Revenge of the Pink Panther
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.
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