Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
Directed by Blake Edwards

Film Review

The sixth entry in the Pink Panther series is where, for most of its fans, it ends, being the last film to feature Peter Sellers in the role of the bungling French police chief, Inspector Clouseau.  Sellers did actually appear in the next film, Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), but only in out-takes from the previous films.  By this stage, it is clear that the formula has reached the end of its tether and only Sellers' presence (ably supported by Herbert Lom and Burt Kwouk) prevents the film from being completely forgettable.  Most of the jokes involve Sellers dressing up in increasingly ridiculous costumes, including a pirate outfit with an inflatable parrot.  The humour is strained and most of the slapstick goes horribly awry, but even this is better than the third-rate gangster plot which is singularly lacking in logic and coherence.

After his enjoyably lunatic outing in the previous film, The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), Herbert Lom is only required to pull funny faces whenever he sees Clouseau in this uninspired follow-up (which fails to explain how Dreyfus managed to survive the effects of his Doomsday Weapon).  Sellers is also visibly struggling to get the laughs, not surprisingly as the gags tend to be dull, repetitive and frequently shockingly racist.  It is a pretty disappointing end to an otherwise enjoyable series, although you could say it was a comic masterpiece compared with the ill-conceived rubbish that was to follow.

Film Synopsis

The seemingly respectable businessman Philippe Douvier is in fact the head of a crime syndicate known as the French Connection.  His New York drugs trading partners are not convinced Douvier is up to the job so he decides to mount a coup that will prove his mettle.  His plan: to assassinate Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau, France's most high profile crime fighter, a man who is seemingly indestructible.   When the assassination attempt (predictably) fails, Clouseau decides to lie low, allowing the world to believe he is dead so that he can hunt down his would-be assassin.  Accompanied by his faithful servant Cato and Douvier's former mistress Simone, Clouseau heads off to Hong Kong, to foil a dugs handover and totally humiliate the man who is so keen to put him out of the way...