Movie the Pink Panther Strikes Again
| The Pink Panther Strikes Again | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Blake Edwards |
| Screenplay by | Frank Waldman Blake Edwards |
| Produced by | Blake Edwards Tony Adams (Acquaintance Producer) Animation: Richard Williams |
| Starring | Peter Sellers Herbert Lom Colin Blakely Leonard Rossiter Lesley-Anne Down |
| Cinematography | Harry Waxman |
| Edited by | Alan Jones |
| Music past | Henry Mancini |
| Production | Amjo Productions |
| Distributed past | United Artists |
| Release dates |
|
| Running time | 103 minutes |
| Countries | United Kingdom United States |
| Linguistic communication | English |
| Budget | $6 million |
| Box role | $75 million[1] |
The Pink Panther Strikes Once more is a 1976 one-act film. The fifth picture in The Pink Panther series, its plot picks up three years later The Return of the Pink Panther, with former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) about to be released from a psychiatric hospital afterwards having finally been driven insane by new Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau'southward (Peter Sellers) unrelenting ineptitude in the previous films. A typically disastrous visit from Clouseau on the day of his release prompts a swift relapse which cancels Dreyfus's scheduled discharge, but he soon escapes anyway, and organizes an elaborate criminal plot to threaten the countries of the world with anything by a massive laser weapon if they practice non assassinate Clouseau for him.
Unused footage from the flick was later on included in Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), afterward Sellers' death.
Plot [edit]
After three years in a psychiatric hospital, sometime Master Inspector of the Sûreté Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), has recovered from his obsession to kill Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) and is about to be released; Clouseau, who has since replaced Dreyfus as Master Inspector, arrivies unannounced to speak on behalf of his one-time boss, and within minutes drives Dreyfus insane over again. Dreyfus later escapes from the hospital and again tries to impale Clouseau by planting a flop while the Inspector (by periodic organization) duels with his manservant Cato (Burt Kwouk). The flop destroys Clouseau's apartment and injures Cato, merely Clouseau himself is unharmed, being lifted from the room by an inflatable hunchback disguise. Deciding that a more than elaborate plan is needed to eliminate Clouseau, Dreyfus enlists an army of career criminals to his crusade and kidnaps nuclear physicist Professor Hugo Fassbender (Richard Vernon) and the Professor'south daughter Margo (Briony McRoberts), forcing the professor to build a "doomsday weapon" in return for his daughter's liberty.
Clouseau travels to the Britain to investigate Fassbender's disappearance, where he wrecks their family home and ineptly interrogates Jarvis (Michael Robbins), Fassbender's cross-dressing butler. Although Jarvis is afterward killed by the kidnappers, to whom he had become a dangerous witness, Clouseau discovers a clue that leads him to the Oktoberfest in Munich, Due west Deutschland. Meanwhile, Dreyfus, using Fassbender's invention, disintegrates the United Nations headquarters in New York City and blackmails the leaders of the earth, including the President of the U.s. and his Secretary of State (based on Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger), into assassinating Clouseau. However, many of the nations instruct their operatives to kill Clouseau to proceeds Dreyfus'south favor and perhaps the Doomsday Machine. Equally a result of their orders and Clouseau'south obliviousness, all of the other assassins end up killing one some other until only the agents of Egypt and Russia remain.
The Egyptian assassinator (Omar Sharif) shoots one of Dreyfus' assassins, mistaking him for Clouseau, simply is seduced by the Russian operative Olga Bariosova (Lesley-Anne Down), who makes the same error. When the real Clouseau arrives, he is perplexed past Olga'southward affections but learns from her Dreyfus'due south location at a castle in Bavaria. Dreyfus is elated at the erroneous report of Clouseau's demise, but suffers from a painful toothache and sends for a dentist; when Clouseau hears a dentist is needed at the castle, he disguises himself every bit an elderly German dentist and finally gains entry to the castle (his before attempts at sneaking in the castle had been repeatedly foiled by his general ineptitude and the castle'south drawbridge). Unrecognized by Dreyfus, Clouseau ends up intoxicating both of them with nitrous oxide. When 'the dentist' mistakenly pulls the wrong tooth, Dreyfus immediately figures out information technology is Clouseau in disguise. Clouseau escapes, and a vengeful and at present totally insane Dreyfus prepares to use the machine to destroy England. Clouseau, eluding Dreyfus's henchmen, unwittingly foils Dreyfus'due south plans when a medieval catapult outside the castle launches him on top of the doomsday machine, causing it to malfunction and fire on Dreyfus and the castle itself. As the remaining henchmen, Fassbender and his girl, and eventually Clouseau himself escape the dissolving castle, Dreyfus plays "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" on the castle's pipe organ while he himself disintegrates, until he and the castle vanish.
Returning to Paris, Clouseau is finally reunited with Olga. Yet, their tryst is interrupted first by Clouseau'south credible inability to remove his clothes, then past Cato's latest surprise set on, which causes all 3 to be hurled into the river Seine when the reclining bed snaps back upright and crashes through the wall. Immediately thereafter, a drawing epitome of Clouseau emerges from the h2o, which has been tinted pink, and begins swimming, unaware that a gigantic version of the Pink Panther grapheme is waiting beneath him with a precipitous-toothed, open mouth (a reference to the then-recent film Jaws, made further obvious past the thematic music). The picture show ends as the animated Clouseau chases the Pink Panther upwardly the Seine every bit the credits roll.
