After making life intolerable for clumsy Inspector Closeau (Peter Sellers) , former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfuss (overacting Herbert Lom) goes nutty and is interned in asylum . One time escaped from the mental asylum , the mentally ill Dreyfuss tries to destroy the world by means of a ray-laser . Besides , he hires a group of hit men to kill Jacques Closeau who's gone to England to investigate the abduction an eminent scientific forced to build a fantastic machine and being helped by British policemen (Colin Blakely , Leonard Rossiter).
This release is the fourth part of Closeau series and an enjoyable comedy starred by the great Peter Sellers as the inept and bungler Inspector of the French Surete . The movie gets entertaining and hilarious moments here and there . This slapstick contains funny scenes and never slowdown . Herbert Lom parodying his ¨Phantom of opera¨ personage is excellent . There appear as secondaries the usual series , such as Burt Kwouk as Cato , Grahame Stark and a gorgeous Lesley Anne Down who replaced Maud Adams . Omar Sharif , who had just played with director Blake Edwards on " The Tamarind Seed " has a brief cameo as an eastern murderer . Lively and atmospheric music by habitual Henry Mancini and magnificent opening and ending cartoon titles by Richard Williams . Colorful cinematography Harry Waxman , being mostly shot in Europe : Paris , France , Bavaria , Germany , Ireland and Shepperton Studios , Surrey , England . The film was well penned and directed , as always , by Blake Edwards . Several chuckles and gags , the result of which is one of the funniest from series along with ¨A shot in dark¨ , ¨Return of pink panther¨, and ¨Revenge of pink panther¨. The flick will appeal to pink panther series and Peter Sellers fans . This is arguably one of the best pink panther . Two thumbs up.
