Herbert Lom

(Note: this is a direct sequel to Trail of the Pink Panther with most of the cast from the previous film) In Lugash, the fabled Pink Panther diamond is stolen by a man named Gino Rossi (Christopher Reich) (a replay of the opening scene in 'Trail of the Pink Panther') from a museum in the Middle Eastern country of Lugash. Rossi then offers it to Countess Chandra (Joanna Lumley) at her private spa on the island of Majorca. However, the sale is interrupted by Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the Sûreté, France's national police force. When Rossi takes aim at the inspector, Chandra shoots the thief dead and points her gun at the Inspector. The French government is shaken by the disappearance of its greatest detective, and assigns Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), aided by "Aldous," the Huxley 600 super computer, to find a suitable candidate to solve the mystery. However, Dreyfus is overjoyed to be free of the dimwitted Clouseau and sabotages the computer, programming it to determine the world's least capable detective. Aldous selects Officer Clifton Sleigh (Ted Wass), a well-meaning but inept New York City policeman. In New York City, Clifton Sleigh is shown to bungle a sting operation when he dresses up as a woman to nab a purse snatcher, only to get accosted by a leering dirty old man, a pimp and a couple of prostitutes whom think that he's intruding on their turf, and falsely arrested by a pair of beat cops who think he's a prostitute while the purse snatcher steals another woman's purse right under everyone's nose. At the precinct, Clifton's beleaguered commander, Lieutenant Palmyra, is incredulous when he informs Clifton about his assignment to France, but gladly consigns the city's worst detective to the Sûreté. Meanwhile, a group of Mafia bosses celebrate their improved fortunes since Clouseau's disappearance, and their leader, Bruno (Robert Loggia), assures the inspector's permanent absence by hiring an assassin to kill Clifton before he leaves the U.S. However, Clifton proves to be a difficult target, and the gunman falls to his death while taking aim. Another killer awaits Clifton at the airport in Paris, but he trips and falls on his own knife. When Clifton enters Dreyfus's office to meet with him for the first time, he bumps into the desk, which pushes the inspector through the open window and into the concrete fishpond below two stories below. While Dreyfus recovers from his injuries as a result of a broken leg, Clifton breaks into Clouseau's apartment, now a museum dedicated to the detective, and is attacked by Cato (Burt Kwouk), Clouseau's manservant. Clifton defeats Cato, who refers the detective to Professor Auguste Balls (Harvey Korman), the creator of Clouseau's disguises and the last known person to see him alive. Clifton goes to the professor's shop, and though Balls has no information on Clouseau, he does offer the detective his latest invention, the Instant Companion, an inflatable, lifelike female doll. Another attempt on Clifton's life only stiffens his resolve, and he notifies Dreyfus that he will begin his investigation at the theft scene in Lugash. The President of Lugash, who has already spent the insurance money from the stolen diamond, is forewarned of Clifton's arrival and instructs his Secret Police to send the detective back to France before he can collect any evidence. From her private spa on the island of Majorca, Chandra follows Clifton's progress with amusement, and shares the news with Clouseau, whose face is obscured by bandages following plastic surgery. Clifton's next destination is Nice on the French Riviera, where he meets Sir Charles Litton (David Niven), his wife, Lady Simone Litton (Capucine), and Litton's newer, George (Robert Wagoner). The detective's clumsiness prompts the Littons to ask if he is related to Clouseau. Clifton denies any relation, recalling that the President of Lugash posed the same question. Sir Charles admits to being interrogated by Clouseau shortly after the robbery, but denies any guilt, along with the rumor that he is the brilliant jewel thief known as "The Phantom," and that George is his successor. He then advises Clifton to continue his investigation in Valencia, Spain. In Spain, Clifton hires a taxicab to bring him to his hotel (driven by the same driver that reporter Marie Jouvet interacted with in the previous film), but soon discovers Bruno's henchmen in pursuit. After barely escaping with his life, Clifton evades the gangsters with the help of his Instant Companion, which creates the illusion of a young couple on vacation. However, a misplaced cigarette causes an air leak in the doll, and Clifton returns to his hotel to re-inflate his "companion" with a gas pipe, while he updates Dreyfus by telephone. Clifton survives the resulting explosion and travels to Valencia, where a fiesta is underway. Bruno's men continue their pursuit, but Clifton eludes them in the crowded streets and takes refuge in a nightclub, where he meets Juleta Shane (Leslie Ash), a young Englishwoman with an aptitude for martial arts. Together they subdue the gangsters and make their way back to the hotel, where Juleta tries to seduce Clifton. Meanwhile, Dreyfus observes the couple from a nearby window and telephones Valencia police chief Vichila, saying that Clifton is an impostor. When Juleta attempts to poison Clifton's drink, she is shot with a tranquilizer dart by an unseen assailant, and Vichila arrives moments later to arrest Clifton. The police chief informs Clifton that his companion is actually Julie Morgan, Countess Chandra's personal secretary. When a policeman unwittingly drinks the poisoned wine and falls dead in the streets, Clifton takes advantage of this to escape into a crowd of revelers. George drives past and offers the detective a ride to the Litton yacht. The next morning, Clifton joins the Littons as they sail to Majorca, while Chief Vichila advises Chandra to expect a visit from the detective. Unable to reach the spa from the coast, Clifton par-ascends over the structure, but is shot down by the wheelchair-bound Dreyfus, who is driven over a cliff by the gun's recoil. Unfazed by Clifton's crash-landing through her stained-glass ceiling, Chandra invites the detective to join her and her "lover" for a drink. Clifton is awe-struck by Clouseau's resemblance to actor Roger Moore (credited as Turk Thrust II), and overlooks the inspector's French accent and profound stupidity. Chandra convinces Clifton that Clouseau, under the alias of the late "Gino Rossi," visited the spa a year earlier before traveling to Madrid for plastic surgery. Clifton notifies the Sûreté of his findings and returns to Paris. Meanwhile, Chandra and Clouseau open their safe to gaze at the Pink Panther, but find only a white glove in its place. "Swine Phantom!" says Clouseau/Roger Moore. At Sûreté headquarters, Dreyfus declares the case closed after determining (incorrectly) that Clouseau, posing as Rossi, stole the diamond. Relieved to have Clouseau out of his life, Dreyfus sets fire to the inspector's dossier, but the flames quickly engulf his desk, and Clifton comes to the rescue with a fire hose. The force of the water blasts the inspector through the open window and into the concrete fishpond below... again. In the final scene, on the Litton yacht, George admires the stolen Pink Panther diamond, while Sir Charles comments on the disappearance of his one white glove. Simone hints that she is continuing the legacy of "The Phantom." The three criminals then toast to their success. In a post-credits scene, the animated Pink Panther is shown stealing the Pink Panther jewel. Realizing it's heavy, he slips out of the shot and drops the diamond off-screen, shattering it; the credits roll shortly afterwards.

