Pink Pantrher the Pink Panther Strikes Again

"Compared to Clouseau, this doomsday machine is but a water pistol!"

— Former Principal Inspector Dreyfus

The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) is the fifth film in The Pink Panther franchise, in one case once more directed by Blake Edwards and starring Peter Sellers as (now-Chief Inspector) Clouseau.

Three years later on the events of The Return of the Pink Panther, ^note though this film was only made i year later Sometime Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is seemingly cured... just after meeting up with Clouseau just prior to his planned release from the psychiatric infirmary, the therapy is undone. Dreyfus escapes and organizes a criminal gang that kidnaps nuclear physicist Hugo Fassbender (Richard Vernon) and his daughter Margo (Briony McRoberts). Forcing the former to build a Disintegrator Ray, Dreyfus threatens to unleash it on the earth unless Clouseau is killed, and many countries immediately send assassins later Clouseau as he sets out to stop Dreyfus himself.

Followed by Revenge of the Pink Panther.

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This film provides examples of:

• Activation Sequence: A villainous version, with Dreyfus' Disintegrator Ray taking a long fourth dimension to activate before being used in an attempt to destroy England.
• Actor Innuendo: Dreyfus' organ playing and greatcoat within the movie is a nod to the fact Herbert Lom had starred in The Phantom of the Opera (1962).
• Adaptational Alternate Catastrophe: The novelization of the movie (by screenplay co-author Frank Waldman) features a totally different and relatively bizarre ending where both Dreyfus and Professor Fassbender are disintegrated past the Doomsday Machine. The final chapter reveals that they have rematerialized in the afar future in a lonely office of space known as the Ultimate Galaxy of the Dimension Quattro (where everything they've disintegrated, including the United Nations Edifice and the front half of a dog named Shlep, has concluded upwardly). Facing an eternity together every bit the sole inhabitants of this empty aeroplane of existence, Dreyfus and Fassbender have go friends.
• An Arm and a Leg: Afterwards being catapulted back into the castle, Clouseau lands on elevation of the doomsday motorcar, knocking it out of position and zapping Dreyfus' legs. Despite this, Dreyfus is nevertheless able to walk usually until the entire castle is vaporized. He is likewise able to play the piping organ later on his arms disappear.
• Blithe Credits Opening: Produced by Richard Williams' Studio. Can be seen here along with the Creative Closing Credits.
• Armed Legs: One of the killers uses a shoe knife.
• Artifact Title: The Pink Panther diamond plays no part in the film'south plot.
• Artistic License – Geography: Dreyfus declares he will brand the Un building disappear at 3PM Eastern Standard Time, which would exist 9PM in Germany. Withal, it is broad daylight in both locations.
• Artistic License – Gun Safety:
  • Going past the way that Clouseau accidentally shot a man in the ass past knocking one over and making it go off, Professor Fassbender stores his hunting rifles loaded and unsafed.
  • During the scene at the insane asylum, a human being walks in front of an archery target moments before someone shoots at it, with a real pointer. Said target is in the middle of an open up field with no backstop.
• Artistic License – Physics: Dreyfus may have reflected the doomsday Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation off of a satellite, ^annotation Something which ways that there'south a textile it can't destroy, because otherwise information technology would have vaporized the satellite instead of the UN Building considering otherwise, the Laser beam fired from Germany would have to be pointed through the World to reach the Un Building in New York Metropolis. This issue is never explained in the pic, but this is a comedy afterward all. Targeting the Laser on England may be more than plausible.
• Badass Boast: Dreyfus says as much about Clouseau. Although he does non hateful it every bit a compliment at all. To wit, one of Dreyfus' goons points out the obvious: Dreyfus has some of the finest hitmen in Europe in the very room they're standing, then why not handle it themselves instead of extorting the earth'southward governments to do it for them? Dreyfus' answer?

  Dreyfus: Because you wouldn't stand a chance.

  Goon: (scoffs) Oh, come up on.

  Dreyfus: You don't know Clouseau.

  Tournier: He can't be that good.

  Dreyfus: Adept? He'south non skilful. He'southward terrible. He's the worst. There is no man like him, anywhere in the earth. Compared to Clouseau, this Doomsday Automobile is... is just a water pistol!

