The Return of the Pink Panther
original movie poster
Directed by	Blake Edwards
Produced by	Blake Edwards
Written by	Blake Edwards Frank Waldman
Starring	Peter Sellers Christopher Plummer Catherine Schell Herbert Lom
Music by	Henry Mancini
Cinematography	Geoffrey Unsworth
Editing by	Tom Priestley
Distributed by	United Artists (USA) ITC Entertainment (Europe)
Release date(s)	May 21, 1975
Running time	113 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$5,000,000 (estimated)
Preceded by	Inspector Clouseau
Followed by	The Pink Panther Strikes Again
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Return of the Pink Panther is the fourth film in the Pink Panther series, released in North America by United Artists and in Europe by ITC Entertainment in 1975. The film stars Peter Sellers in the role of Inspector Clouseau in his third Panther appearance (after the original Pink Panther and A Shot in the Dark). Herbert Lom also reprised his role as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus. The film also features the return of the character Sir Charles Lytton (the notorious Phantom), now played by Christopher Plummer rather than David Niven. The Pink Panther diamond once again plays a central role in the plot. Image File history File links 45276F.jpg‎ original movie poster source:www. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This is about the British actor; for the American director, see Peter Sellars. ... Christopher Plummer photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1959 Christopher Plummer, CC (born Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer on December 13, 1927), is a Canadian theatrical, film and television actor. ... Catherine Schell as Nancy in On Her Majestys Secret Service Catherina Schell von Bauschlott (born July 17, 1944 in Budapest) is a Hungarian-born actress who rose to fame in various British film and television productions in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Herbert Lom [Czech IPA: xɛrbɛrd lom] is an international film actor. ... Henry Mancini (April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994), was a noted American composer and arranger. ... Geoffrey Unsworth (1914-1978) was a British cinematographer who enjoyed a long and varied career in the British film industry, working on nearly 90 feature films spanning more than 40 years. ... The current United Artists logo (a variant was used during the 1980s). ... -1... May 21 is the 141st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (142nd in leap years). ... // Events January 28 - George Lucas creates the second draft of what would eventually become Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Inspector Clouseau is a 1968 United Artists feature film, the third in the popular Pink Panther movie series. ... The Pink Panther Strikes Again is the fifth film in the Pink Panther series (although only the third to include the words Pink Panther in its title, despite the fact that the story does not involve the Pink Panther diamond of the previous films) and continues the story after the... Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... The Pink Panther cartoon character. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... The current United Artists logo (a variant was used during the 1980s). ... -1... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... This is about the British actor; for the American director, see Peter Sellars. ... Inspector Jacques Clouseau is a bumbling fictional French detective who was a character in the Blake Edwardss Pink Panther series. ... The Pink Panther is a series of American/British comedic films which feature the bumbling French police detective Jacques Clouseau. ... A Shot in the Dark is a 1964 film directed by Blake Edwards and is the second installment (and considered by many to be the best) in the Pink Panther series. ... Herbert Lom [Czech IPA: xɛrbɛrd lom] is an international film actor. ... The Pink Panther cartoon character. ... Christopher Plummer photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1959 Christopher Plummer, CC (born Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer on December 13, 1927), is a Canadian theatrical, film and television actor. ... David Niven portrayed the original Sir James Bond in the 007 spoof Casino Royale James David Graham Niven (David Niven) (March 1, 1910 – July 29, 1983), was an Academy Award-winning English actor. ...

Plot summary

As the film begins, Clouseau's bumbling has resulted in him being demoted to a beat cop by his boss, Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (who despises Clouseau to the point of obsession). However, the French government forces Dreyfus to reinstate Clouseau as a detective so that he can go to the fictional North African nation of Lugash and investigate the theft of the fabled Pink Panther diamond, which has once again been stolen.  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent. ... One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ... Lugash is a fictional country in the Middle East, mentioned and featured in the Pink Panther movie series. ...

Clouseau's investigations lead him to believe that Charles Lytton, the notorious Phantom, is up to his old tricks and is the culprit responsible for once again stealing the Pink Panther. Although Clouseau completely fails to discover any leads into the theft, his bumbling allows him to survive several attempts on his life by a mysterious assassin (including bombs, sniper attacks, and sabotaging of Clouseau's car brakes). Clouseau is eventually tricked into leaving Lugash completely, following Lytton's wife to a resort hotel in Gstaad, Switzerland, where his bumbling attempts to investigate her only result in repeated failure. Gstaad Gstaad (pronounced ) (Population: 2500) is a small village located () 1 050 m above sea level, in the German-speaking section of the Bern canton in western Switzerland. ...

