Ted Wass

In 1960 New York City, Arthur Shelton (John Doolittle) prays at the bedside of his young son, Bobby, who is sick with scarlet fever. On the street outside the apartment building, God (George Burns), dressed as an elderly man in a baseball cap and a gray sweatsuit, writes the boy's name on a notepad and promises to watch over him, hoping at the same time that He's not making a mistake with this one. Twenty-four years later in Los Angeles, California, the same Bobby Shelton (Ted Wass) is a struggling singer-songwriter married to Wendy (Roxanne Hart), a supportive wife and social worker. After another record company flatly rejects his latest composition, Bobby agrees to play a wedding for $500.00. Dejected, he tells himself he would "sell his soul to the devil" to be a success in the music business. The devil (George Burns in a dual role), who is disguised as a cigar-smoking talent agent named Harry O. Tophet, receives Bobby's message while driving back from Miami after a personal assignment, and notices on his car computer that God has "watched over" Bobby since 1960. The devil, however, declares out loud that he has priority if a person directly asks for him. During the wedding reception, the devil/Harry O. Tophet appears and gives Bobby his business card, promising to book him at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden. Although Harry claims to represent "all the big names... sooner or later," Bobby is not familiar with the agent. Nevertheless, he is impressed when Harry orchestrates a series of pratfalls among the wedding guests. Harry then disappears before Bobby can say anything more to him. When Bobby comments that he is flipping out, he turns over Harry's business card and sees that it says on the back of it "You're not flipping out." Meanwhile, rock star Billy Wayne (Robert Desiderio) panics when he realizes that his seven-year contract with the devil expires at 12:00 midnight. At Astral Records, Bobby and his longtime talent agent, Charlie Gray (Eugene Roche), arrive for an appointment with executive Gary Frantz (Ron Silver). As they wait in the reception room, Harry arrives and forces Bobby to choose between the two agents. Bobby takes a chance on the determined old man and politely fires Charlie. When Harry proposes a $3.5 million recording deal for Bobby, Frantz and his colleague laugh. At the same time, Harry hands Bobby a seven-year representation contract and tells him that if he signs it, they will stop laughing at him. When the young musician hesitates, Harry suggests a trial period and extends the contract to 12 years. As soon as Bobby signs, his name on the signature line magically changes into "Billy Wayne," and Frantz suddenly agrees to the $3.5 million-dollar contract with the famous rock star. Although Bobby still thinks that he is himself, everyone else around him now recognizes him only as Billy Wayne. Meanwhile, the real Billy Wayne has been transferred into Bobby's body without any memory of his former life. When Bobby telephones his wife to tell her the good news about the recording contract, he realizes that another man has replaced him and that Wendy is also unaware of the switch. By now Bobby has long since discovered that his deal with Harry was actually a deal with the devil, who reveals much later that he had lied about the trial period; Bobby is now in this for the long run. When Bobby asks the devil if he can ask one question, he lets him do so. Bobby asks, "Why do I still think I'm me? And what happens when my contract runs out?", the devil replies, "That's two questions. I only said you could ask one." During his first concert, Bobby is initially hesitant in front of screaming fans, but soon becomes more comfortable on stage. As the tour continues, he relishes the experience of being a rock star with a private plane, female groupies and magazine cover photos. Back in Los Angeles, Bobby arrives by helicopter at his hillside estate, knowing that he still thinks that he is himself rather than a celebrity. He stops outside the loft apartment that he shared with Wendy and appears to be regretful. Five months later, the devil visits Bobby again and mentions that God has become bitter and that He rarely makes personal appearances on Earth. That night, Bobby is stunned to find out that Wendy is pregnant, but is relieved to discover that the child was conceived before the deal with the devil was made. Desperate to return to his wife, Bobby begs to be released from his contract, but the devil refuses. When he consults a Catholic priest and a Jewish rabbi about the unholy arrangement with the devil, the two religious leaders consider the musician to be mentally disturbed. On the street, Bobby encounters an itinerant Black sidewalk preacher who simply tells him to look for God in the desert. With a sudden urge to visit Las Vegas, Nevada, Bobby tells Gary Frantz to book his next tour at Caesars Palace. After the first concert, Bobby asks the casino operator to page "the Lord" for him. When God telephones the musician's suite, Bobby thinks at first that He is Harry after hearing His voice until God tells him to look out of his window. Bobby does and sees a rainbow appear out of nowhere and without any rain. God then reassures Bobby and mentions that he has been watching over him ever since 1960. However, the Almighty does not offer His immediate help and abruptly hangs up, but not before telling Bobby that it wouldn't hurt to give all praises to Him in the highest. Bobby does so and asks to see another rainbow, but after he waits all day, none appears. Finally, by nightfall Bobby gives up and goes out of his hotel room for the next concert, just barely missing another rainbow appear, again out of nowhere and without any rain, in the night sky. Waiting in his dressing room before the concert, Bobby attempts to free himself from Billy Wayne's life forever by committing suicide. He swallows several handfuls of pills with liquor. Meanwhile, in the casino, God and the devil meet face-to-face for the first time in a long time and play poker together for the soul of Bobby Shelton. If the devil wins, Bobby Shelton will die as Billy Wayne and be remembered with other fallen rock superstars such as Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. During the game, seemingly out of nowhere, God raises the stakes and wagers the billions of souls that are on His list and that He is currently watching over. If the devil wins, all of them are his along with Bobby. If God wins, the devil will never be allowed to ever interfere in their lives, even if they directly ask for him or even if they beg for him. The stakes are too risky for the devil and he folds, conceding Bobby's soul. As God presents His weak card hand, the devil realizes too late that his opponent was bluffing all the time and had nothing. When he asks why he folded, God says, "I put the fear of Me into you." In the dressing room, Gary Frantz finds Billy Wayne's body unresponsive on the floor, while Bobby Shelton gets up and slips out of the room, surprisingly unnoticed by anyone. After a doctor declares Billy dead, Bobby finally feels that he has been released from the rock star's life. Meanwhile, God tears up Bobby's contract to the devil. The devil asks God to play double or nothing, but God refuses him, saying that He got what He wanted. When the devil then asks God why He took such a big risk for Bobby, God says that he wouldn't understand and besides, He had to take him down a peg because he had been getting a bit cocky lately. Later, a wise-cracking God, who bears a strong resemblance to the devil, presents himself to Bobby and explains that He had promised his father that He would look after Bobby when he had scarlet fever as a child in 1960, adding that Arthur Shelton's prayer for his son was very convincing. God both tells Bobby to go back to his wife and also assures him in no uncertain terms that next time He will not bail him out. Unaware that her actual husband has been away for the past few months, Wendy welcomes Bobby home that evening. He tells her that he has had a life-changing experience. Five years later, Bobby rushes to the bedside of his sick daughter and softly sings to her the same song that his father had sung to him when he was sick as a child. Suddenly, Bobby hears the voice of God singing the same verse of the song that he had just sung. When Bobby asks "God?", God then reassures him by telling him "Sing", which he gladly does.

American missionary doctors Phillip and Betsy Ames (Michael Shannon and Betsey Paul) travel with their young daughter, Janet (Kirsty Lindsey), to the African kingdom of Tigora to investigate the healing properties of the soil around the Zambouli tribal region, but are killed when a cave inside Gudjara Mountain collapses. The Zamboulis' female Shaman (Elizabeth of Toro) takes in the orphaned Janet and announces that the prophecy about a "golden god-child" emerging from the sacred mountain to protect the tribe has come true. The Zamboulis cheer as Shaman calls the girl, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. Shaman introduces Sheena to the wild animals of the region and teaches her how to speak to them telepathically by touching her forehead. Over the next several years, as the young blonde white girl becomes a woman (now played by Tanya Roberts), she learns to ride a zebra named Marika and becomes skilled at archery, a Zambouli tradition. Meanwhile, Prince Otwani (Trevor Thomas) has returned to his home country of Tigora after playing professional football in the U.S.A. In the capital city of Azan, Otwani learns that Gudjara Mountain is full of the valuable mineral titanium, and he is greedy ready to exploit it. To take control of the country, Otwani plans to assassinate his brother, King Jabalani (Clifton Jones), who has always protected the rural Zambouli territory from mining. Shaman senses the king is in danger and goes to warn him. At the royal residence, the