The Pink Panther Strikes Again

Former Commissioner Dreyfus, about to be released from a psychiatric hospital, is driven mad again by Clouseau visiting him there. He escapes, kidnaps a nuclear physicist, has a doomsday weapon built and issues his condition to the world: get rid of Clouseau. Blake Edwards directed. It is the fifth film in the series. Peter Sellers plays Clouseau and Herbert Lom plays Dreyfus. The screenplay was adapted from a television series script that was never made. Assassins arrive in Munich from around the world to kill Clouseau and end up killing each other. Clouseau finally disguises himself as a dentist and causes the doomsday machine to fail. It opened in December 1976. On a 6 million dollar budget it grossed 75 million worldwide. Come to Me, with music by Henry Mancini and lyrics by Don Black, was nominated for an Oscar. The screenplay won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Comedy and Edwards took the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Comedy. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 75 percent. Critics praised the chemistry between Sellers and Lom and noted the formula was becoming familiar. The relationship between Sellers and Edwards deteriorated badly during the shoot. Who it is for: viewers who like physical comedy and are following the series. Who it is not for: newcomers starting here. Without knowing where Dreyfus's madness came from, half the film makes no sense.