The Quiz of the Pink Panther

Answer: a diamond

"The Pink Panther" (1963) starred David Niven as the Phantom/Sir Charles Lytton and Peter Sellers as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau. The Pink Panther was a large pink diamond with a flaw that resembled a bounding panther. In the opening credits, in fact, an animated pink panther leaps from the diamond to Herny Mancini's famous "Pink Panther" theme -- the same rosy feline who would feature in the credits of all but two of the films (and eventually have his own TV series).

The Phantom sought to steal the Pink Panther from the exiled South Asian princess who safeguarded it for her people, and Clouseau tried to prevent him. The spotlight was supposed to shine on Niven as the gentleman jewel-thief, but Sellers, who was merely to provide comic relief, stole the show, and the series became all about the inept inspector thereafter.

The diamond does reappear in a few of the sequels of the original series (1963-93) and in the 21st-century reboot. But it's rather like the name "Frankenstein" attaching to the movies of a certain unnamed monster or "The Thin Man" to the Nick and Nora mysteries; the "Pink Panther" moniker stuck to the Clouseau movies, and there you have it.

Answer: A Shot in the Dark

In this film we are introduced to Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus, Clouseau's long-suffering boss, and Burt Kwouk as Cato, Clouseau's trusty manservant (who is always sneak-attacking him, for fighting practice) -- both of whom became regulars in the series. Elke Sommer played Maria Gambrelli, but hers was a one-time role. The diamond and the animated panther do not appear, nor does Mancini's theme.

The screenplay was originally written *without* Clouseau, as it was based on the French play "L'Idoiote" by Marcel Achard, but Blake Edwards decided to include the bungling lawman in the script. Released in the USA less than a year after "The Pink Panther", "Shot" grossed $12,368,234 -- $2 million more than its predecessor. Some critics, like Leonard Maltin, consider this the best "PP" film of all.

Answer: Inspector Clouseau

This is a unique film in the original "Pink Panther" series of 1963-93. Not only was there no Peter Sellers acting in it, but also there was no Blake Edwards directing it, and there was no Mancini composing the score! Not to mention no diamond and no animated cat in the credits!

Alan Arkin played Clouseau, Bud Yorkin sat in the director's chair, and Ken Throne composed the music. By and large, it is considered the worst film in the "PP" series. Yet it was influential in that Blake Edwards kept the costume design of this movie and other familiar elements in subsequent installments of the "Pink Panther" series, with Peter Sellers restored as the inept inspector.

Answer: David Niven as The Phantom/Sir Charles

"The Return of the Pink Panther" is one of the few properly named films of the series because the Pink Panther diamond actually returns! Moreover, it is also the return of Clouseau, Cato, and Dreyfus played by Sellers, Kwouk, and Lom as you would expect -- not to mention the beloved cartoon cat and Mancini's familiar score! The only wrench in the works is that whilst The Phantom (of the first film) also returns, Christopher Plummer replaces David Niven as the gentleman jewel-thief.

By the film's end, one of the main characters loses his mind after enduring one too many of Clouseau's maddening hijinks -- beginning a theme that runs through the rest of the original "PP" films. The poor lunatic even interacts with the animated Pink Panther during the closing credits of "Return"!

Answer: Chief Inspector Dreyfus

"Strikes" picks up right where "Return" left off. The former Chief Inspector Dreyfus is nearly cured of his insanity when an encounter with his old employee Clouseau puts him right back in the loony bin. Dreyfus escapes, however, and forces a scientist and his daughter-assistant to build a Doomsday Device. He then goes on worldwide satellite television and threatens to destroy the Earth unless Clouseau dies. The nations of the world send their assassins to kill the klutzy Clouseau, but through a series of mishaps caused by the Inspector's oblivious ineptitude, most of them end up killing each other!

Peter Sellers' cardiac condition had grown worse during the filming, and his stunt double Jim Dunne stood in for the slapstick scenes, which were extensive. A female impersonator performs in this film, but his voice is overdubbed with Julie Andrews (the joke being she had recently made a hit movie about a phony female impersonator, "Victor/Victoria", also directed by Blake Edwards). Edwards makes a cameo, as does English comedian Graham Stark (who actually made a cameo in almost every "Pink Panther" film).

Answer: The French Connection

A transvestite crook named Claude Russo (played by actress Sue Lloyd), steals Clouseau's clothing and automobile. Philippe Douvier (Robert Webber), head of the French Connection, has Russo killed by mistake. This restores the sanity and the job of Chief Inspector Dreyfus and allows Cato to turn Clouseau's flat into a brothel, and it all goes hilariously downhill from there. The 1978 film was the last "Pink Panther" movie to be released in Peter Sellers' lifetime, as he died in 1980 of a massive heart attack.

Henry Mancini reworked the "Pink Panther" theme and the score to incorporate Disco dance music, all the rage at the time was film was released.

The Corleone family of "The Godfather", by the way, was fictitious, though author Edward Falco based them on the Borgias of old.