Meanwhile, Sir Charles Lytton reads about the theft and realises that he's been framed. He goes to Lugash to investigate the theft, having various encounters with underworld figures there and fighting his way out of several attempts on his life. Lytton eventually manages to discover the identity of the true thief: none other than his wife, Lady Lytton, who has apparently grown bored with their quiet retirement. Lytton makes a daring escape from Lugash (both from the underworld and the Lugash Secret Police), and goes to Gstaad to find his wife and the diamond.

Inspector Clouseau, who has unknowingly been on the trail of the real thief all along, receives a phone call from Chief Inspector Dreyfus to arrest Lady Lytton. However, when Clouseau tries to call Dreyfus back to inquire as to why he wants Lady Lytton arrested, he finds out Dreyfus has been on vacation and is not in the office. It is soon revealed that Dreyfus is the assassin that has been trying to kill Clouseau, and he is prepared to shoot Clouseau with a sniper rifle as soon as he steps into Lady Lytton's room.

Lytton gets together with his wife, who playfully confesses to the theft and hands the diamond over to Lytton. However, the two of them are cornered by Colonel Sharky of the Lugash Secret Police, who intends to kill them both (Lugash has been using the theft of the diamond as an excuse to purge their political opponents). Suddenly, Clouseau barges into the room. After Clouseau makes a huge scene over arresting the Lyttons, Sir Charles points out that Colonel Sharky is going to kill them all. Clouseau buffoonishly attempts to arrest Sharky. Suddenly, Dreyfus opens fire on the room, and manages to accidentally kill Sharky while aiming at Clouseau (who ducks at the last minute to check his fly).

For his work in recovering the Pink Panther, Clouseau is promoted to Chief Inspector. Dreyfus is committed to a sanitarium, where he is straitjacketed and placed inside a rubber room. Sir Charles Lytton comes out of retirement, and continues to operate as the Phantom. The movie ends with Dreyfus holding a crayon between his toes so that he can write "KILL CLOUSEAU" on the wall of his cell, while the animated Pink Panther appears to film him.

Trivia

• Like the previous three Panther films, "Return" was released by United Artists. However, they were not directly involved in the production of this film. At the time of its release, UA sold their rights to independent company ITC Entertainment, which intended to make a Pink Panther television miniseries starring Sellers and Lom. However, early in pre-production, ITC made the decision to make a feature film. Although UA continues to hold the copyright as well as theatrical distribution rights (as MGM/UA, via Sony Pictures Entertainment, currently holds theatrical rights to the ITC feature film library), they do not hold all other ancillary rights, including home video. This caused "Return" to enter litigation for a brief time, which is why MGM Home Entertainment did not include "Return" in a 2004 DVD box set of "Pink Panther" films, and will not do so for future collections. The remaining rights to "Return" have reverted to Universal Pictures (via its Focus Features division), which recently assumed the video rights from Artisan/Lions Gate Home Entertainment.

• Recently the "Return of the Pink Panther" has been re-released on DVD for the European market (DVD region code 2).

• Catherine Schell can be seen breaking character and laughing on at least two occasions in the film - once when Clouseau impersonates a telephone repairman, and again when he meets her in a restaurant and pretends to be "Guy Gadbois", a lady's man. This magnifies the impression that Mrs. Lytton sees Clouseau as "cute" rather than a real threat.

• The film broke box office records when released. For a comedy movie, it was considered a huge success, which naturally justified the release of the equally successful sequels.

• Richard Williams did the animated open and close titles for this picture and The Pink Panther Strikes Again . The reason why is because that DFE films was very busy with The Pink Panther shorts and other cartoon projects for TV & film.

-1... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The current Universal Studios logo Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures), a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the major American film studios that has production studios and offices located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County between Los... Focus Features is the art house films division of Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distrubutor for foreign films. ... Artisan Entertainment was a privately-held independent American movie studio that has been owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, since 2003. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Lions Gate Films. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Pink Panther, directed by Blake Edwards and co-written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin, is a 1963 comedy film, starring David Niven, Peter Sellers, and Robert Wagner. ... A Shot in the Dark is a 1964 film directed by Blake Edwards and is the second installment (and considered by many to be the best) in the Pink Panther series. ... The Pink Panther Strikes Again is the fifth film in the Pink Panther series (although only the third to include the words Pink Panther in its title, despite the fact that the story does not involve the Pink Panther diamond of the previous films) and continues the story after the... Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978) is the sixth film in the Pink Panther film series, and the last Panther film in which its star Peter Sellers appeared expressly for. ... Trail of the Pink Panther was a 1982 movie starring Peter Sellers. ... 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