In the Maine small town of Castle Rock, school teacher Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) takes his fiancée sweetheart Sarah (Brooke Adams) to an amusement park. On the roller coaster, he suffers a bad headache and tells her that he must go home to sleep it off. Sarah begs him to stay, but he declines saying: "some things are worth waiting for". As he drives home, a tanker jackknifes in front of him and he plows into it and black out. Johnny wakes up at the Weizak Clinic. His parents Herb and Vera (Sean Sullivan and Jackie Burroughs) are shown in by Dr. Sam Weizak (Herbert Lom). They tell him that he has been in a coma for five years and Sarah has married another man. The distraught Johnny is inconsolable. One day, as a nurse mops his brow, he seizes her hand. He has a super-real vision of being trapped in a screaming girl's bedroom. He tells the nurse: "Amy needs your help." The nurse knows that Amy is her daughter's name, but puzzled why Johnny knows her. Johnny tells her that the house is burning, and her daughter is in the house - but it is not too late. The nurse rushes home to find her house in flames, but her daughter is rescued by firefighters just as she arrives home. After a few weeks of physical therapy, Johnny is able to walk again with some difficulty. When Johnny gratefully takes Dr Weizak's hand, he is jolted by another vision. It is wartime with burning buildings, advancing tanks. A protesting young boy is lifted into a horse-drawn cart, leaving his mother behind. Johnny tells Weizak that his mother survived. Weizak says that it is impossible, but Johnny knows her name and address. Weizak calls the number and hears his mother on the line. However, he doesn't speak to her as it "wasn't meant to be". Weizak comes back and tells Johnny: "you're either in possession of a very new human ability... or a very old one." Sarah comes to visit Johnny. Catching his stare, she asks him not to look at her that way. He says that he can't help it while Sarah says that it's been five years, but Johnny remembers it as yesterday. She says that she now has a ten-month-old son, named Denny. Johnny takes it well. She tells him that his power of "second sight" is the talk of the town. Against Weizak's advice, Johnny gives a press conference to defuse the situation. Cynical TV reporter Dardis (Peter Dvorsky) demands a demonstration. Aware that he is being mocked, Johnny takes his hand and says "You wanna know why your sister killed herself?" Taken off guard, Dardis calls Johnny a freak. Johnny's distressed parents watch the event on their TV and his mother collapses. At the hospital, Johnny holds her hand as she dies. Johnny moves in with his father. A few days later, Sheriff Bannerman (Tom Skerritt) pays him a visit for his help to catch a serial killer known as the "Castle Rock killer". Johnny refuses. When Herb tells Johnny that he should use his power he's been blessed with, Johnny becomes furious. He thinks that his power is a curse, not a gift. One day, Sarah brings her son over when Walt (her husband) is out. She puts Denny to bed and says: "haven't we waited long enough?" As the scene cuts to the next, sex is implied. After watching another TV program about the Castle Rock killer, Johnny changes his mind & calls Sheriff Bannerman and agrees to help. Bannerman and Officer Dodd (Nicholas Campbell) take him to the scene of the latest murder, but Johnny gets nothing - he advises Bannerman that in order to get something, he needs a physical article that the killer was in contact with. Bannerman is called to another murder scene at the park bandstand where there is a woman's frozen corpse. Dodd identifies the woman as Alma Frechette. John takes the dead woman's hand and instantly "sees" a man calling to her from the bandstand. "She knows him" says Johnny. He watches helplessly as she is killed with a pair of scissors. The killer is revealed to be Frank Dodd. As Bannerman calls for him, he leaves in his squad car. At Dodd's house, Johnny & Sheriff Bannerman arrive where his mother tries to prevent him from entering. Johnny takes her by the arm and sees that she knew her son was the killer all along and she has been protecting him. Mrs. Dodd calls Johnny a devil, sent from hell, and that her son has been killing all "dirty women" in Castle Rock for their sins at her own encouragement. In an upstairs bathroom, Dodd impales himself on the scissors just as Johnny forces himself into the room. Dodd's equally deranged mother takes his gun and shoots Johnny in his shoulder. Sheriff Bannerman runs in and is forced to shoot and kill her to save Johnny's life. Following this close brush with death, Johnny moves out of town to a remote cabin. His bullet injury eventually heals, but his headaches are getting worse. He takes private tutoring jobs, and he is persuaded by millionaire lumber mill owner Roger Stuart (Anthony Zerbe) to teach his introverted son Chris. Johnny arrives at the Stuart mansion as a loud and abrasive politician named Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen) is leaving. Johnny and Chris get along well, to Stuart's relief. Later, Johnny and Chris watch TV coverage to Stillson's campaign for state senator. Stuart says that Stillson is probably a liar and dangerous. In a local newspaper office, editor Brenner is confronted by Stillson and his henchman/sidekick Sonny who demand that he retract an anti-Stillson editorial in the next edition. Producing photographs of Brenner with a young woman (possibly manufactured), they threaten to "take his head off" if he doesn't do as they say. At one of Johnny's tutoring session with Chris, he gets interrupted by a knock on the front door and it is Sarah whom is a Stillson campaign volunteer bringing him a brochure to vote for Stillson. Another man appears at the door and Sarah introduces him as Walt, her husband. After an uneasy introduction, they leave and Johnny breaks down. As Chris hugs him for comfort, Johnny has another vision of kids in hockey uniforms and falling through the ice of a frozen lake. One of them is Chris. Johnny goes to Stuart and insists he call off the kids' ice hockey practice, or they'll drown. Stuart angrily fires Johnny despite Chris' pleas. The next day at a local news stand, Johnny reads a headline about two boys drowning in a skating accident. He calls Stuart's house, hanging up in relief when Chris answers. Meanwhile, Stillson's next rally takes place in a park opposite Johnny's house. Looking for Sarah, Johnny finds himself in Stillson's path. As they shake hands, another vision strikes: at Camp David, President Stillson orders a general to co-authorize an all-out nuclear missile launch against the USSR and the entire world which will bring on Armageddon. The 5-star General, realizing Stillson is a psychopath, refuses, but the maniacal Stillson threatens to 'cut off [the general's hand] and put it on the [scanning screen]'. Reluctantly, the General complies, and the sadistic Stillson tells the Vice President & Secretary of Defence that 'the missiles are flying....Hallelujah! Hallelujah!!'. Horrified, Johnny is rooted to the spot. Stillson is shaken by Johnny's grasp, until Sonny pushes Johnny away. Johnny goes to Dr. Weizak where he asks him that if he could go back in time knowing what he knows, would he kill Adolf Hitler? Weizak answers, 'I would have no choice but to kill the sonofabitch.' He thinks that the "dead zone" in Johnny's visions means that as well as seeing the future, he can also change it. Johnny decides he must take drastic action to stop Greg Stillson before he becomes President of the USA and brings on the end of the world through nuclear war. He packs up his hunting rifle and takes a bus to the Castle Rock Civic Hall, then breaks into the hall where Stillson will appears the next day and lies in wait on the balcony with the rifle. As the hall fills, the charismatic Stillson arrives and invites Sarah and Denny onto the stage with him as he gives his speech. On the balcony, Johnny rises and takes aim. Sarah sees him and screams and as a result the shot misses. As the spectators panic and fleet the hall, the equally panicked Stillson snatches Denny from Sarah and uses him as a shield. Johnny hesitates to fire again, and gets shot by Sonny and other members of the security detail. Johnny falls from the balcony and lands on the floor onto some chairs. What no one else had seen was a young photographer shooting pictures of it all before running out of the hall. Paranoid as always, Stillson walks up and grabs Johnny after recognizing him from a few days ago and demands to tell him who hired him. Johnny grabs Stillson's wrist and has a final vision where he sees a drunken and distraught Stillson in his office where there is a Newsweek magazine on his desk. The front cover shows the photo of Stillson using Denny as a shield with the headline "No Future For Stillson". Beside the Newsweek magazine are other magazines and newspaper headlines with the same photo describing Stillson's despicable act of cowardice. Stillson takes a loaded .45-caliber handgun from his desk drawer, points it under his chin, and commits suicide. Johnny smirks at Stillson and weakly says: "It's over. You're finished." Stillson then turns on Sonny Elliman, demanding to know where the photographer is. Sonny replies, disgustedly, 'I didn't see him!', suggesting that he may be just as disgusted with his boss. Greg Stillson angrily berates Sonny before running out of the hall to hunt for the photographer himself. Sonny follows, leaving the hall empty except for Sarah, Denny & Johnny. As Sarah comes up to Johnny's side, she asks him, 'Why?'. Johnny simply whispers, 'Good-bye'. Sarah starts crying, but as she kneels down next to Johnny & hugs him, she whispers to him, 'I love you....' just before he dies. As Sarah grieves for Johnny, the film fades out & credits begin to scroll across the screen.

