The Pink Panther

The Pink Panther is a series of comedy films featuring the bumbling French police detective Jacques Clouseau. The role was originated by, and is most closely associated with, Peter Sellers. Most of the films were directed and co-written by Blake Edwards, with notable theme music composed by Henry Mancini.

Despite its use in the titles of most of the films of the series, "The Pink Panther" is not the Clouseau character, but a large and valuable fictitious diamond which is the "MacGuffin" of the first film in the series. It bears that name because the flaw at its center, when viewed closely, is said to resemble a leaping pink panther. The phrase reappears in the title of the fourth film, The Return of the Pink Panther, in which the theft of the diamond is again the center of the plot. The film marked the return of Sellers to the role after a gap of ten years. The phrase has been used for all the subsequent films in the series, even when the jewel does not figure into the plot (the diamond has only appeared in five of the ten films in the series).

The first film in the series had an animated opening sequence (created by DePatie-Freleng) set to the theme music by Henry Mancini, featuring The Pink Panther cartoon character. This character, designed by Hawley Pratt, was subsequently given its own series of animated films — as well as being featured in the opening of every film in the series except A Shot in the Dark and Inspector Clouseau — and came to be known simply as "the Pink Panther".

Films and themes

The best-known of the films starred Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau and were directed and co-written by Blake Edwards. The popular jazz-based theme music was composed by Henry Mancini. In addition to the credits sequences, the theme accompanies any suspenseful sequence involving "the Phantom" at work on a theft, both in the first and in subsequent films.

Mancini's other themes for the first film include an Italian-language set-piece called "Meglio Stasera" whose purpose seems primarily to introduce young actress Fran Jeffries. Portions of its instrumental version also appear in the underscore of the film several times. Other segments include "Shades of Sennett", a "honky tonk" piano number introducing the film's climactic chase scene through the streets of Rome. Most of the soundtrack album's other entries are early 1960s orchestral/jazz pieces, befitting the style of the era. Although variations of the main theme would be reprised for many of the Pink Panther series entries, as well as the cartoon series, Mancini composed a different theme for A Shot in the Dark.

The Pink Panther of the title is a diamond supposedly containing a flaw which forms the image of a "leaping panther", which can be seen if held up to light in a certain way. The beginning of the first film explains this, and then the camera zooms in on the diamond to reveal the blurry flaw, which focuses into the Panther (albeit not actually leaping) to start the opening credits sequence. The plot of the first film centers around the theft of this diamond, which is mentioned in only four other films in the series (The Return of the Pink Panther, Trail of the Pink Panther, Curse of the Pink Panther, and the 2006 film The Pink Panther). The name stuck once "the Pink Panther" became synonymous with Inspector Clouseau, in much the way that "Frankenstein" was used in film titles to refer to Dr Frankenstein's monster or The Thin Man was used in a series of detective films.

A Shot in the Dark, a film which was not originally intended to feature Inspector Clouseau, is the only film in the series that features neither the diamond nor the distinctive animated Pink Panther in the opening credits and ending. Many critics, including Leonard Maltin, regard this entry as the best in the series.

In the original Pink Panther movie, the main focus was on David Niven's role as Sir Charles Lytton, who is the infamous jewel thief "the Phantom", and his plan to steal the Pink Panther from its owner. The Inspector Clouseau character played essentially a supporting role as Lytton's incompetent antagonist, and provided slapstick comic relief to a movie that was otherwise a subtle, lighthearted crime drama, a somewhat jarring contrast in styles which is not atypical of Edwards' films. The popularity of Clouseau caused him to become the main character in subsequent Pink Panther films, which were more straightforward slapstick comedies.

Mancini's theme, with variations in arrangement, is used at the start of all but a few of the Clouseau films.

As of 2006, ten Pink Panther films have been made, all but two having "Pink Panther" in the title:

The first 5 Blake Edwards films were released theatrically by United Artists until the company was sold to MGM. Then Trail and Curse were released by MGM/UA Entertainment. Son of the Pink Panther, although produced by UA, was released by MGM. The Return of the Pink Panther is the only film that is not fully owned by MGM/UA, as UA sold the film rights to British production company ITC Entertainment (although UA does own the copyright as well as the theatrical distribution rights). Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers originally intended to produce a Clouseau television series in 1974, but backers ITC felt a movie would better suit the character. This resulted in Return, which successfully revived the series.

Some ancillary rights to Return have now reverted to Universal's Focus Features, which explains why it was not included in a 2004 MGM DVD box set containing five of the Sellers films.

Although official, the 1968 film Inspector Clouseau is generally not considered part of the Pink Panther "canon" since it did not involve Sellers or Edwards. Some elements of Arkin's performance and costuming, however, were retained when Peter Sellers took back the role for Return in 1975. Despite common misconception, Alan Arkin does not appear in Trail of the Pink Panther.

