spoof Mafia kingpins is hardly up to snuff for a talent as original as Sellers, and Dyan Cannon lacks the comedic sensibility to make the most of her role as a druglord's vengeful ex-mistress. Some of the physical gags are amazingly elaborate, and it's still a riot to hear Sellers perfecting (or is that murdering?) his hilarious French accent, but while it's adequately enjoyable this movie makes you long for the glory days of the Pink Panther franchise. --Jeff Shannon

Flixster Users

70% liked it

31,107 ratings

Critics

81% liked it

16 critics

PG, 1 hr. 39 min.

Directed by: Blake Edwards

Release Date: July 21, 1978

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DVD Release Date: August 15, 2001

 

Stats: 638 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (638)


  • August 10, 2009
    "but i am clouseau", "i know!" Inspector dreyfus shooting at him as he is chasing clouseau who is in disguise! good for laughs. it says something that the series was kept going for this long and was still very watchable. numero 6
  • September 6, 2008
    One of the weaker Panther films in the series.
  • December 20, 2007
    Ah, yes, more Sellers, more Lom.

    I've read that this is often considered the drop off the cliff for the series, though there was at least one more made "with" Peter Sellers (the last I have scheduled to watch, Trail of the Pink Panther, which uses recycled and previously ...( read more)unused footage of the then-deceased Sellers) after this, and this one itself included Sellers. Perhaps what they meant was starting AFTER this one? I can't be sure, but this certainly felt, primarily, like a solid continuation of the now fairly long-running series. There was a slightly greater slickness and familiarity to the whole affair, with a little greater set up to some gags, and a little stronger production value (likely studios were more willing to invest money this time with that much popularity behind the preceding films), but DePatie-Freleng returned for the credits after their short hiatus for the previous film, and Kwouk, Lom and Sellers are all here and in top form for their increasingly (increasingly? is that possible?) ludicrous roles as Cato, Dreyfus and Clouseau respectively.

    There is a bit of tiredness to things, a sort of "seen it" feeling, but not an overbearing one, and one which does not stop a few laugh-out-loud moments, and Edwards and company do find a new gag to focus on--Clouseau's inept disguise attempts, like a Swedish, parrot-shouldered "seadog," or a falsely rotund mob Godfather--both with Swedish and Italian accents respectively, layered on top of Clouseau's mangled French accent to a pretty amusing effect. Dreyfus' return is inexplicable after the previous film (suggestions like "prequel" abound, but it really doesn't matter) but is welcome, this time he is back in the asylum, but now being released because drug-runner (drugs? that was a bit of a strangely serious turn) Philipe Douvier (Robert Webber, who looks awfully familiar, but I'm not sure what from--probably two strangely coincidental movies--a juror in 12 Angry Men and a general in The Dirty Dozen--guess 12 is perhaps his favourite number?) has (supposedly) finally done Clouseau in, leaving Dreyfus effectively sane.

    Of course, nothing of the sort has occurred and our incompetent fool of a hero continues on his way anyway, trying to take down the French Connection with said disguises and the loose-lipped advantage of his "demise" to help him. Dyan Cannon appears as Douvier's jilted lover, helping Clouseau through that inexplicable attraction he encourages in attractive women around him. In essence, it's still another live-action slapstick cartoon, complete with standard spherical black bombs with big fuses and explosions that often do little but leave people in "humorously" body-covering casts that don't hurt until squeezed and some characters or sets simply covered in carbon. If you like Sellers (and you should) and you like slapstick (and you might)--then it's not a bad choice, but nothing extraordinary.
  • August 17, 2007
    Classic peter sellars strikes again!
  • February 27, 2007
    More by the numbers slapstick nonsense. There's very little subtlety or originality on display here, I'm afraid. Just silly accents and fart jokes.
  • October 15, 2009
    Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) happily believes that Clouseau has died in an explosion, but in reality, he's alive and busy mangling a case! Using absurdly mismatched costumes and accents, Clouseau travels to Hong Kong to intercept a major heroin deal, bringing Cato (Burt ...( read more)Kwouk) and the drug lord's jilted lover (Dyan Cannon) with him. The only problem is, Dreyfus is on the case too!

    also stars Peter Sellers, Robert Webber, Paul Stewart, Andre Maranne, Tony Beckley, Alfie Bass, Sue Lloyd, Douglas Wilmer and Ferdy Mayne.

    directed by Blake Edwards.
  • September 5, 2009
    very funny film, just like the other ones.
  • August 3, 2009
    there really did not need to be this many Pink Panther films, and this installment is adequate proof why. Sellers and Lom, while funny, aren't nearly as on their games as early on in the franchise. the storyline is also much more serious and isn't imbued with as much silliness ...( read more)or bumbling slapstick. in a way, this film tries too hard...both to be funny and to live up to its Pink Panther name. it's entertaining, but it's definitely one of the weaker films in the series.
  • July 26, 2009
    Weakest and last Pink Panther of the series (I don't count the non-Peter Sellers ones) but still has a few laughs here and there.
  • June 20, 2009
    Inspector Clouseau is back...and he's a bigger fool than anyone gives him the credits for.

Comments


  • giselsuperchick18
    July 8, 2007
    long live peter sellers it's 1 of the funniest movie in decades & wat i mean decades it means that it's way much than the new pink panther with steve martin (not funny at all)

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