When the famous Pink Panther diamond is stolen once again from Lugash, Chief Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) is called on the case by Deputy Commissioner Lasorde (Marne Maitland) despite protests by Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom). Lasorde has received a request for assistance by the President of Lugash (Harold Kasket) himself, who has asked for Clouseau personally. Dreyfus is under therapy with Dr Longet (Ronald Fraser), due to his obsession with Clouseau. Dreyfus derives pleasure from the through of Clouseau dying. While on the case, Clouseau is followed by the mob who are seeking to assassinate him. Clouseau gets himself a disguise designed by Prof. Auguste Balls (Harvey Korman) and his wife Martha (Liz Smith). The disguise consists of a wig, a false nose and teeth. Clouseau first goes to London to interrogate Sir Charles Litton (David Niven) (having forgotten that the Sir Charles Litton lives in the South of France) and that Prince Charles lives in London. Traveling to the airport driven by Sgt. Francois Chevalier (André Maranne), he accidentally blows up his car, but mistakenly believes it to be an assassination attempt. Clouseau disguises himself in a heavy cast while on the flight, which causes complications in the air (when he attempts to go to the toilet with his cast on) and on land and leads to an awkward introduction to the Scotland Yard detectives who meet him at Heathrow. The Yard is represented by Superintendent Quinlan (Leonard Rossiter), Alec Dummond (Colin Blakely) and Inspector McLaren (Dudley Sutton). Meanwhile, Dreyfus learns from Scotland Yard that Libyan terrorists may have marked Clouseau for assassination once he announces his intent to visit the scene of the crime in Lugash. Rather than order him back to Paris, Dreyfus orders him to continue on to Lugash as planned. Colonel Bufoni (Peter Arne) is the right hand man to the President of Lugash and advises him the Clouseau reaching Lugash is not good news as that would put Lugash in a negative light in the international community. The President asks Bufoni to take care of the situation, with a promise of a promotion to General. Clouseau's plane crashes on route to Lugash. All aboard are believed lost at sea. Marie Jouvet (Joanna Lumley), a television reporter covering the story, sets out to interview those who knew the detective best. All of these interview scenes provide flashbacks to scenes of earlier Pink Panther films (The Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark, The Return of the Pink Panther, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, and Revenge of the Pink Panther). Dreyfus is barely able to contain himself when Jouvet describes Clouseau as an athlete, an expert marksman, a born leader, a karate black belt, and so on. To prepare for unforeseen attacks, Clouseau would assign his manservant Cato (Burt Kwouk) to attack him at any time of day or night. Jouvet interviews Clouseau's former assistant Hercule Lajoy (Graham Stark). Hercule says that while Clouseau was obsessed with facts, but he made decisions based on his intuition. He was always proven right at the end of a case. Clouseau's meeting with Princess Dalia (Claudia Cardinale) who claims to be the real owner of the Pink Panther. Jouvet meets Lady Simone Litton (Capucine), Clouseau's ex-wife, who is now married to Charles Litton whom Clouseau accused of being the Phantom. For a while it looked like Clouseau was the Pink Panther and was even sent to prison for the same reason. Charles Litton says that Clouseau was a fool, but he epitomized determination. Jouvet also interviews Clouseau's father, at his winery in the south of France. He uses naked French beauties to crush his grapes into wines. Clouseau's father provides glimpses of Clouseau's childhood (Lucca Mezzofanti) (who was born on Sep 8th, 1920) (as a child he always wanted to be a policeman and was very resourceful), and his early career during college (Daniel Peacock), nearly leading him to commit suicide after a girl of his dreams marries another person, especially in the French Resistance involving him failing to detonate a bridge full of crossing Nazis. Jouvet also has an unpleasant encounter with Mafia don, Bruno Langlois (Robert Loggia), an antagonist. Langlois warns Maria to stop asking questions about Clouseau as business is booming in the French underworld with the detective missing. Jouvet refuses and tries to file a complaint against Langlois with Chief Inspector Dreyfus. Dreyfus, who wants Clouseau dead just as much as Langlois does, refuses to press charges citing circumstantial evidence, much to Jouvet's frustration. The film ends with Maria hoping that Clouseau might be alive. Clouseau is seen standing looking over a seaside cliff, when a seagull flies over and messes the sleeve of his coat. The words "Swine seagull!" are heard in the distinctive 'over French' accent of Clouseau. The next shot shows the animated Pink Panther in trench coat and trilby hat, revealed to be in place of Clouseau watching the sunset; he turns around to face the camera and flashes his coat open.