• Balloonacy: Clouseau is floated out of his apartment window past the inflatable hump in his hunchback costume, thereby causing him to miss the bomb Dreyfus sets off.
• Banking company Robbery: Dreyfus breaks a number of criminals out of prison and has them rob a banking company in society to secure the funds he needs for his plot.
• Bath Suspension-Out: Dreyfus orchestrates the escape of a prisoner named Jean Tourier who is being transported by train. Tourier goes to the bath, and then climbs out through the ventilator on to the roof of the train where Dreyfus is waiting for him in a helicopter.
• Big Secret: Fassbender's butler lies nigh having witnessed the criminal offense due to concern that it volition come out that he's a Elevate Queen.
• Buccaneer Broadcaster: Dreyfus hijacks the broadcast of a football game to deliver his need of Clouseau'due south expiry, much to the ire of President Gerald Ford due to the hijacking cutting out the end of the game.

  President Gerald Ford: Call the FBI, the CIA, and the Pentagon, notice out who won the game!!

• The Cameo:
  • Omar Sharif plays the Egyptian assassin whom the Russian i mistakes for Clouseau on their initial coming together; he beds her, and she falls in love and chooses non to impale him, which is extremely confusing for the real Clouseau later on.
  • There's also a musical cameo: the (intentionally) awful singing voice sported by elevate queen Jarvis is supplied by Julie Andrews via dubbing.
• Helm Obvious:

  François: What kind of bomb was information technology?

  Clouseau: The exploding kind.

• Carnival of Killers: The earth's greatest assassins descend on Munich in attempt to impale Clouseau and end up wiping each other out. (Coincidentally, given this trope's name, the sequence in question takes place at an Oktoberfest celebration.)
• Catapult to Glory: Clouseau is inadvertently lofted through a castle window past a catapult.
• Comically Missing the Indicate: In the opening, Clouseau tells Dreyfus that he might run for office in a few years. Dreyfus stifles a laugh and says he'll certainly vote for him. Clouseau so replies that, in return, he'll ensure he's released. Dreyfus and so does the sign of the cross in a "God help me" sort of manner, to which Clouseau simply says "yes, I know how you feel."
• Contrived Coincidence: Clouseau checks into an inn about Mondschein Castle. Afterwards, Dreyfus calls the innkeeper to request a dentist who happens to alive there.
• Darker and Edgier: Information technology could be the 2nd darkest moving picture in the franchise, though it's more of a Blackness Comedy.
• Delayed Reaction: Clouseau doesn't find that the helium hump in his Quasimodo disguise has caused him to float out the window until Cato tries to speak to him. Cato is naturally unfazed seeing him floating in a higher place the street.
• Disintegrator Ray: The device created by Professor Fassbender (and used past former Chief inspector Dreyfus as a weapon of mass destruction).
• Asymmetric Retribution: Dreyfus attempts to destroy an entire country because he was lied to about Clouseau'southward assassination. The country that falsely claimed to kill Clouseau is Egypt. The country Dreyfus decides to punish is England.
  • Well, he did say "they all betrayed me" and his demand to take Clouseau killed was directed at the entire world, then...
  • And then in that location'south of grade the whole plot hinging on him threatening to destroy/impale the entire world unless someone kills Clouseau for him.
  • Lastly, Professor Fassbender was from England, and Dreyfus was completely insane by that indicate.
• Do Non Adjust Your Set: Dreyfus hijacks every TV signal in order to announce his death warrant for Clouseau. Problem: Nobody knows what he'south talking virtually and are more concerned that he interrupted the big football game.

  President Ford: Call the FBI, the CIA and the Pentagon! Find out who won the game!

• Downward to the Last Play: The football game that Dreyfus preempted, to President Ford'south dismay.
• The Dragon: Bank robber Tournier, who is the first recruit to Dreyfus'due south regular army, acts every bit an advisor to him and goes to endeavor and kill Clouseau himself subsequently virtually of the world's assassins fail.
• Dramatic Thunder: The commencement shot of Mondschein Castle is accompanied by a thunderclap.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: When Dreyfus attempts to blow up Clouseau in his apartment, he calls him, to ensure he's within the blast radius, and claims he's part of a commission that intends to nowadays him with an award. Clouseau remarks that he wondered why, after 9 years of service, he's not been recognized sooner.
• Equal-Opportunity Evil: Dreyfus has several women as part of his crew.
• Evil Costume Switch: Dreyfus is wearing a grey suit in the opening, and one time he becomes a supervillain, he dresses in all blackness.
• Evil Is Hammy: Dreyfus is fully aware that he has turned into a Bail villain and is enjoying every infinitesimal of it.
• Exact Words:

  Closeau: Does your dog bite?

