Curse of the Pink Panther
Curse of the Pink Panther is a 1983 comedy film and a continuation of The Pink Panther series of films created by Blake Edwards in the early 1960s. The film was one of two produced concurrently following the death of the series' star Peter Sellers. Whereas the previous film Trail of the Pink Panther made use of unused footage of Sellers as Inspector Clouseau and starred Joanna Lumley as journalist Marie Jouvet, Curse attempted to relaunch the series with a new lead, Ted Wass, as inept American detective Clifton Sleigh, assigned to find the missing Inspector Clouseau.
Curse of the Pink Panther
Blake Edwards
Geoffrey Edwards
Blake Edwards
Tony Adams
Robert Hathaway
Ralph E. Winters
MGM/UA Entertainment Company (United States)
United International Pictures (International)
- 12 August 1983 (United States)
- 30 November 1983 (United Kingdom)
109 minutes
United States
English
$11,000,000 (estimated)
$4,491,986[1]
The film features a cameo by Roger Moore—as Clouseau himself—at the end of the film. This was David Niven's final film appearance, and he died two weeks before its release. The film marked Herbert Lom's sixth outing as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus. He would reprise the role for the last time in Son of the Pink Panther (1993). Capucine also made her third and final appearance as Simone. The film also featured the sixth Panther appearances of Clouseau's manservant Cato (Burt Kwouk) and Sgt. François Chevalier (André Maranne). Cato, Dreyfus, and François all debuted in A Shot in the Dark (1964). This is the last The Pink Panther film to feature the character Inspector Jacques Clouseau in the original The Pink Panther film series.
The film did poorly, receiving many negative reviews.
Plot[edit]
In Lugash, the fabled Pink Panther diamond is stolen. A mysterious woman looking to procure the priceless gem has a tête-à-tête with a man regarding price. Clouseau, who had disappeared inexplicably on a plane flight,[N 1] bursts in. The woman shoots the man, then points the gun at Clouseau. His fate is a mystery. Meanwhile, his former superior, Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus, is pressured to oversee Operation Paragon and utilize Interpol's fictitious Huxley 600 computer Aldous to find the world's greatest detective to solve the crime.
Anxious never to see or hear from his nemesis Clouseau again, Dreyfus sabotages the computer to select the world's worst detective. This turns out to be Sergeant Clifton Sleigh, an incompetent officer of the New York Police Department.
Sleigh sees the case as an opportunity to prove his worth. Dreyfus and his long-suffering assistant, Sergeant François Duval, soon find that the sabotage has worked a bit too well: while slightly more intelligent and capable, Sleigh is just as clumsy as Clouseau.
As he sets out on the case, Sergeant Sleigh encounters many people who prefer Clouseau not return: these include the Inspector's former manservant, Cato, who attacks Sleigh when he breaks into the Clouseau Museum Cato now operates; Dreyfus, who attempts to kill Sleigh numerous times like he tried to kill Clouseau; and Bruno Langlois, the mafia boss from the previous film. Ultimately, Langlois, along with his henchmen (including Mr. Chong from Revenge of the Pink Panther) have a final showdown with Sleigh in a dark alley in Valencia, Spain, during Carnival. Juleta Shayne, an employee of the enigmatic Countess Chandra, comes to Sleigh's rescue.
Eventually, Sleigh's trail leads to a health spa run by Countess Chandra. There he meets famous British film star Roger Moore. Seeing a photograph of the Inspector, Countess Chandra tells Sleigh that Clouseau visited her several months ago but claimed his name was Gino Rossi (a thief who had previously stolen the diamond in the last film and was seen fencing it to Countess Chandra at the start of this film when the real Inspector arrived on the scene).
This leads Sleigh to conclude (albeit, incorrectly) that Clouseau stole the Pink Panther, had his face changed and then took the name Gino Rossi; and that he was a good cop gone bad who was killed for the diamond. Francois adds that the man killed had been idenitified as a John Doe, and suggests having the body exhumed to be sure it really is Clouseau. However, anxious to be rid of Sleigh, Dreyfus declines, claiming to have identified the dead man via fingerprints and officially closes the case, though it is clear that Dreyfus does not believe that this is what happened. Dreyfus attempts to destroy any last reminders of Clouseau by burning the documents containing Sleigh's findings. Dreyfus heaves a sigh of relief, believing that he is finally free of Clouseau; however, Clouseau still gets the last laugh as Dreyfus's office catches on fire.
Out at sea in a boat it is revealed that Sir Charles Litton had stolen The Pink Panther diamond from Chandra and Roger Moore (who is heavily implied earlier to not actually be the real Roger Moore, but a very much-alive Clouseau, having indeed changed his face and identity for reasons unknown), claiming he was missing his phantom glove, while he, his wife Simone, and their nephew George share a toast.
In a pre-credits scene, the animated Pink Panther is shown stealing the Pink Panther jewel. Realizing it's heavy, he slips out of the shot and drops the diamond offscreen, shattering it. The credits roll shortly afterwards.
Soundtrack[edit]
Curse of the Pink Panther saw a delayed soundtrack album release of 27 years. The limited edition soundtrack album was released by Quartet Records in 2010, which included 23 tracks and five additional bonus tracks.