Answer: Dudley Moore

"Romance" featured a female burglar, The Frog. Drafts of Sellers' script may be found on the Web. In this Panther That Never Was, first Peter Sellers then Sidney Poitier then Clive Donner was to direct. It was to be scored by Mancini. Clouseau had been unhappy with the direction that Edwards was taking the series, so "Romance" might have been produced without Blake Edwards. Then Sellers died of a massive heart attack in 1980, and the film became enmeshed in a spectacular shambles.

United Artists tried to get Dudley Moore to play Clouseau in "Romance". In an 'LA Times' interview, Dudley Moore said he was willing to play Clouseau just once as an homage to end the series, but he wouldn't go on without Blake Edwards. United Artists however, wanted the series to continue. Meanwhile, Blake Edwards, perhaps remembering Alan Arkin's turn as Clouseau in "A Shot in the Dark", objected to another actor playing the beloved detective.

United Artists wanted a transition film if Edwards was to introduce a new character as the series' star. So "Romance" was shelved, and a transition film made utilizing archive footage and discarded scenes from previous films, a decision Edwards and MGM/UA would come to regret.

Answer: Trail of the Pink Panther

Blake Edwards planned to construct a narrative after "Citizen Kane", with Clouseau gone missing. The supporting characters were to recall him in flashbacks consisting of the deleted scenes from "Strikes Again" and other movies. "Strikes Again" had originally been filmed as a three-hour movie in the manner of "The Great Race", but United Artists had forced Blake to edit it down, so there was plenty of material. Peter Sellers' widow Lynne Frederick, sued, however, contending that Sellers' contract forbade the use of archive and/or previously unused footage, and that the movie harmed Sellers' memory. She won.

Needless to say, it was not another "Citizen Kane", for both critics and fans despised the film. Released for the Christmas 1982 season, "Trail" grossed only $9 million, versus $49 million for "Revenge". Yet it wouldn't be Blake Edwards' last attempt to revive the franchise...

Julie Andrews (Blake Edwards' spouse at the time) made an unbilled cameo as a charwoman, a la Carol Burnett. David Niven reprised his role as The Phantom/Sir Charles, but his voice, weakened by Lou Gehrig's disease, was overdubbed by celebrity impressionist Rich Little. (It was actually quite effective.)

Answer: Roger Moore

"Curse" was shot concurrently with "Trail", but no Peter Sellers archive footage (save some uncredited vocal recordings) was used. Clouseau was played by none other than Roger Moore (credited as Turk Thrust II.) Moore was filming "Octopussy" at the time he made his brief appearance at the end of the film. Why Roger Moore? Blake Edwards wanted the "Pink Panther" franchise to be the comedic answer to James Bond! Moore actually did a fine job with the slapstick and clumsiness of the inept inspector (now corrupted into crime, and given a handsome new face thanks to extensive cosmetic surgery).

Ted Wass plays American Detective Clifton Sleigh, who is on the trail of both the Pink Panther diamond, stolen yet again, and Inspector Clouseau, gone missing yet again. (Dudley Moore had been offered the part of Sleigh, but after "Arthur" (1981) made him a superstar, he declined to commit to a series.) In this last film before his death, David Niven reprised his role as gentleman jewel-thief Sir Charles Lytton/The Phantom, now married to Clouseau's ex-wife Simone (Capucine), who had appeared in the first film (and was Lytton's lover even then). The Phantom competes for the diamond against Clouseau and his new lover/partner, Countess Chandra, among other seekers. I won't spoil it by telling you who got it in the end, though I will share that during the credits, the animated Pink Panther pinches it.

Sleigh was under contract to be the new bungling detective to anchor five more "Pink Panther" pictures, but "Curse" bombed. Blake Edwards sued MGM/UA for delaying release and failing to promote the film. The remaining Det. Sleigh films never materialized, but after settling out of court with MGM/UA some years later, Blake Edwards began work on his last "PP" film -- taking the series in a completely different direction.

Answer: Roberto Benigni

Ten years after "Trail", Blake Edwards gave it another go with this relaunch.

Rowan Atkinson, Tim Curry, and Gerard Depardieu (well-known in the USA for the 1990 films "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "Green Card") were all considered for the part of son Jacques, not to mention Kevin Kline! But Blake gave it to Italian comic actor Roberto Begnini, who impressed the producer-director in a couple of pictures.

Herbert Lom and Burt Kwouk reprise their roles as Dreyfus and Cato. Jacgues Gambrelli's mother is Maria Gambrelli, a character who appeared in "A Shot in the Dark" (1964). In the prior picture, Elke Sommers played Maria, but in the 1993 film the part went to Claudia Cardinale -- who incidentally played the exiled princess in... "The Pink Panther" (1963)! And so the franchise comes full circle!

The not-so-critically-acclaimed "Son" marked the end of the original "PP" series, and Blake gave up trying to revive his once-successful franchise sans Peter Sellers, and in fact retired from the industry altogether. It was also the last "PP" film scored by the great Henry Manicini, who additionally makes his only cameo in the series. He passed away a year later in 1994.