  Hotel Clerk: No.

  Closeau: <petpetpet> Nice doggie!

  Dog: OMNOMNOM!

  Closeau: I thought yous said your dog did not bite!

  Hotel Clerk: That is not my dog.

• Explosive Instrumentation: The computers and panels in the control room starting time exploding every bit the doomsday auto overloads.
• Face Death with Nobility: As the laser slowly destroys the castle, Dreyfus remains playing "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" on the organ.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: in his previous films, Dreyfus has been a threat but to Clouseau. Here, he is the leader of a powerful law-breaking group and threatens the world's powers into doing what he wants.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Dreyfus' fate. Every bit he tries to destroy England with his laser, Clouseau accidentally knocks it around at the crucial moment - it malfunctions and zaps Dreyfus instead.
• Honey Trap: Olga, the Soviet amanuensis. She seduces her prey before killing them, even boasting that no man had always been able to involve her emotionally. Nevertheless, she ends upwardly seducing the Egyptian assassinator, mistaking him for Clouseau, and falls in love with the real Clouseau, much to his defoliation.
• I Have Your Wife: Fassbender'due south daughter is threatened to brand him build Dreyfus'due south device.
• Instrument of Murder: A clarinet blowgun.
• Intimidation Demonstration: During Kato'southward surprise attack on Clouseau, Kato displays impressive ability wielding a staff and Clouseau shows off his elite skill with a pair of nunchucks earlier they showtime using them to fight.
• It's E'er Mardi Gras in New Orleans: When Inspector Clouseau goes to Munich, the yearly Oktoberfest festival is going on; justified as the film takes identify on and around October 9th. During the celebration, the earth's greatest assassins compete to kill him.
• Kidnapped Scientist: Dreyfus kidnaps Hugo Fassbender, a scientist specializing in space-fourth dimension relations, to build a doomsday weapon. To ensure Fassbender'southward cooperation, Dreyfus kidnaps his daughter as well.
• Laughing Gas: In lodge to infiltrate Dreyfus's castle, Clouseau disguises himself as a dentist who has come up to have care of Dreyfus'due south toothache. He administers nitrous oxide (laughing gas) to both Dreyfus and himself, causing both of them to be overcome with laughter.
• Madness Mantra: Dreyfus' "Every day, in every way, I'1000 getting better and meliorate!"
• Manly Gay: Jarvis the butler is a drag queen and kisses Clouseau at one point but drives around on a motorcycle and is able to kill an assassinator who tries to silence him.
• Awe-inspiring Damage: Dreyfus vaporizes the United Nations edifice to make his threat clear. He is initially disappointed when told that the auto will not leave a crater or wreckage.
• Murphy's Bed: Information technology'southward the ground for the final not-animated gag.
• Nails on a Blackboard: Used as a literal torture method.
• Naked in Mink: Olga Beriosova (Lesley-Anne Down) seduces Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) in a scene that is across words.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: The U.South. President and Secretarial assistant of State are obvious parodies of Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Upon reading the transcript of Dreyfus' threat, the Scotland Chiliad detectives initially laugh it off, until they read that he intends to make the UN building disappear. They realize he intends to apply Fassbender's piece of work to make expert on his threat.
  • The US President's Secretarial assistant of State has one when he learns that twelve countries have their summit assassins converging on the Oktoberfest to kill Clouseau:

  Secretary of Country Henry Kissinger: My god it'll be like a shooting gallery.