A new film, called The Pink Panther, starring Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau, directed by Shawn Levy, and produced by Robert Simonds, started filming in the Spring of 2004 and was released in February 2006. This is the first Panther film to be released by Columbia Pictures, which along with UA sister studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is part of the Sony/Comcast consortium. Although advance publicity suggested this film to be a prequel to the original 1963 film, it is set in the present day and introduces different main characters, therefore belonging to a different continuity. Prior to Martin signing to the picture, which he also co-wrote the screenplay for, Mike Myers, Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker had all been announced as candidates to play the role of Clouseau. Martin also plans to return for a sequel.

Characters

Inspector Jacques Clouseau

Jacques Clouseau is a bumbling simpleton of a policeman who believes himself to be a brilliant detective, if not a genius. He inexplicably speaks in English with a ludicrous French accent, while other characters speak English, often with their own accents. Clouseau's accent is far less pronounced in the first film; but from A Shot in the Dark onwards the exaggerated accent became part of the joke. It has been suggested that portraying the incompetent policeman as French is based on a British stereotype of the French police, or even the French population as a whole, in general.

Sellers remarked that in his opinion, deep down inside, Clouseau knew he was a buffoon; but Clouseau has an incredible knack for survival. Sheer luck or clumsiness usually saves him. In the first film, a farcical car chase around one of Rome's fountains results in the loud collision of all the vehicles (off-camera, witnessed only by a bemused pedestrian), resulting in the capture of the thieves. This approach accelerates, with Clouseau falling down stairs, falling into pools and fountains, causing fires and disasters, and even being blown up with bombs repeatedly throughout the series. In The Pink Panther Strikes Again, assassins from all over the world are sent to kill Clouseau; he bends down to tie his shoelace, falls over, etc., at just the right moment to ensure that the killers eliminate one another. In Trail of the Pink Panther, we see in one of the flashback that during WWII, Clouseau even fought in the French Resistance movement against the German occupation, but the flashbacks again only serve to reiterate the fact that Clouseau can survive anything despite his incompetency.

The role was originated by Peter Sellers, but has also been played by Alan Arkin (in Inspector Clouseau), Roger Moore (a cameo as a surgically altered Clouseau in Curse of the Pink Panther), and Steve Martin (in the 2006 Pink Panther film). Additionally, Rich Little supplied the voice of Clouseau, impersonating Sellers, for additional scenes in Trail of the Pink Panther.

Chief Inspector Charles LaRousse Dreyfus

Clouseau's superior, Charles Dreyfus, was introduced in A Shot in the Dark, where he held the rank of Commissioner. He is eventually driven murderously insane by his exasperation with Clouseau's stupidity. In The Return of the Pink Panther, Dreyfus has assumed the rank of Chief Inspector, instead of Commissioner, but as before, he goes crazy by the end of the film, and this time it ends with Dreyfus straitjacketed in a padded cell writing "Kill Clouseau" on the wall with his feet. In The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Dreyfus breaks out of an insane asylum and kidnaps a scientist, forcing him to build a disintegrator ray; the device is then used to blackmail the rest of the world into attempting to assassinate Clouseau. Dreyfus appears to disintegrate at the end of Strikes Again; but subsequently, and without any explanation, he can be found in the asylum again at the onsets of Revenge of the Pink Panther and Trail of the Pink Panther, and he is allowed to return to his position as Chief Inspector when Clouseau is missing, presumed dead.

In Son of the Pink Panther, Dreyfus (as Chief Inspector) deals with Clouseau's equally buffoonish son Jacques Gambrelli; going by the track record of his nemesis, Dreyfus is more accepting of him than he was of Clouseau himself.

In the 2006 reboot, The Pink Panther, Dreyfus (again as Chief Inspector) uses Clouseau as a decoy while he himself attempts to solve the crimes. Dreyfus merely views Clouseau as an idiot, and never attempts to have him killed; but Clouseau beats up his employer at one point, mistaking his identity, and later in the film, Dreyfus is dragged accidentally behind Clouseau's Smart Car. Dreyfus ends up in the hospital, where Clouseau's bumbling causes him further physical pain.

Dreyfus was played by Herbert Lom in the Blake Edwards films, and by Kevin Kline in the 2006 film.

Cato Fong

Cato is Clouseau's servant, and an expert in martial arts. It is unclear whether he believes Clouseau to be a great detective or whether he merely humors him. It is a running joke that he is instructed to attack Clouseau when he least expects it to keep Clouseau's combat skills and vigilance sharp.

In later films, Cato helps Clouseau on some cases, including one in Hong Kong. The ever-faithful Cato wears glasses to be inconspicuous, but he ends up running into various objects because of his now-impaired vision.

