Yes, Blake Edwards keeps repeating the same gag over and over. How many times do former Chief Inspector Dreyfus and the current Chief Inspector Clouseau have to fall into the water? In Dreyfus's case, it's a duck pond, and in Clouseau's case, it's a castle moat, but I count at least eight in this movie. In the end of "Return of the Pink Panther", the audience saw Dreyfus in a mental institution which is where he is preparing for a hearing to be released from here, every day in every way "feeling better and better". It's obvious that in a world without Clouseau, Dreyfus would be a completely sane man, but like that one co-worker nobody can stand (but can't get rid of),Clouseau is the Christmas Fruit Cake that keeps coming and coming every year. Clouseau makes the mistake of coming to see Dreyfus on the day of his hearing and makes the matters worse, driving Dreyfus back over the cuckoo's nest and more determined than ever to kill Clouseau, and destroy the world in the process if he has to!

References to Lom's earlier roles as Napoleon and the Phantom of the Opera are made here as part of a loving tribute, and as a result, Lom pretty much ends up stealing the film, reminding me of one of those delicious old movie serial villains you hiss at but somehow admire for their raw determination to reach an evil goal. There's no pink panther diamond here, only the visual of the pink panther in the opening and closing credits haunting Clouseau through some very clever movie moments, one having Mr. Pink in Julie Andrews' Maria Von Trapp on the hillside postulant dress. Andrews makes a brief vocal appearance, having recorded "Until You Love Me" and seeing her voice played back at a different scene for the drag bar sequence with Michael Robbins in hideous drag lip-sinking to the record as he makes his moves on Sellers. It's a rare 70's glimpse into a gay establishment, filled with stereotypes yet not offensively done. The yellow face references to Cato (Burt Kwouk) remain and might draw some awkwardness, but it's part of the period, and who can deny the hysterical antics between Clouseau and his hysterically funny, if violent, valet?

The scenes at the Oktoberfest come off very well too, with a German song that sounds like "Booby Bundy" playing in the background as a large hitman in drag with daggers in his falsies stalks Sellers. Omar Sharif makes a brief cameo as the Egyptian hit man and is very funny, although I found Lesley-Anne Down's appearances as the sexy Russian spy distracting and the one element that slows down the movie to a hault. The castle sequences are hysterical, especially the famous bit with aged hotel clerk Harold Berens, Sellers in disguise as a dentist, and Lom's attempts at torturing one of his kidnapping victims. Some audiences today might find the erasing of the United Nations building a little too close to the destruction of the World Trade Center 25 years after this was made, but representations of some political figures of this time (Gerald Ford, Henry Kissinger) are very funny. This is a goof-ball picture if there ever was one, and one of the best comedies of the 1970's that stands out from the other weaker entries in the series. Edwards went all out with this one, and even if some of the gags just seem desperate, there's a charm to them that can't be denied.

This movie is perhaps a little too weird in that it seems to take the characters from the Pink Panther movies way off the deep end. And while this makes for a very funny movie on the surface, down deep it shows that the series is sputtering a bit. Funny yes, but kind of dumb, too.

Chief Inspector Dreyfus takes center stage in this film as HE is the villain! After years of putting up with Clouseau's imbecility and somehow managing to avoid being killed by Dreyfus, the Chief Inspector has a plan to construct a doomsday weapon and force the rest of the world to kill Clouseau for him! This is very funny and the film abounds with cute scenes--it just is perhaps TOO odd and the film doesn't quite jell. A nice try, though.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I don't think it is as zany or hilarious as Shot in the Dark, which is my personal favourite of the series, and sometimes the plot is a bit daft. But it is hugely enjoyable, thanks to some truly funny and clever gags and Peter Sellers on hilarious form as Clousseau. Also Herbert Lom as Dreyfuss deliciously overplays and his over the top villainy was just as delightful as Clousseau's buffoonery. The music is also good, and the supporting actors are fun if careful not to overshadow the two leads having fun. The film looks great, and as I've said there are some hilarious moments, one of my favourites was Clousseau swinging about on a banister above a flight of stairs, and suddenly he lets go of the bar and falls down them. All in all, I enjoyed this movie. 8/10 Bethany Cox