Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
Film and Plot Synopsis
In an effort to prove to the Mafia that he’s still strong and powerful, Philippe Douvier decides to kill Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau. When his men kill the wrong man, Clouseau goes undercover with Cato to find out who his would-be killer is.
‘Revenge of the Pink Panther’ Movie Summary
Wealthy businessman Philippe Douvier (Robert Webber) secretly heads of the French Connection in Paris. His drug trading partners in the New York Mafia drug think he’s become weak and questions his leadership. To demonstrate he’s still in control, Douvier’s has his men brainstorm ideas to show he’s still got the right stuff. His left hand man, Guy Algo (Tony Beckley), suggests they murder the world-famous Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers).
Douvier agrees to give it a go, but his men’s first attempt to blow Clouseau to pieces in Prof. Auguste Balls’s (Graham Stark) shop fails. For their second attempt, Algo hires Chinese martial artist Mr. Chong (Ed Parker) to kill him, but Clouseau takes him out, thinking he’s his servant Cato (Burt Kwouk) out to attach him.
Douvier next calls Clouseau anonymously and poses as an informant to lure Clouseau into a trap. His men watch Clouseau leave to the rendezvous point, but along the way, Clouseau picks up a hitchhiker who turns out to be the transvestite criminal Claude Russo (Sue Lloyd). Claude makes Clouseau give him his clothes before stealing his car. Douvier’s men wind up killing Claude instead.
As a result, Douvier and the French government believe Clouseau is dead. To find the killer (or killers), officials have the former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) released from the lunatic asylum to personally head the investigation… even though Dreyfus nearly destroyed the world in the previous film trying to kill Clouseau which also resulted in Dreyfus’ disintegration from a laser.
While this goes on, Clouseau finds himself in the same lunatic asylum as Dreyfus after police found him in Claude’s dress and rambling on how he’s really Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Before they commit him, Clouseau escapes and takes refuge in Dreyfus’ room as he prepares to head back to the real world. The sight of Clouseau causes Dreyfus to faint.
Clouseau disguises himself as Dreyfus and walks out the front door of the asylum where François (André Maranne) is waiting to take him home. Instead, disguised Clouseau asks François to take him to Clouseau’s place. He finds Cato has wasted no time turning his apartment into a Chinese brothel. Cato is shocked to see Clouseau alive but happy. The two then set out to discover who tried to kill Clouseau.
The next day, the Sûreté tasks Dreyfus to read Clouseau’s eulogy the police chief’s wife wrote. Dreyfus can barely contain himself from laughing at the untrue characterization of Clouseau during the speech. His tears of laughter makes the assembled people think he’s actually devastated about Clouseau’s death. At the cemetery, Clouseau shows up to the burial disguised as a priest. When he reveals himself to Dreyfus, Dreyfus faints and falls into the grave. Clouseau nonchalantly exits stage left.
Douvier is also at the funeral for some reason and he’s brought his wife. She threatens him with divorce if he doesn’t dump his secretary/mistress, Simone LeGree (Dyan Cannon)… like ASAP! Once he does, Simone doesn’t handle it well. Douvier has Algo keep an eye on her in case she decides to cause trouble. Algo then gives orders to have some goons to kill her at one of her favorite discos.
However, Clouseau and Cato are there after an informant (Alfie Bass) warns Clouseau of some trouble brewing there. The bumbling duo accidentally saves her from the killers. With Cato face first in a cake at a bakery next to the disco, Simone takes Clouseau to her nearby apartment. After some brief chitchat, Clouseau reveals his identity to her. She then tells him Douvier ordered his assassination. Douvier’s men show up to Simone’s apartment and the two flee down the fire escape and hide in the first unit they can. It turns out to be Dreyfus’ place.
He overhears Simone tell Clouseau that Douvier plans to meet a godfather named Julio Scallini (Paul Stewart) in Hong Kong for a $50,000,000 heroin sale. Once Clouseau recognizes whose flat he’s now in, he says hi to Dreyfus who faints again.
Clouseau, Cato, and Simone next head to Hong Kong in disguise, but are unaware that Dreyfus is following Clouseau there. At the hotel, Clouseau impersonates Scallini in front of Douvier and his men while Simone distracts the real godfather. Unfortunately, one of Scallini’s men (Robert Loggia) spots Douvier leaving the hotel with disguised Clouseau to a nearby dock.
At the dock, Douvier lets disguised Clouseau christen the ship carrying heroin in its hull. When Clouseau bumbles the situation, he exposes his true identity to Douvier. As this goes on, Cato arrives in a stolen hot dog cart motorcycle. The real Scallini and his men arrive in a taxi, and Dreyfus arrives in a cop car with three men.
A chase ensues amongst them all that ends with Dreyfus trying to kill Clouseau in a firework warehouse. All the criminals are there too and the whole warehouse explodes with them in it when Dreyfus accidentally sets off the fireworks inside. This results in Douvier, Scallini and their men under arrest. Once again Clouseau is a national hero and France’s President awards him a medal of valor.
The film concludes with Clouseau on a late night date with Simone in Paris as the credits roll.
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United Artists released Revenge of the Pink Panther on July 20, 1978. Blake Edwards directed the film starring Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, and Burt Kwouk.