At first, Cato appears to conform to the Chinese racial stereotype of speaking in "broken English" and grinning; however, Revenge of the Pink Panther reveals him to actually be fluent in English, adopting the stereotype on his employer's orders. It is suggested that a love-hate relationship exists between the two men– sometimes bordering more on the hate side for Cato.

In Revenge, Cato, believing his master to be dead, ran a covert brothel in Clouseau's apartment. The password used to get into the brothel was to claim to be Inspector Clouseau, which caused a humorous scene when the true Inspector Clouseau showed up. Cato opened another brothel in Curse of the Pink Panther, and converted Clouseau's apartment into a museum featuring all the disguises the inspector had worn over the years.

Cato was based on Kato, the partner of the Green Hornet. The credits of A Shot in the Dark even list his name spelled with a "K", but it was changed to a "C" for all subsequent appearances.

Cato was played by Burt Kwouk. Kwouk was also considered for a part in the 2006 revival, but was passed over, and the role of Cato was offered to Jackie Chan. Ultimately, however, the character was scrapped completely, for fear that the Chinese stereotype was too politically incorrect for modern audiences. Cato was replaced by a new character, Gendarme Gilbert Ponton, assigned by Chief Inspector Dreyfus to keep an eye on Clouseau. In a reversal of the setup with Cato, Clouseau would often attack Ponton unexpectedly, and Ponton always won the fight (previously, it was Cato who initiated all the attacks, and Clouseau was always victorious).

Sergeant François Chevalier

François, Dreyfus' assistant, generally observes his boss's interactions with Clouseau (and subsequent emotional breakdowns) with placid bemusement. André Maranne, a French actor, played François in six Panther films.

The Phantom

"The Phantom" is a jewel thief; Clouseau's antagonist in several of the films; known to the public as Sir Charles Lytton; and kind of a twist on Robin Hood: so titled by his preference for robbing from the rich and giving to the rich (himself). He leaves a "calling card" at the scene of every crime; a white glove with a stylized letter "P". In the first film he was played by David Niven, and in Return by Christopher Plummer. In later films he had cameos, again performed by a by-then aging and frail Niven, whose voice was overdubbed by impressionist Rich Little.

References to the films

• In an episode of the anime series Lupin the Third, entitled "Black Panther" (American-dub title "My Birthday Pursuit"), master criminal and title character Lupin attempts to steal the Black Panther diamond as a birthday gift for his girlfriend/rival Fujiko. Normally, Lupin has to deal with the interfering Inspector Zenigata, but in this episode, Zenigata is aided by a clearly Clouseau-inspired character, Inspector Conaiseau. Conaiseau is even assisted by a Cato-inspired character, Hageito. Also within the episode, Lupin and Conaiseau both infiltrate a nudist colony, much like Clouseau does in A Shot in the Dark. Also, as a note of interest, the Black Panther diamond, when light shines on it at a certain angle, shows within it a black version of the Pink Panther cartoon character. This "toon" seems to give the diamond a life of its own, as whenever it is unexpectedly dropped, the diamond appears to run off like a loose panther, with the "toon" visible to the audience as it does so.
• In an episode of the animated series Jackie Chan Adventures, entitled "Enter...the Viper", Jackie Chan and his niece Jade must protect the "Pink Puma" diamond from a female jewel thief called Viper.
• In the Simpsons episode "This Little Wiggy", an announcer on Chief Wiggum's television is heard saying "We now return to The Return of the Pink Panther Returns".
• In an ad for Apple's iPhone, Inspector Clouseau is seen briefly answering his telephone.

Pink Panther cartoon character and animated series

Main article: The Pink Panther (character)

The opening title sequence of the original 1963 Pink Panther film was such a success with the United Artists executives that they decided to adapt the title sequence into a series of theatrical animated shorts. DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, run by former Warner Bros. Cartoons creators David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng, produced the opening sequences, with Freleng as director. UA commissioned a long series of Pink Panther shorts, the first of which, 1964's The Pink Phink won the 1964 Academy Award for Animated Short Film. By the late-1960s, the shorts were being broadcast as Saturday morning cartoons, and new shorts were being produced for both television broadcast and theatrical release. The animated Pink Panther character has also appeared in computer and console video games, as well as advertising campaigns for several companies.

Video Games

The cartoon character was used in a PlayStation game "Pinkadelic Pursuit" published by French company Cryo Interactive in 2002. Sony published a Pink Panther game for Mobile Phones in 2004. He was the central character in the storyline of the point-and-click cartoon PC games "Pink Panther's Passport to Peril" and "Pink Panther in Hokus Pokus Pink" Published by Wanderlust Interactive in 1996.

Trivia

"Pink panther" has also been used as the street name for various drugs, including LSD in blotter form and also, reportedly, a mixture of cocaine and PCP.

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