Cast [edit]
- Peter Sellers as Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau
- Herbert Lom as Former Primary Inspector Charles Dreyfus
- Leonard Rossiter as Superintendent Quinlan
- Lesley-Anne Downwards as Olga Bariosova
- Colin Blakely as Inspector Alec Drummond
- Burt Kwouk as Cato Fong
- André Maranne equally François
- Michael Robbins as Ainsley Jarvis
- Richard Vernon as Professor Hugo Fassbender
- Briony McRoberts every bit Margo Fassbender
- Dick Crockett as the President of the United States (Gerald Ford)
- Byron Kane as the Us Secretarial assistant of State (Henry Kissinger)
- Paul Maxwell every bit CIA Manager
- Gordon Rollings as Inmate
- Dudley Sutton equally Inspector Mclaren
- John Clive as Chuck
- Damaris Hayman as Fiona
- Deep Roy equally Diminutive Assassin
Cast notes [edit]
- Owing to Peter Sellers's heart status, whenever possible he would have his stunt double Joe Dunne stand in for him. Because of the often physical nature of the comedy, this would occur quite oft.
- Julie Andrews provided the singing vox for the female-impersonator "Ainsley Jarvis".[two] The scene in the nightclub when Jarvis sings is in many means like to scenes in Edwards's later flick Victor Victoria (1982), in which Andrews plays a woman pretending to be a man who is a female impersonator.
- Graham Stark, a longtime friend of Sellers, once once more fabricated an appearance in the series, admitting in a modest role as the desk clerk of a minor German hotel. Since his role as Hercule LaJoy in A Shot in the Dark, he has appeared in small roles in every Pink Panther sequel except Inspector Clouseau, in which Sellers did not play Clouseau.
- Scenes featuring Harvey Korman as Professor Auguste Assurance and Marne Maitland as Deputy Commissioner Lasorde were deleted from the picture show, but were subsequently seen in full in Trail of the Pinkish Panther in 1982. Graham Stark would presume the role of Professor Balls in the next motion picture, Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978).
- Omar Sharif appeared, uncredited, as the Egyptian assassinator.
- Tom Jones sang the Oscar-nominated vocal "Come to Me".
- The role of Olga Bariosova was originally played by Maud Adams, who was replaced after filming a few scenes. Blake Edwards so intended to cast Nicola Pagett after seeing her in Upstairs, Downstairs simply instead ended up casting Pagett's castmate Lesley-Anne Downwards in the function.
- Though the character of the President of the United States (portrayed by Dick Crockett) is unnamed in the moving picture, it is plain based on and so electric current US President Gerald Ford; Crockett diameter more than than a passing resemblance to the President and Ford'south somewhat exaggerated reputation for awkwardness equally depicted in the picture show was a national joke at the time. The President'due south unnamed somber Secretary of State (portrayed by Byron Kane) is obviously based on and so current Secretary Henry Kissinger.
- Blake Edwards made a cameo appearance in the background of the nightclub scene.
Production [edit]
The Pink Panther Strikes Over again was rushed into production owing to the success of The Return of the Pinkish Panther.[iii] Blake Edwards had adapted one of two scripts that he and Frank Waldman had written for a proposed "Pink Panther" TV series every bit the basis for that film, and he adapted the other as the starting point for Strikes Over again. As a upshot, it is the but Pink Panther sequel which has a storyline (Dreyfus in the insane asylum) that explicitly follows from the previous film. Oddly, the plot has cipher to do with the famous "Pinkish Panther diamond" of previous films, but comes off more similar a parody of James Bond movies.
The moving picture was in production from Dec 1975 to September 1976, with principal photography taking place between February and June 1976.[4] The strained relationship between Sellers and Blake Edwards had further deteriorated past the time production of Strikes Over again was underway. Sellers was ailing both mentally and physically, and Edwards afterwards commented on the player's mental country during production of the film: "If you went to an asylum and y'all described the start inmate y'all saw, that's what Peter had become. He was certifiable."[3]
The original cut of the film ran for around 180 minutes, merely was drastically trimmed downward to 103 minutes for theatrical release. Edwards originally conceived Strikes Again as an epic, zany chase film, similar to Edwards' earlier The Great Race, but UA vetoed this long version and the pic was edited downward to a more conventional length. Some of the excised footage was subsequently used in Trail of the Pink Panther. Strikes Again was marketed with the tagline Why are the world's principal assassins after Inspector Clouseau? Why non? Everybody else is. Like its predecessor and subsequent sequel, the film was a box office success.
