The Pink Panther is a series of comedy films featuring the bumbling French police detective Jacques Clouseau that began in 1963 with the release of the film of the same name. 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 of the same name which is the "MacGuffin" of the first film in the series. 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; that film also marked the return of Sellers to the role after a gap of ten years, which may have contributed to some confusion between the character and the diamond. 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 six of the eleven films in the series).
The first film in the series had an animated opening sequence, created by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and set to the theme music by Henry Mancini, which featured the Pink Panther character. This character, designed by Hawley Pratt, was subsequently the subject of its own series of animated cartoons – as well as being featured in the opening of every movie in the Pink Panther film series except A Shot in the Dark and Inspector Clouseau .
Films and themes
Although the two most recent Pink Panther films starred Steve Martin, most of the films in the series 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 an instrumental version also appear in the film's musical score 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 remaining tracks on the soundtrack album are early 1960s orchestral jazz pieces, matching 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. This is explained in the beginning of the first film, and 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 (this is also done in Return ). The plot of the first film centers around the theft of this diamond, which is mentioned in only five other films in the series ( The Return of the Pink Panther , Trail of the Pink Panther , Curse of the Pink Panther , and the 2006 remake of The Pink Panther ) and the remake's sequel The Pink Panther 2 . The name "the Pink Panther" became attached to Inspector Clouseau, in much the same way that "Frankenstein" has been used in film titles to refer to Dr. Frankenstein's creation 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 (besides Inspector Closeau ) that features neither the diamond nor the distinctive animated Pink Panther in the opening credits and ending. Many critics, including Leonard Maltin, regard this film 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, the infamous jewel thief nicknamed "the Phantom", and his plan to steal the Pink Panther from its owner. The Inspector Clouseau character plays only 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 of 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 2009, eleven Pink Panther films have been made, all but two having "Pink Panther" in the title:
The first five Peter Sellers–Blake Edwards films were released theatrically by United Artists, until the company was sold to MGM. Trail and Curse were released by MGM/UA Entertainment. Son of the Pink Panther , although produced by UA, was released by MGM. As of 2008, the only rights UA holds to The Return of the Pink Panther are the film's copyright and domestic distribution rights (which includes theatrical release, television syndication, and the Internet). All other rights beyond this distribution are controlled by Universal Pictures' Focus Features division, in partnership with British production company ITC Entertainment and successor-in-interest Granada International--Focus recently re-issued this film on DVD for Region 1. Ironically, MGM's portion of the rights are the result of the studio handling theatrical distribution for the ITC/Granada theatrical library.
ITC originally intended to make an Inspector Clouseau television series, but Blake Edwards convinced the production company to back a feature film first, and later a series if the film should prove successful. The film exceeded expectations by becoming the most profitable film of 1975. United Artists quickly bought out ITC's investment and work immediately started on the next feature film.
Although official, the 1968 film Inspector Clouseau is generally not considered by fans to be 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 a common misconception, Alan Arkin does not appear in Trail of the Pink Panther .
The remake of The Pink Panther , starring Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau, directed by Shawn Levy, and produced by Robert Simonds, 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. It is set in the present day and introduces different main characters, therefore belonging to a different continuity. Martin also stars in a sequel, The Pink Panther 2 , released in 2009 and has also revealed that he is negotiating on The Pink Panther 3 .
Characters
Inspector Jacques Clouseau
- First appearance: The Pink Panther (1963)
- Appearances: All Panther films except Son of the Pink Panther .
Jacques Clouseau is a bumbling simpleton of a policeman but he is also a brilliant detective. 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; 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.
Peter Sellers, the actor portraying Clouseau, remarked that in his opinion, 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 (all of whom were wearing gorilla costumes). 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 flashbacks that during World War II, 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 incompetence.
Inspector Clouseau is a patriotic Frenchman; his country is professedly his highest priority. He has been prone to infatuation (which is often reciprocated) ever since being cuckolded by Sir Charles Lytton. He is repeatedly perplexed by transvestites, to the extent that he addresses them as "Sir or Madam".
The role was originated by Peter Sellers, but has also been played by Alan Arkin (in Inspector Clouseau ), Daniel Peacock and Lucca Mezzofon
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