  • Clouseau is catapulted onto the doomsday automobile, knocking it out of position. Anybody in the control room panics upon seeing the car is now pointing within.
• Oktoberfest: The hilarious scene where Clouseau goes to the Munich Oktoberfest and several dozen assassins from around the world accidentally impale each other while trying to kill him.
• Ominous Opera Cape: Dreyfus wears a black opera greatcoat while making his threat to the earth.
• Ominous Pipe Organ: Former Chief Inspector Dreyfus plays a version of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" instead of the usual Bach Toccata.
• One-Man Ground forces: The US President refers to Clouseau as this when he is told that twenty-half dozen assassins dies trying to kill the French inspector. Nevertheless, Clouseau is actually an disfavor; the assassins took each other out by accident while Clouseau, who wasn't even enlightened of them, survived through dumb luck.
• Operation: [Blank]: Fassbender worked on a projection called Operation Looking Glass, which serves as the basis of Dreyfus'southward doomsday auto.
• Pain to the Ass: While at the Fassbender home, Clouseau accidentally sets off a burglarize which hits Superintendant Quinlan in the ass.
• Potty Trip the light fantastic: Just before activating the doomsday machine, Dreyfus says he needs to go to the bathroom and tells Fassbender to agree off until he gets dorsum. The Professor says he has already started the firing sequence, causing Dreyfus to wince in discomfort equally he watches the machine being aimed.
• Pretty in Mink: Would-exist assassin Olga wears a total-length coat and hat.
• Rake Accept: While talking with Clouseau in the prologue, Dreyfus steps on 1, causing him to fall over in the h2o... once more.
• Realpolitik: Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, one of history's nigh famous proponents of Realpolitik, suggests that Dreyfus will likely paw over the doomsday machine to whichever land eliminates Clouseau. Hence, the assassins are ordered to impale each other in order to be the ane with a shot at Clouseau, though they all fail confronting him even so. In reality, Dreyfus muses that he might proceed his reign of terror regardless of whether Clouseau is killed or not.
• Reference Overdosed: The opening titles include parodies of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Batman, King Kong, The Sound of Music, Dracula, Singin' in the Rain, Steamboat Beak, Jr., and Sweet Charity. The closing scene includes a parody of Jaws.
• Reluctant Mad Scientist: Professor Fassbender. Dreyfus kidnaps him and threatens to torture his daughter if he doesn't build a doomsday auto based on his theoretical studies.
• Revenge of the Sequel: The "Strikes Again" version is used for this championship.
• Running Gag: The amount of times Dreyfus is knocked into the swimming at the starting time.
• Sanity Slippage: Dreyfus is due to exist released from the insane asylum when Clouseau drives him to insanity inside the span of v minutes. Later on that, he goes total James Bond supervillain only to have Clouseau killed.
• Screen-to-Stage Adaptation: A phase version was created for regional/apprentice theaters in 1981. Information technology's a Pragmatic Adaptation that, among other things, gives the Girl of the Calendar week more characterization, has its own "Pink Panthers" (stagehands who sometimes interfere with the plot), and completely rethinks the climax: the disintegrator ray has a cocky-destruct machinery congenital in that the professor activates. Dreyfus is set to go downward with it, just Clouseau's morals and sense of accolade mean he'southward ready to Save the Villain...or get down with him. The prospect of going into eternity with Clouseau is terrifying enough for Dreyfus that he allows himself to exist saved and taken into custody.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here!: Afterward Clouseau knocks the doomsday machine out of position and zaps Dreyfus, anybody immediately flees the castle.
• Separated by a Common Language: Clouseau and the hotel clerk.

  Clouseau: (in his usual exaggerated French accent) Tell me, do you have a room?
  Clerk: I do not know what a "rrrheum" is.
  Clouseau: (pulling out his English language-to-German lexicon) "Zimmer".
  Clerk: Ah! A "room"!
  Clouseau: That is what I've been saying, you idiot...!

