The Return of the Pink Panther

CinemaSerf 4/25/2024 4:46:10 PM 8.4

After being quite successfully stitched up for the theft of the priceless "Pink Panther" diamond four years earlier, it falls to "Insp. Clouseau" (Peter Sellers) to find out just who has stolen it again now! He reckons it must be his nemesis "Sir Charles Litton" (this time Christopher Plummer) because his trademark glove has been left behind, but we know that that former jewel thief is also just as perplexed by the thieving since he didn't leave his poolside. Curious, he decides that he, too, is going to investigate just what is going on and that provides us with the template for this amiable comedy. He goes to where the robbery took place while "Clouseau" comes to where he lives - and meets his wife "Claudine" (Catherine Schell) in Switzerland. It's here he reckons he could be on the trail of the thief! Loads of daft slapstick ensues as his increasingly frustrated boss "Dreyfus" struggles to keep him under control and "Cato" (Burt Kwouk) provides the death-defying gymnastics. It's quite watchable, but the theme is becoming a little bit threadbare now. Plummer isn't really on screen enough to make much difference and Schell looks more like she's really wondering why she's not beck in a "Bond" movie. It's fun, and Sellers still has the expert timing and delivery to raise a smile, but they are running out of steam with the characters now.