king's deceitful fiancée, Countess Zanda (France Zobda), schemes with Prince Otwani, with whom she is having an affair. After being informed that the Zambouli Shaman was in town, Zanda has her arrested and plans to frame her for the king's murder. From her cell, Shaman telepathically summons Sheena. Meanwhile, American television sports reporter, Vic Casey (Ted Wass), arrives in Tigora with cameraman Fletcher (Donovan Scott) to film a story about Prince Otwani. During a formal dinner at the royal palace, King Jabalani is struck down with an arrow, and Fletcher catches the chaos on camera, as Otwani pretends to grieve over his brother's body. After examining their footage closely, Vic and Fletcher discover the king was not killed with a Zambouli bow as Countess Zanda claimed, but with a steel crossbow hidden in a tree. Anxious to investigate the conspiracy, Vic goes to the prison to interview Shaman. He and Fletcher arrive in time to witness Sheena rescuing the Zambouli woman, with the help of her zebra, elephant, and chimpanzees. Astonished, the two men follow Sheena and Shaman into the jungle. The next day, Otwani orders his henchman, Colonel Jorgenson, to find and kill the escaped prisoner, along with the two nosy reporters, but prefers Sheena be captured alive. Surrounded by her pride of lions, Sheena confronts Vic and Fletcher driving through the jungle, and orders them to go back. However, as she and Vic look at each other with curiosity, she realizes he is not an enemy and creates a protected area for the reporters to wait. Sheena briefly leaves them to look after her mentor Shaman, who soon dies from injuries she received in prison. Colonel Jorgenson and his mercenary soldiers find the reporters and attack, but Fletcher escapes and returns to Azan to ship the film footage, while Vic hides with Sheena in the treetops. The next day, Sheena and Vic travel towards Zambouli territory on her zebra, Marika, and must outwit their pursuers along the way. During the journey, the two fall in love. Meanwhile, Fletcher is unable to ship the film or leave the country after Otwani shuts down communications and the airport. When Sheena and Vic reach Z'kuru, the first Zambouli village, they are horrified to see Jorgenson's soldiers destroying the place. Further along the road, the two assemble a flaming arrow to ignite the convoy's gasoline tanks. However, a fighter helicopter arrives in time to fan out the flames, and Otwani orders the pilot to shoot at Sheena and Vic as they flee. When the helicopter begins to gun down a herd of gazelle and threats to kill Sheena's beloved zebra, she and Vic emerge from the camouflage of trees and surrender. While being held prisoner, Vic indicates to Otwani that he has incriminating footage of King Jabalani's assassination. In exchange for Zambouli independence, Vic will hand over the film negative. Otwani wants to view the film first and sends Vic back to the capital Azan, guarded by two of Jorgenson's thugs. Meanwhile, against Otwani's wishes, Countess Zanda prepares to throw Sheena over the waterfall from the helicopter. Zanda first orders the pilot to circle the nearby village, so that the Zamboulis will come out to witness their so-called protector die. Using her telepathic abilities, Sheena summons flamingos that surround the helicopter and attack the pilot, while Zanda falls to her death. As the helicopter descends, Sheena jumps into the treetops before it crashes and explodes. Still in chains, she appears before the Zamboulis and orders them to collect their weapons for the battle. Meanwhile, Vic evades his captors and returns to help Sheena. After discussing a plan with Chief Haromba, Sheena summons her wild animals. In anticipation of mining the rich titanium, Otwani orders Jorgenson and his soldiers to secure Gudjara Mountain, but along a dense forest road, the convoy becomes stuck. From hiding places in the hillside trees, Sheena and the Zamboulis attack with arrows, spears, and boulders, while the soldiers fire back with their automatic rifles. Realizing they are cornered, Jorgenson orders his men to retreat as elephants, chimpanzees, lions, and a rhinoceros charge the convoy. Sheena jumps on her zebra to follow Otwani, who has escaped in a Jeep, while Chief Haromba spears Colonel Jorgenson in revenge for the death of the Z'kuru villagers. Although thrown from her zebra during a fast-paced pursuit, Sheena is able to kill Otwani with her bow and arrow. At the same time, Vic speeds across the desert to try and stop Otwani and crashes his Jeep. He is thrown from the vehicle and is badly burned, but is still alive. Vic recovers after Sheena and the Zamboulis submerge him in the healing soil. Initially, Vic wants to take Sheena back to New York City with him, but changes his mind after realizing the exploitation she would suffer. Before going their separate ways, the two declare their love and Vic promises to return.

(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.