During the film'south title sequence, there are references to goggle box'southward Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Batman, also the films King Kong, The Sound of Music (which starred Blake Edwards's married woman, Julie Andrews), Dracula A.D. 1972, Singin' in the Pelting, Steamboat Neb, Jr. and Sweet Charity, putting the Pink Panther grapheme and the animated persona of Inspector Clouseau into recognizable events from said movies. In that location is also a reference to Jaws in the ending credits sequence. The scene in which Clouseau impersonates a dentist and the employ of laughing gas and pulling the wrong tooth are clearly inspired by Bob Hope in The Paleface (1948).[5]
Richard Williams (later on of Roger Rabbit fame) supervised the animation of the opening and closing sequences for the 2nd and final time; original animators DePatie-Freleng Enterprises would render on the next film, only with decidedly Williamesque influences.
Sellers was unhappy with the final cut of the film and publicly criticized Blake Edwards for misusing his talents. Their tense human relationship is noted in the next Pink Panther pic's opening credits (Revenge of the Pinkish Panther) listing it as a "Sellers-Edwards" production.
French comic volume author René Goscinny of Asterix fame was reportedly trying to sue Blake Edwards for plagiarism at the time of his decease in 1977 afterwards noticing strong similarities to a script titled "Le Maître du Monde" (The Main of the World) which he had sent Peter Sellers in 1975.[6]
Reception [edit]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the flick has an approval rating of 76% based on 21 reviews, with an average score of seven.twenty/10.[vii]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two and a half stars out of four and wrote, "If I'k less than totally enthusiastic most The Pinkish Panther Strikes Again, maybe information technology was because I've been over this ground with Clouseau many times earlier," stating that a time would take to come "when inspiration gives way to habit, and I think the Pinkish Panther series is just well-nigh at that betoken. That'due south non to say this pic isn't funny—it has moments as good as anything Sellers and Edwards take ever washed—but that it's time for them to move on. They worked together in one case on the funniest movie either 1 has always done, The Party. At present it'due south time to try something new once again."[8]
Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that the characters of Clouseau and Dreyfus "were made for each other," and farther stated, "I'k not sure why Mr. Sellers and Mr. Lom are such a hilarious team, though information technology may be because each is a fine comic actor with a special talent for portraying the sort of all-consuming, epic self-assimilation that makes slapstick farce initially acceptable—instead of alarming—and finally and so funny." Canby too enjoyed Clouseau's French accent, and wrote, "Both Mr. Sellers and Mr. Edwards please in sometime gags, and part of the joy of The Pinkish Panther Strikes Again is watching the fashion they spin out what is essentially a single routine".[9]
The movie earned theatrical rentals of $19.5 1000000 in the Usa and Canada[10] from a gross of $33.8 million.[xi] Internationally, it earned rentals of $10.5 million for a worldwide total of $30 million.[x] By March 1978, the flick had grossed $75 meg worldwide and was hoping to earn some other $8 million past the end of the year.[1]
Awards [edit]
- The screenwriters, Blake Edwards and Frank Waldman received a 1977 Writers Social club of America Laurels for "Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium". The film also won a 1978 Evening Standard British Motion picture Award for "Best Comedy".
- "Come to Me", written by Henry Mancini (music) and Don Black (lyrics), received an University Award nomination for "Best Song" at the 49th Academy Awards.
- The film was nominated for a 1977 Golden Globe Award for "All-time Move Picture", and Peter Sellers was nominated for "Best Motion Picture Player – Musical/Comedy".[12]
- American Film Found Lists
- AFI'due south 100 Years...100 Laughs – Nominated[13]
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Flick Quotes:
- "Does your canis familiaris seize with teeth?" – Nominated[14]
References [edit]
- ^ a b "New 'Pink Panther,' Prepare For July Bow, Tops $7-Mil in Blind Bids". Variety. 22 March 1978. p. 39.
- ^ Allmovie Cast
- ^ a b Thames, Stephanie "The Pinkish Panther Strikes Again" (TCM article)
- ^ IMDB Business Data
- ^ Starks, Michael (October 1982). Cocaine fiends and Reefer madness: an illustrated history of drugs in the movies. Cornwall Books. p. 190. ISBN978-0-8453-4504-7.
- ^ (in French) Pascal Ory, Goscinny (1926–wall): la Liberté d'en rire, Paris: Perrin, 2007, ISBN 978-ii-262-02506-nine, p. 221.
- ^ The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Rotten Tomatoes, retrieved xix March 2022
- ^ Ebert, Roger (20 December 1976). "The Pink Panther Strikes Again Review (1976)". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved ii June 2017.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (16 December 1976). "Pinkish Panther Squad Unflappable In Fourth Loftier-Spirited Caper". The New York Times . Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ a b "UA Film Rental Highlights of 1977". Variety. 11 Jan 1978. p. 3.
- ^ "The Pinkish Panther Strikes Again, Box Office Data". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ^ IMDB Awards
- ^ AFI'south 100 Years...100 Laughs Nominees
- ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Picture Quotes Nominees
External links [edit]
- The Pink Panther Strikes Once again at IMDb
- The Pink Panther Strikes Again at the TCM Movie Database
- The Pink Panther Strikes Once more at AllMovie
- The Pink Panther Strikes Again at the American Pic Found Catalog
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pink_Panther_Strikes_Again
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