Philippe Douvier (Robert Webber), a major businessman and secretly the head of the French Connection, is suspected by his New York Mafia drug trading partners of weak leadership and improperly conducting his criminal affairs. Due to this, Douvier's signature Gannet transaction is in jeopardy as New York believes that he does not have the power to control the situation. To demonstrate otherwise, Douvier's aide Guy Algo (Tony Beckley) suggests a show of force with the murder of Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers). Clouseau is the most important man in France, a nemesis for criminal organization all over the world, and someone that the mafia would be happy to get rid of. Clouseau has already survived 16 assassination attempts, including 2 from his own boss. Unfortunately for Douvier, his first attempt at bombing him fails. The bomb destroyed half a city block and yet Clouseau survives. Clouseau informs the police commissioner (Douglas Wilmer) that the bomb was meant for him. The commissioner tells Clouseau about Claude Russo, a criminal who dresses as a woman and has conducted 4 armed robberies in 3 weeks. Clouseau sets the commissioner's office on fire with his clumsiness. The subsequent attempt by Chinese martial artist 'Mr. Chong' (an uncredited appearance by the founder of American Kenpo, Ed Parker) is thwarted when Clouseau successfully fights him off, believing him to be his (Clouseau's) valet Cato (Burt Kwouk) who has orders to keep his employer alert with random attacks. That night, Douvier poses as an informant and calls Clouseau at his resident, to lure Clouseau into a trap, but the Clouseau's car and clothes are stolen by transvestite criminal Claude Russo (Sue Lloyd) (who took a lift from Clouseau when he was on his way to meet Douvier). Russo is subsequently killed by Douvier's men. Douvier's men had set up a diversion further up the road. When Russo follows the car, he is hit by machine gun bullets and ends up driving the car into a telephone pole. Upon collision, the car bursts into flames and Russo's body is charred beyond recognition. Subsequently Douvier and the French public believe Clouseau is dead. The President declares a day of mourning and all the Government buildings fly their flags at half-mast in Clouseau's honor. As a result of this assumption, Clouseau's former boss, ex-Commissioner Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), is restored to sanity and is to be released from the lunatic asylum to perform the investigation in Clouseau's death. The police commissioner says that only Dreyfus knows Clouseau well enough to conduct the investigation into his death. In Russo's clothes and insisting on his true identity, Clouseau is taken to the asylum himself (featuring a cameo by Andrew Sachs, whose character apparently believes himself to be Hercule Poirot, the greatest detective in all of France). Clouseau is given 90 days of psychiatric examination, but he escapes into Dreyfus' room, who faints from the shock of seeing Clouseau alive. He commissioner tells Dreyfus that perhaps the man he saw in the closet was Claude Russo, which reassures Dreyfus that Clouseau is indeed dead. Clouseau manages to disguise himself as Dreyfus and is taken home by operative Francois (Andre Maranne). Clouseau is thrilled to learn that the Pope himself might be in attendance at his funeral. At home, Clouseau finds Cato, who, despite having turned Clouseau's apartment into a Chinese-themed brothel (customer recite a password to gain entry and the password is "Inspector Clouseau"), is relieved to see he survived and the two plan revenge on the sponsor of Clouseau's assassination. Cato claims that he needed something to keep himself busy and the brothel was going to make $300-400K per year. Meanwhile, Dreyfus is assigned to read a eulogy at Clouseau's funeral by the police chief's wife, on pain of his own discharge. The commissioner says that the PR people would love the angle of the story and the wife of the head of the police department wrote the speech. So, Dreyfus has no choice. During his recital, Dreyfus barely controls his mirth at the praise of Clouseau, but his reaction is disguised by his tears of muffled laughter. Later, at the graveside ceremony, Clouseau sneaks in disguised as a church official and then surreptitiously reveals himself to Dreyfus. Upon recognizing Clouseau, Dreyfus faints and falls into the burial pit. Douvier's wife Therese (Adrienne Corri) eventually threatens him with divorce for his unfaithfulness with his secretary Simone (Dyan Cannon). Needing her respectability, Douvier tells his secretary and paramour Simone LeGree that their relationship is over, to which Simone reacts angrily. Fearing that she will reveal his crimes, Douvier gives orders to have Simone killed at her nightclub; but having been told by an informant Fernet (Alfie Bass) of the possibility of trouble there, Clouseau and Cato inadvertently manage to save her. At Simone's flat, Clouseau reveals his identity, prompting her to reveal that Douvier ordered Clouseau's assassination. Attacked by more hit men, Clouseau and Simone escape into Dreyfus' flat, coincidentally located nearby. Fleeing Douvier's henchmen, Simone tells Clouseau of Douvier's plan to meet the New York Mafia godfather Julio Scallini (Paul Stewart) in Hong Kong for the Gannet Transaction - a $50,000,000 heroin sale. Dreyfus overhears Simone telling Clouseau of Douvier's plan, but again faints when he beholds Clouseau. Clouseau, Cato, and Simone follow Douvier to Hong Kong in disguise, unaware that Dreyfus has also arrived. Dreyfus wants to use the opportunity to finally get one up to Clouseau & redeem his own career. Clouseau impersonates Scallini in a ridiculous gangster disguise, while Simone distracts the real godfather. One of Scallini's men spots Douvier leaving their hotel with a stranger, and Clouseau exposes his own disguise during the Gannet Transaction. A car chase begins, ending in a crash at the Hong Kong docks, where Dreyfus recognizes Clouseau and pursues him into a firework warehouse. Inside, Dreyfus mistakenly sets the fireworks off and the resulting explosions sow chaos among all the participants, which eventually leads to the arrests of Douvier and Scallini. Clouseau is honored for their capture by the President of France, and he and Simone spend an evening together.

At a psychiatric hospital, former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is largely recovered from the murderous insanity that saw him repeatedly attempt to kill the thorn in his side, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. He is about to be released but Clouseau (Peter Sellers), who is now Chief Inspector and has arrived to speak on Dreyfus's behalf, comes to visit, and his clumsiness and repeated tendency towards accidents drive Dreyfus insane again. The opening credits begin with an animated Inspector Clouseau entering a cinema hall to watch a film. He is constantly beleaguered by the Pink Panther, however, and when the Panther appears on the screen impersonating various features (Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Batman, King Kong, The Sound of Music, Dracula, Singin' in the Rain, and Steamboat Bill Jr.), the Inspector finally loses his temper and climbs into the screen to get him... ending up trapped inside. Soon thereafter, Dreyfus escapes from the asylum, intent on killing Clouseau. His first attempt involves planting a bomb whilst Clouseau destructively duels with his manservant Cato (Burt Kwouk), who is under orders, from Clouseau, to keep Clouseau alert by randomly attacking him. The bomb merely destroys Clouseau's apartment whilst Clouseau himself is unharmed, largely because Clouseau has been distracted by an inflatable costume and a telephone call by Dreyfus which was meant to keep him in place for the bombing. Cato, however, ends up in the hospital. Dreyfus sets his sights higher. Using his knowledge of the underworld, he enlists the help of an army of vicious criminals, kidnaps nuclear physicist Professor Hugo Fassbender (Richard Vernon) and the Professor's daughter Margo (Briony McRoberts), forcing the professor to build a "doomsday weapon" in return for his daughter's freedom. As Hugo Fassbender cannot bear to hear his daughter undergoing Dreyfus's torture (which consists of forcing her to listen to nails dragged across a blackboard), he agrees. Clouseau travels to England to investigate Fassbender's disappearance, with typically chaotic results, as Scotland Yard Section Director Alec Drummond (Colin Blakely) and Superintendent Quinlan (Leonard Rossiter) painfully learn. However, Clouseau manages to set his sights on Jarvis, the cross-dressing butler of the Fassbenders, and while Jarvis is killed by the kidnappers, to whom he had become a dangerous witness, Clouseau follows a clue found on the crime scene to the Oktoberfest in Germany. Meanwhile Dreyfus broadcasts himself to the world to announce his ultimatum. Disintegrating the United Nations headquarters in New York City before the disbelieving eyes of the world, he blackmails the leaders of the world, including the President of the United States (a thinly veiled impersonation of Gerald Ford, advised by a similarly poorly camouflaged Henry Kissinger), into assassinating Clouseau. Forced to take Dreyfus's threat seriously, several nations send assassins to kill Clouseau at the