The Correct Order To Watch The Pink Panther Movies
1964's "The Pink Panther" is not a complex film. There is little to suggest a full-fledged film series in its story of a jewel with the shape of a panther buried deep within. Somehow, that premise resulted in a series of films lasting decades, with eleven unique (or mostly unique) live-action entries. And the cartoon character who showed up in the title sequence, dancing to Henry Mancini's iconic theme music? There was a Saturday morning series starring him that ran in various incarnations from 1969 to 1980.
When writer Maurice Richlin pursued director Blake Edwards with an idea for a film about a jewel thief, neither man could have predicted the surprising longevity of that idea. Certainly, they couldn't have predicted that the extremely thin premise of "The Pink Panther" would result in a series of films running into the 1990s. Nor could they have predicted that the protagonist would be so beloved that famed actors decades later would vie for the chance to play him in a misguided reboot. At the time, they didn't even know who their real protagonist was.
The Pink Panther has become directly associated with three distinct things: the cartoon character featured in the films' opening sequences, the character of Inspector Clouseau (played over the years by a couple of actors, but none as funny as Peter Sellers), and, of course, the slick, sly, extremely catchy music by Henry Mancini. But when Richlin and Edwards were developing the script for the first film, Inspector Clouseau was effectively an afterthought. It took Peter Sellers's deft comedic sensibilities and vast amounts of improvisation to turn the movie into something special, just as he had for Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove" that same year. When its fairly unrelated sequel came out later that same year, Sellers had figured out the character — and audiences were ready.
Originals first
Because of how long the franchise has lasted, it can be hard to figure out where to jump into the "Pink Panther" series. Really, the only question that matters is quality — with one major exception, none of the movies have any continuing plot threads. Besides that, the plots are intentionally absurd — lightly parodic framing devices for Inspector Clouseau to bump his head or trip over anything in the frame.
As Clouseau was effectively created by Peter Sellers and director Blake Edwards, one should start with the movies they made together. Those movies came from two men with a deep abiding love for physical comedy and a desire to take the form to extremes. After Sellers' death in 1980, the series would need forcibly changed if it was to survive.
Every other take on the character is lacking some key ingredient, although the movies themselves aren't without charm. Starting out with the Edwards films starring Sellers, you should watch:
- The Pink Panther (1964)
- A Shot In The Dark (1964)
- Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
- The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
- Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
- Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)
With the exception of "Trail," which features a posthumous Sellers performance consisting mostly of outtakes from "Strikes Again" (which itself was vastly cut from Edwards's original vision) each movie has a similar richness of comedic invention, with great (if increasingly creaky) physical comedy. Blake Edwards kept up with the series after Sellers's passing, coming up with new protagonists and making two films without Sellers or Clouseau:
- Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)
- Son of the Pink Panther (1993)
Lastly, there are the two other takes on Inspector Clouseau, Alan Arkin in 1968 and Steve Martin in the 2000s-era reboot series:
- Inspector Clouseau (1968)
- The Pink Panther (2006)
- The Pink Panther 2 (2009)
Sellers and Edwards
To watch the "Pink Panther" films directed by Blake Edwards and starring Peter Sellers is to see film comedy history come to life. Sellers might have been influenced by Robert De Niro for his performance in "Being There," but Inspector Clouseau was like lightning in a bottle. Inspiration emerged from Sellers and Edwards aligning, which was an accident. The script for 1964's "The Pink Panther" gave all its attention to, and was meant to be a starring vehicle for, the jewel thief (David Niven), according to Ed Sikov's Sellers biography "Mr. Strangelove." Clouseau would be played by Peter Ustinov.
Sikov claims that Ustinov dropped out of filming three days before production. Hiring Sellers was practically an act of desperation, but it changed the course of Edwards' career. After the successful wrap of "Panther," Sellers was committed to a film adaptation of a play called "A Shot In The Dark." Not only was he able to get Edwards to direct it, he shaped the movie into another Clouseau comedy, nixing the details of the play to produce even greater comic antics than the original film. This film featured the original appearance of Herbert Lom's Commissioner Dreyfus, Clouseau's boss and obsessive nemesis.
During the film's making, Edwards and Sellers stopped speaking to one another. Their partnership was a messy one. According to Sikov, over their decades-long working relationship, they would get into arguments that led to them never speaking to each other again — until, of course, the next movie they made together. While their racist brownface comedy "The Party" came out in 1968, they didn't do another "Panther" film until 1975.
The two worked together until 1978's "Revenge of the Pink Panther." 1982's "Trail of the Pink Panther," the follow-up, only features Sellers in the form of posthumous outtakes.
Other Clouseaus
Edwards kept making "Pink Panther" movies after the death of Peter Sellers, to diminishing returns. He never replaced his old collaborator with a new lead to play Clouseau, only bringing out Roger Moore in a brief cameo to play the detective (it was not Moore's first time following up an iconic performance). None of the new leads worked exactly, whether it was Clifton Sleigh (Ted Wass) in 1983's "Curse of the Pink Panther" or Gambrelli (Roberto Benigni) in 1993's "Son of the Pink Panther."
The first non-Sellers take on the character was actually 1968's "Inspector Clouseau" in which he was played by Alan Arkin. Roger Ebert's review at the time was generous but typical of most viewers, recognizing Arkin's comedic strengths while missing what Sellers brought. Edwards was replaced by Bud Yorkin.
Then there's the reboot films. According to Ed Sikov, Mike Myers, one of Peter Sellers's most obvious spiritual successors in film comedy, was up for the role of Clouseau at one point, but it eventually went to the great Steve Martin. What is there to be done with a bumbling French detective now? Could even a seminal comedic actor like Martin do his part in reviving the iconic Clouseau?
The answer is no, but it wasn't necessarily Martin's fault. 2006's "The Pink Panther" prioritizes the comedic language of its time, mixing it in with an unwieldy tribute to Sellers and Edwards. Neither it nor its 2009 sequel ever reach the heights of the originals, but there's still something to be said about the fundamentals. When you hear that Henry Mancini score and watch a detective with a ridiculous French accent and mustache crash into everything around him, it's hard not to be reminded of those movies. And even now, there are few cartoon characters as appealing as the titular panther.