• Sequel Escalation: Clouseau goes from investigating robberies and murders to endeavour to salvage the globe. Also Dreyfus has been trying to kill Clouseau ever since his outset advent in A Shot in the Nighttime, merely in this movie he goes full-diddled James Bail supervillain and threatens to destroy the globe unless someone, anyone, kills Clouseau.
• Sex–Confront Turn: The aforementioned effect is achieved not past the antagonistic woman really seducing the hero, but by having her sleep with someone she thought was him when it was in fact another member of the same multi-national Carnival of Killers as her. This leaves the hero very dislocated when she suddenly appears naked in his bed professing her undying love for him.
• Sherlock Scan: In the opening, Dreyfus shows off some of his policeman skills by remarking that his psychiatrist has had another fight with his wife, equally information technology is the simply time he doodles.
• Shout-Out: The flick has this in spades, eight of which are in the Animated Credits Opening lonely.
• Siege Engines: Inspector Clouseau is accidentally propelled upwardly and through a castle window by a catapult.
• Singing Vox Dissonance: Exaggerated. Ainsley Jarvis appears to exist singing a song in a operatic female person voice, but when he talks it's conspicuously a man in drag.
• Spanner in the Works: When Clouseau unwittingly lands on top of the laser and ends upwardly unintentionally aiming it at Dreyfus.
• Stating the Simple Solution: Some of the criminals ask Dreyfus why they don't simply get after Clouseau themselves, instead of having the earth'southward assassins do it. Dreyfus replies that they would not stand a chance (as we see, he'southward right - fifty-fifty the world's top assassins are helpless against Clouseau'due south incredible luck).
• Supervillain Lair: The Bavarian castle that Dreyfus has bought and converted into his hiding spot for the doomsday machine. The control room definitely looks similar something out of a James Bond film.
• Sweater Girl: Margo Fassbender spends most if not all of her screen time in a sweater that isn't exactly bulky.
• Sweet Molar: Dreyfus helps himself to sweets, eventually getting a cavity.
• Have Over the World: Dreyfus' ostensible goal in creating the doomsday device, but the truthful reason is simply to get Clouseau killed. Though he later tells Fassbender that he considered continuing his reign of terror regardless of whether Clouseau is eliminated.
• Too Dumb to Live: Jean Tournier, an otherwise brilliant criminal, goes against Dreyfus'due south advice and decides to accept out Clouseau himself for clout. His program? Sneak into Clouseau's hotel room disguised equally Clouseau himself. He is immediately gunned down by the Egyptian assassin, showing that peradventure dressing as the man all the world's greatest killers are openly gunning for may not have been the best call.
• The Tooth Hurts: Former Master Inspector Dreyfus gets a bad toothache and sends for a dentist. Clouseau pretends to exist the dentist and performs dental malpractice on Dreyfus.
• Torpedo Tits: One of the killers, a cross-dressed human, attacks Clouseau with spikes emerging from the simulated tits in his apparel. He meets his end when he's pinned to a tabular array.
• Twitchy Eye: Dreyfus' famous twitch is more pronounced than e'er here. When he is disintegrated at the end, information technology's the last affair that we see of his confront.
• Uncertain Doom: Two of the assassins at the Oktoberfest who impale other assassins (a sniper peeking out the rima oris of a dragon prop and a piper who shoots a poisoned dart) aren't shown dying on screen, although it's later claimed that the Russian and Egyptian assassins are the last ones left and in that location'due south piffling reason to uncertainty that statement.
• Villain Ball: Upon seeing that Clouseau is in the castle, Dreyfus announces he will pick a target and then worry well-nigh Clouseau. And then again, he has gone completely insane by this point.
• Wins by Doing Admittedly Zippo: At the Oktoberfest, Clouseau wanders aimlessly through the festival while dozens of assassins end upwardly killing each other while trying to kill him. The easiest incident to describe was when he entered the center stall at a restroom, while 2 gunmen entered the other ii. Clouseau bends over to pick up a dropped roll of toilet paper at the moment the assassins fire, resulting in a Mutual Kill.
• Would Hurt a Child: Dreyfus gleefully tortures Fassbender's daughter Margot to convince him to build the laser.
• Yank the Domestic dog's Chain: After iii years of therapy, Dreyfus is finally sane again and within hours of beingness released from the aviary. He suffers a total relapse and ends up even crazier than before after spending a mere 5 minutes (nearly to the second) in Clouseau's visitor.
• You Can Leave Your Hat On: In the final scene, Clouseau tries (and fails) to seductively take off his suit to a Tom Jones vocal before his love scene with Olga.
• You're Insane!: Professor Fassbender is quick to point out that Dreyfus is mad.

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Source: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/ThePinkPantherStrikesAgain

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