Oktoberfest. Many of the nations, however, instruct their assassins to kill other assassins if necessary in order to ensure that their own country can kill Clouseau and thus win Dreyfus's favor and possibly get hold of the Doomsday Machine themselves. This, combined with Clouseau's typical bumbling fashion, enables Clouseau to evade each assassination attempt just as it is about to happen, so that the assassins all kill each other instead. In the end, only the operatives of Egypt and Russia remain alive. The Egyptian assassin (an uncredited cameo by Omar Sharif), sneaking into Clouseau's hotel room, shoots a man he believes to be Clouseau (who is in fact one of Dreyfus's henchmen, who had taken it upon himself to kill Clouseau). The Russian operative, Olga Bariosova (Lesley-Anne Down), who has sneaked into Clouseau's room, seduces the Egyptian, similarly mistaking him for Clouseau. His passionate sexuality convinces her not to assassinate him; when the real Clouseau makes an appearance, he is surprised to discover a beautiful yet nude woman in his bed who confuses him further by declaring her undying passion for him, snogging him all over his face every few minutes in the process, and by finding a dead man in his bath. A tattoo on the dead man, combined with Olga's dismissively revealed knowledge, reveals to Clouseau Dreyfus's location at a castle in Bavaria. He leaves immediately leaving a confused and frustrated Olga behind him. Dreyfus is elated at Clouseau's apparent demise, but his joy is soured by a bad case of toothache. Clouseau, who has arrived in the village near Dreyfus's castle but has been denied entry into the castle by a mischievous drawbridge, eventually infiltrates Dreyfus's castle hideout disguised as a dentist, intoxicates Dreyfus (and himself) with Nitrous oxide, and pulls one of Dreyfus's healthy teeth. Realising the deception, Dreyfus orders Clouseau killed, but Clouseau escapes. Enraged, Dreyfus means to seek vengeance on the world by destroying England; as he prepares for this, Clouseau, who has been thrown into the castle's barnyard, is literally catapulted onto Dreyfus's doomsday machine. Clouseau's weight redirects the dis-integrator so that the beam hits Dreyfus (causing him to start to disintegrate, from the feet up) and the castle. As Dreyfus's henchmen, Fassbender, and his daughter, and eventually Clouseau himself escape the dissolving castle, Dreyfus plays "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" on the castle's pipe organ, while gradually disintegrating. The castle then disappears entirely, taking Dreyfus with it. Returning to Paris, Clouseau is reunited with Olga, who has dismissed Cato for the evening and intends on completing her seduction of Clouseau. This is interrupted first by Clouseau's apparent inability to remove his clothes without a struggle, and then by Cato, who chooses this time to once more follow his orders and attack Clouseau and Olga. The consequent struggle ends when all three are hurled by a reclining bed into the Seine. Immediately thereafter, a cartoon image of Clouseau emerges from the water, which has been tinted pink, and begins swimming, unaware that a gigantic version of the Pink Panther character is waiting below him with a sharp-toothed, open mouth (a reference to the film Jaws made obvious by the thematic music). The film ends when the animated Clouseau gets chased by the shark in the water (which was actually the pink panther) as the credits roll.

In the fictional country of Lugash, a mysterious thief seizes the Pink Panther diamond and leaves a white glove marked with a gold-tinted "P". The diamond was kept on display at the national museum of Lugash. The Pink Panther comes the dynasty of Emperor Akbar and had been in Lugash for over 1000 years. It is the largest and most famous diamond in the whole world and is irreplaceable and priceless. The diamond was protected by a modern security system, and yet the thief managed to defeat it easily. Presumably the thief was part of a tour group, when the guide demonstrated the security features to the group, which included laser activated motion sensors, light activated shutters near the diamond, and a pressure activated shutter mechanism, anytime the Pink Panther is lifted from its base, without the system being switched off. The thief is discovered in the museum during the theft but manages to avoid the guards and escapes through a zip line on the roof that was connected to the building next door. With its national treasure once again missing, the Shah of Lugash requests the assistance of Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) of the Surete, as Clouseau had recovered the diamond the last time it was stolen. Clouseau has been temporarily demoted to beat cop by his boss, Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), who despises him to the point of obsession. Clouseau is his bumbling best as he misses a bank robbery right in front of his eyes as he engages in a verbal joust with a blind beggar right in front of the bank asking him to get a license to play a musical instrument in a public place for the purpose of commercial enterprise. Turns out the beggar was the lookout for the robber gang and was distracting Clouseau. But after the request, the French government forces Dreyfus to reinstate him. Clouseau joyously receives the news after fending off a surprise attack from his servant Cato (Burt Kwouk), who had been ordered to keep the Inspector on his toes, and duly goes to Lugash. As soon as Clouseau is back on the force, there is an assassination attempt on his life, when a mysterious person hands him a bomb inside his apartment. It's a miracle that Clouseau survives, but Cato lands in the hospital. Upon examining the crime scene in the national museum-in which he wrecks several priceless antiquities-Clouseau concludes that the glove implicates Sir Charles Lytton (Christopher Plummer), alias "the notorious Phantom," as the thief. After several catastrophic failures (as a pool boy, an electrician and so on) to stake out Lytton Manor in Nice (which he nearly demolishes), Clouseau believes a mysterious assassin is attempting to kill him. Charles, meanwhile, has retired from his life of crime, and had nothing to do with the robbery of the Pink Panther. Charles decides to travel to Lugash to uncover the identity of the impostor. He follows Sir Charles' wife, Lady Claudine (Catherine Schell), to a resort hotel in Gstaad in search of clues to her husband, where he repeatedly bungles the investigation. Actually, Claudine had recognized Clouseau in disguise & was just playing with him by pretending that she was travelling to Gstaad to conduct a deal on the diamond. Meanwhile, Sir Charles is teased about the theft by his wife and realizes he has been framed. Arriving in Lugash to clear his name, Sir Charles barely avoids being murdered, Sir Charles barely avoids being murdered and sent to the Lugash secret police by his associate known as the "Fat Man" (Eric Pohlmann), who explains that with the leading suspect dead, the secret police will no longer have an excuse to continue purging their political enemies. Escaping to his suite, Lytton finds secret police Colonel Sharki (Peter Arne) waiting for him, who implies the Fat Man's understanding is correct, but reminds him the diamond must be recovered eventually. Pretending to cooperate, Sir Charles is unable to hide his reaction when he recognizes his own wife in disguise on the museum's security footage. He avoids another plot by the Fat Man and his duplicitous underling Pepi (Graham Stark) and escapes from Lugash, secretly pursued by Sharki, who believes Sir Charles will lead him to the diamond. Still in Gstaad, Clouseau, who unwittingly has been on the trail of the real thief (Claudine) all along, is suddenly ordered by Dreyfus over the telephone to arrest Lady Lytton. When Clouseau calls back to clarify the order, however, he is told that Dreyfus has been on vacation. Sir Charles, who in the meantime has chartered a private flight out of Lugash, arrives at the hotel and is first to confront his wife. Lady Claudine admits she stole the jewel to spark excitement in their lives. but not before the Colonel gets there first. Colonel Sharki shows up, but just as he prepares to kill them both, Inspector Clouseau barges in. Sir Charles explains things to Clouseau, and Sharki is about to kill the three of them. However, Dreyfus has followed Clouseau and is outside the hotel room with a rifle - Dreyfus is in fact the "mysterious assassin" who has been trying to kill Clouseau all this time - and just as Dreyfus shoots at Clouseau, the Inspector ducks to check if his fly is undone, and the shot kills Sharki instead. The other three take cover, while Dreyfus, insanely enraged by his latest failure to kill Clouseau, goes berserk until he is arrested. For once again recovering the Pink Panther, Clouseau is promoted to Chief Inspector, while Sir Charles resumes his career as a jewel thief (Lady Claudine's fate is not mentioned). At a Japanese restaurant in the epilogue, Cato unexpectedly attacks Clouseau again and triggers a massive brawl, naturally destroying the premises. Dreyfus is committed to a lunatic asylum for his actions, where he is straitjacketed inside a padded cell and vows revenge on Clouseau. The animated Pink Panther appears and films his antics and concludes the credits with a smoke ring.

Mexican rebel Pancho Villa leads a revolution helped by an American aviator imprisoned in Mexico. Pulled into the Mexican Revolution by his own greed, Texas pilot and gunrunner Lee Arnold joins bandit-turned-patriot Pancho Villa and his band of dedicated men in a march across Mexico battling the Colorados and stealing women's hearts as they go. But each has a nemesis among his friends: Arnold is tormented by Fierro, Villa's right-hand-man; and Villa must face possible betrayal by his own president's naiveté. —Steve83 Amidst turbulence and turmoil in early-20th-century Mexico, popular outlaw leader and true hero of the Mexican revolution Pancho Villa captures the American gun-running pilot Lee Arnold, who smuggles arms for the enemy in his small biplane. To save himself, Lee strikes a deal with Villa and his tough lieutenant, Fierro, to aid their cause by using his remarkable set of skills; however, their victories will soon get in the eye of the imperious General Huerta, Villa's superior. The trap to get Pancho out of the way is already set. Can the gringo and his small aeroplane save the Mexican leader? —Nick Riganas

Late at night at the country home of millionaire Benjamin Ballon, several of its occupants are moving about rooms, hiding and spying on others. The household consists of: Ballon's wife Dominique; Henri LaFarge, the head butler, and his wife Madame LaFarge, the cook; Miguel Ostos, the head chauffeur; Pierre, the second chauffeur, and his wife Dudu, the head maid; Georges the gardener, and his wife Simone, the second maid; Maria Gambrelli, the third maid; and Maurice, the second butler. The night's events soon end with gunshots in the room of Maria, with Miguel found murdered. Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) of the Surete, a bumbling and incompetent detective, is called out to the scene, accompanied by his assistant Hercule Lajoy. Clouseau arrives at country home of Paris plutocrat Benjamin Ballon (George Sanders) to investigate the murder of his Spanish chauffeur Miguel. The chauffeur was having an affair with the maid, Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer), who claims that he often beat her. All the evidence points to Gambrelli as the killer. She was found in her room, bolted from inside, with the gun in her hands, with no recollection of how it got there. Maria says that she and Miguel were having sex when someone entered the room and shot at Miguel 4 times. The gun was registered to Miguel and was kept in the glove compartment of the Ballon Rolls Royce. Clouseau refuses to admit her guilt after he develops an instant attraction to her. Clouseau is convinced that Maria is shielding someone. Before Clouseau can investigate further, his superior Commissioner Dreyfus removes him from the investigation out of fear he will bungle a high-profile case as Ballon is very influential in political circles. Clouseau finds himself returned to the investigation after Dreyfus is ordered by his superiors to do so, through Ballon's political influence Maria tells Clouseau that Miguel was about to break up with her, and the night of his murder was their last night together. So, Maria told him that she was already seeing someone else to make him jealous. Georges (David Lodge) the Gardener is shown to blackmail Mr Ballon saying that he saw Ballon climbing down Maria's window on the night of Miguel's murder. The next day Georges is found murdered with Maria found with the bloody scissors in her hand. For the real culprits to keep the truth hidden from Clouseau's boss, Commissioner Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), they must commit more murders. With the murders of Georges the gardener, Dudu (Ann Lynn) the maid, and Henri LaFarge, the head butler, the situation becomes untenable. Despite the facts, Clouseau continues to believe she is innocent, which leaves Dreyfus dismayed at his incompetence in the case and the scandals he causes. After the body of Henri is found in the closet of Maria's bedroom, Clouseau is once more removed from the case. Clouseau sets her free each time but is himself arrested police four times in quick succession (first for selling balloons without a license, then for selling paintings without a license, then for hunting without a license, and finally with Maria Gambrelli for public nudity, after they flee a nudist community). In order to keep his mind sharp for the case, Clouseau eventually instructs his manservant Cato (Burt Kwouk) to attack him at every opportunity (which becomes a staple running gag for the rest of the Pink Panther movies featuring Sellers). During investigations Clouseau makes Ballon admit that he was having an affair with Maria, and was also in her room, before Miguel death, but left shortly before the shooting & had no idea who had shot Miguel. Then Dudu is found dead at the same nudist camp, which Maria happened to be visiting that particular day. As Clouseau continues to bungle the case, Commissioner Dreyfus becomes increasingly agitated, as by accidentally cutting off his thumb and stabbing himself with a letter-opener. Although Dreyfus begins to suspect Ballon is trying to cover up facts about the murders, assuming that he is shielding someone with Maria's help, Clouseau's theory about her innocence leaves Dreyfus worried that he could be undone. When he is forced to put Clouseau back on the case, Dreyfus eventually suffers a nervous breakdown upon hearing of Clouseau going out for the evening with Maria. Concealing himself, he stalks Clouseau in order to assassinate him, but accidentally kills a doorman instead, as well as two cafe customers and a Cossack dancer. The increased notoriety of the case as a result of the incidents, coupled with proving Clouseau's theory correct, slowly cause Dreyfus to become unhinged. When Clouseau confronts the Ballon household with his conclusions, it is revealed that Ballon, his wife Dominique (Tracy Reed), Madame LaFarge (Vanda Godsell), Pierre the driver (Maurice Kaufmann), and Simone the maid (Moira Redmond) are all guilty of murder. Dominique reveals she killed Miguel by mistake, believing he was her husband who she thought was having an affair with Maria. Madame LaFarge murdered Georges, with whom she was having an affair, because he was about to leave her for Dominique. Simone killed Dudu in order to maintain her affair with Pierre; and Ballon murdered Henri because he was having an affair with Dominique. Pierre also reveals that Maurice was blackmailing Ballon. Meanwhile, Dreyfus, revealed to be the stalker targeting Clouseau previously, plants a bomb in Clouseau's car in one more attempt to kill him. As a massive argument breaks out, Clouseau's aide-De-camp Hercule LaJoy (Graham Stark) knocks out the power as part of an earlier, now unnecessary ruse to catch the murderer. The guilty take the opportunity to escape in Clouseau's car, but it is destroyed by a bomb set by Commissioner Dreyfus. Having witnessed the explosion, Dreyfus angrily confronts Clouseau and indirectly confesses to his own murders, but Clouseau is unable to make sense of Dreyfus's ranting and has Hercule drag him away to cool off. Clouseau and Maria celebrate the clearing of her name with a long and passionate kiss - which is swiftly interrupted by another sneak attack by Cato.

During the Civil War a group of Union soldiers, a Confederate and a civilian escape the stockade using a hot-air balloon and end up on a strange Pacific island. During the US Civil War, Union POWs escape in a balloon and end up stranded on a South Pacific island, inhabited by giant plants and animals. They must use their ingenuity to survive the dangers, and to devise a way to return home. Sequel to '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'. —Stewart M. Clamen <clamen@cs.cmu.edu> In 1865, during the siege of Richmond, Virginia, Union soldier POWs Captain Harding, Neb and Herbert escape in a balloon during a hurricane with a confederate prisoner, Sergeant Pencroft and civilian journalist, Spilett. The storm takes the balloon to a mysterious island near New Zealand in the South Pacific. Captain Harding proclaims himself leader of the group and they look for food. They discover that they are stranded on an island and soon are attacked by a giant crab that becomes their first meal. In the following days they build themselves shelter and find the island inhabited by other giant animals. One day they find two castaways on the beach: the aristocratic Lady Mary Fairchild and her sexy niece Elena. Later they find a trunk with weapons and a sextant and then they find the hut and journal of a man once marooned on the island by pirates. When pirates later return to the island, the castaways are surprised to be helped by Captain Nemo of the legendary submarine Nautilus. (Nemo -- notorious for his war against slavery -- was supposedly sunk and gone missing eight years earlier.) Finally, when a volcano threatens to obliterate their island, all must plan an escape. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil As the war between the States is coming to an end, an imprisoned Union captain, two other prisoners, a confederate soldier and a civilian newspaperman escape in a hot air balloon. Strong winds carry the across the country and out over the Pacific where they eventually land on what at first appears to be an uninhabited island. They are soon joined by two women, survivors of a pirate attack. While they manage to make a home for themselves, they have to deal with extraordinarily large animals including a giant crab and giant bees. The giant fauna is the result of experiments by Captain Nemo who has lived on the island aboard his crippled submarine, the Nautilus, for eight years. They also have to deal with an active volcano and time is short if they are to leave the island before it explodes. —garykmcd 1865. With the aid of Gideon Spilitt, a war correspondent for the New York Herald, three Union soldiers - Cyrus Harding, Herbert Brown, and Neb Nugent - are able to break out of a Libby, a military Confederate prison in Richmond, Virginia, the four men who are able to escape using one of the Confederate's surveillance hot air balloons, they in the process necessarily taking along a Confederate soldier, Pencroft, as he knows how to operate the balloon. Despite Pencroft's knowledge, the balloon nonetheless crash lands in where they believe is somewhere in the South Pacific on a seemingly deserted volcanic island. Still considering themselves at war, Captain Harding, as the senior officer, feels he should take charge. While Brown, a self-admitted coward, and Nugent, a black man, willingly go along with his orders as their superior, Spilitt and Pencroft are more reluctant in their agreement, working cooperatively for their own survival outweighing whatever hesitation they have working under Harding. The five are soon joined on the island by two Brits, Lady Mary Fairchild and her pretty young adult niece Elena, the only two survivors of a shipwreck. While there is a bounty of food and water on the island to survive, they still work toward the goal of trying to get off the island back to civilization. While they learn quickly in their stay that they share the island with a number of supersized menacing animals which provide much wanted animal protein, that is if the animals don't kill them first, they face a looming more dangerous menace preventing them from staying on the island much longer, something well known to the hidden eighth on the island. —Huggo

The slave Spartacus leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic.

The friendship between two tramp boat owners is threatened by the arrival of a beautiful and seductive passenger. Tony and Felix own a tramp boat, and sail around the Caribbean doing odd jobs and drinking a lot. They agree to ferry the beautiful but passportless Irena to another island. They both fall for her, leading to betrayal and a break-up of their partnership. Tony takes a job on a cargo ship. After a collision he finds himself trapped below deck with time running out (the ship is aflame), and only Felix, whom he hates and has sworn to kill, left to save him. —John Oswalt <jao@jao.com> Tony and Felix own a boat and transport goods, mostly legal, to various islands in the Caribbean. Their latest job is to carry a beautiful redhead, Irena, to Trinidad with no questions asked. She from Eastern Europe and has no documents. After World War II she went to the US with an American soldier and is now on her own. Felix sees her for what she is but Tony falls for her pretty hard. When she rejects him, Tony goes to work on a merchant ship that's now heading back to Trinidad and he has every intention of getting even. The ship is involved in a collision in the fog and Tony is trapped in the hold. When the ship's cargo of rubber catches fire, it's a race against time to get him out before the ship explodes. The local port doctor says they may have to amputate his legs to set him free but he flatly refuses. The doctor turns to Felix and Irina for help. —garykmcd

In 1805, most of Europe is torn apart by Napoleon Bonaparte's (Herbert Lom) drive to conquer more and more territory. Only Russia stood in his way. In Moscow, many young men have joined the army, including Nicholas Rostov (Jeremy Brett), the son of Count Ilya Rostov and his wife Nataly, and the brother of young Petya (Seán Barrett) and the flighty but devoted Natasha (Audrey Hepburn). The Rostovs' (Count Mikhail Rostov (Barry Jones) & Countess Natalya Rostova (Lea Seidl)) friend Count Pierre Bezukhov (Henry Fonda), the illegitimate son of the ailing, wealthy Count Bezukhov, has recently returned from Paris and believes that Napoleon is a "cleansing force" who can establish equality and liberty. Despite his pacifism, Pierre wishes Nicholas well and then visits his friend, army officer Fedor Dolokhov (Helmut Dantine), a notorious rake. There, the comrades indulge in drinking games (Drinking a bottle of rum, balancing self on the ledge of a window) but are interrupted by Prince Andrei Bolkonsky (Mel Ferrer), an officer of much finer character than Dolokhov. Andrei informs Pierre that his estranged father, who is near death, is calling for him. Pierre goes to his father's mansion, where various relatives snub him. Their derision changes to hypocritical concern, however, after the old count dies and it is discovered that he has accepted Pierre as legitimate and named him his sole heir. The scheming Hélène Kuragina (Anita Ekberg) immediately sets her sights on Pierre and soon he falls in love with her, while her father, Prince Vasily Kuragin (Tullio Carminati), insinuates himself as the administrator of Pierre's vast estates. One day, Pierre runs into Andrei in the country as Andrei is escorting his pregnant wife Lise (Milly Vitale) to his father's house. Andrei, who feels trapped by the clinging Lise, had earlier advised Pierre never to marry, and now Pierre refuses to accept his warnings and wants to marry Helene.. Pierre meets Natasha in Moscow, where she is spending time with Petya. Nicholas is serving under Vasily "Vas'ka" Denisov (Patrick Crean) and writes about him often. Natasha learns that Pierre is dating Helene, who is his cousin and intends to marry her. Natasha is heartbroken as she had feelings for Pierre. After Andrei takes Lise to live with his sister Mary (Anna Maria Ferrero) and gruff father, Prince Nicholas Bolkonsky (Wilfrid Lawson), he leaves for the front (Nicholas has warned Andrei that he comes from a long line of military leaders and wants him to distinguish the family name in battle) and is made an adjutant to the commander of the army, Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov (Oskar Homolka). Kutuzov is inept and delays making crucial decisions even in light of known enemy movements. But Kutuzov tells Andrei that his delays are tactical and losing a few battles doesn't mean that he will lose the war. At the Battle of Austerlitz, Andrei attempts to rally the retreating men by grabbing their banner and rushing the enemy, but he is wounded and left for dead. While surveying the battlefield, Napoleon comes across Andrei and, admiring his courage, orders that he be tended to by his personal physician. In Moscow, when Pierre learns that the Russians are suing for peace, Hélène persuades him to return to the country alone so that she can spend the season in the city, welcoming the soldiers. Nicholas comes home safely, much to the delight of Natasha. Meanwhile, Andrei returns to his family, just as Lise goes into labor. Although their son Kolya survives, Lise dies after giving birth, and the grieving Andrei blames himself for not offering her enough comfort and love. As time passes, Hélène begins a flirtation with Dolokhov, and when Pierre learns of the rumors about them, he insults Dolokhov and accepts his challenge of a duel. Although Pierre is woefully unskilled with firearms, he manages to shoot and wound Dolokhov, while the soldier's shot goes wide and Pierre is unharmed. Infuriated that he was provoked into acting in such an uncivilized manner, Pierre separates from Helene and agrees to accompany the Rostovs to their country estate. One day, while they are hunting, they meet Andrei, who is enchanted by Natasha. Andrei is still in mourning and Pierre encourages him to find happiness in his life. Later, Andrei dances with Natasha when she attends her first ball and realizes that he wants to marry her. Prince Bolkonsky urges Andrei to wait a year, as Natasha is so young and the Rostovs are not their social equals, but promises to consent if Andrei still wishes to marry her then. With Natasha's promise to wait for him, Andrei then joins the mission to Prussia, where Czar Alexander and Napoleon sign a peace treaty in June 1807. While Andrei is gone, however, Natasha (who was rebuffed by Mary when Natasha went to see Andrei's father at his estate. This convinced her that the 1 yr wait is just a ruse to not marry her) is seduced by Anatole Kuragin (Vittorio Gassman), Helene's brother, who is as cold-Hearted and debauched as his sister. Even though he is secretly married, Anatole persuades Natasha to elope with him, but their plans are foiled by Natasha's cousin Sonya (May Britt) and Pierre, who threatens Anatole with exposure of his marriage if he ruins Natasha's reputation. Pierre's threats come too late, however, and soon all of Moscow is gossiping about Natasha, who falls ill after Andrei ends their relationship. After several months, she begs Pierre to convey her regret to Andrei, and Pierre, who is in love with her, assures her that she is blameless, and that if he were free, he would ask for her hand. In 1812, Napoleon crosses the River Neman into Russia with 200,000 men, despite the peace treaty. Faced with the superiority of the French Army, Kutuzov orders his men to retreat, and as they fall back, the soldiers and peasants set fire to the countryside so that the French will be without provisions. Although his officers protest his strategy, Kutuzov insists that the only way to save Russia is by letting the French wear themselves out. Soon the city of Smolensk is abandoned and Kutuzov decides to make a stand at Borodino. Determined to see war firsthand, to decide if his hatred of it is valid, Pierre travels to Borodino, where he finds Andrei's camp on the eve of the battle. Although Pierre urges Andrei to forgive Natasha, Andrei states that he cannot. The next morning, Pierre watches with mounting horror as the fighting rages around him and the French slaughter the Russians (The Russian cannons beat back french infantry, when Napoleon orders a cavalry attack just as the Russins run out of ammo for their cannons and their reserves are blown off). Finally realizing that his hero is just a tyrant, Pierre damns Napoleon. Kutuzov then decides to fall back beyond Moscow (he wants French armies to bleed to death), leaving the ancient capital city to the French. In Moscow, the Rostovs are among the many families preparing to flee when some wounded Russian soldiers arrive, hoping to be billeted at their home after their departure. Natasha insists that the men cannot be left behind to be captured, however, and they are loaded into the Rostov wagons (leaving their expensive furniture behind) and taken to a distant village. Napoleon is infuriated to learn that the government has fled, leaving no one behind to surrender to him. He sets the city on fire, which can be seen for miles. Although Pierre lies in wait one day, hoping to assassinate the French emperor, he cannot do it and is taken prisoner. Meanwhile, Natasha has learned that Andrei is among the wounded in their care and reunites with him. While Pierre is befriended by a fellow prisoner, the peasant Platon (John Mills). the Rostovs take Andrei to a monastery to convalesce. Andrei's wounds prove fatal, however, and he dies just after Mary and Kolya arrive to bid him farewell. Napoleon realizes that he has been outmaneuvered by Kutuzov (Food stocks are low and ammunition is being stolen or being sabotaged by resistance forces), and, fearing being trapped in Russia during the winter, orders his men to retreat. The prisoners, including Pierre and Platon, are forced to accompany the soldiers during their 2,000-mile march, and many of them die. The Russian soldiers follow behind the French, allowing them little rest and picking off stragglers. Petya, who has joined the army against his parents' wishes, is sent with a dispatch to Dolokhov, ordering his platoon to join the main regiment. Eager for one last fight, Dolokhov insists on attacking the French the next morning and allows Petya to accompany him. Petya is killed during the engagement, and although Pierre is freed, he is too overcome by the boy's death to rejoice. Dolokhov informs Pierre that Helene has died, and later, joins the other Russian soldiers as they attack the French, who are fleeing back across the Niemen. The Rostovs return to Moscow and find their mansion a burned-out shell, with only one wing remaining intact. Natasha rallies her family to make the best of what they have, however, and as the others settle in, Natasha sadly remembers happier times. She then sees Pierre in the doorway and rushes to embrace him. Telling him that he is like their house, which suffers and shows its wounds but still stands, Natasha kisses Pierre, and they walk together in the garden.