The Return of the Pink Panther
Encyclopedia
The Return of the Pink Panther is the fourth film in the Pink Panther series, released in 1975. The film stars Peter Sellers
in the role of Inspector Clouseau
in his third Panther appearance, after the original The Pink Panther
(1963) and A Shot in the Dark
.
Herbert Lom
also reprises his role as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus. The film also features the return of the character Sir Charles Lytton (the notorious Phantom), now played by Christopher Plummer
rather than David Niven
, who was unavailable but would later return for Trail of the Pink Panther
. The Pink Panther diamond once again plays a central role in the plot.
, a mysterious thief breaks into the National Museum, sneaking past its elaborate security system, and makes off with the fabled Pink Panther diamond. The thief places a white monogrammed glove with a gold-tinted "P" as a calling card. The thief then escapes after a hot pursuit by the museum's security. As a result of it, Colonel Sharki of the Lugash Secret Police is brought in to investigate, and the Shah of Lugash requests the assistance of Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers
). Meanwhile, in France, the bumbling of Clouseau has resulted in his being demoted to beat cop by his boss, Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom
), who despises Clouseau to the point of obsession. Dreyfus had just enforced a six-month suspension without pay on Clouseau for "bungling" a bank robbery, but maybe more out of spite in general. However, the French government forces Dreyfus to reinstate Clouseau as the Inspector of the Sûreté
so that he can go to Lugash to investigate the theft of the fabled Pink Panther diamond.
Clouseau's investigations at the Lugash National Museum, which he nearly destroys, lead him to believe that Sir Charles Lytton (Christopher Plummer
), the notorious Phantom, is re-creating the most famous heist of his career. Clouseau is delighted at this, and sees this as his only chance to get his revenge on Lytton for framing him and temporarily sending him to prison in the first film
. Although Clouseau fails to uncover any leads into the theft, his bumbling allows him to survive several attempts on his life by a mysterious assassin. After staking out, and nearly demolishing, Lytton Manor in Nice
, Clouseau is tricked into leaving France. He follows Sir Charles' wife, Lady Claudine (Catherine Schell
) to a resort hotel in Gstaad
, Switzerland
, where his attempts to investigate her repeatedly fail.
Meanwhile, Sir Charles, having read about the theft, realizes that he has been framed. He goes to Lugash to investigate and clear his name, encountering various underworld figures of old acquaintance and foiling several attempts on his life. Lytton eventually manages to discover the identity of the true thief – his wife, Lady Claudine. Because they were both bored with their quiet retirement, she stole the diamond
for her own excitement, then sent her husband on a wild goose chase
for his. Sir Charles makes a daring escape from Lugash and goes to Gstaad to find his wife and the diamond.
Inspector Clouseau, who has unknowingly been on the trail of the real thief all along, receives a telephone call from Chief Inspector Dreyfus telling him to arrest Lady Claudine. However, when Clouseau calls Dreyfus back to ask why, he is informed that Dreyfus has been on vacation for the past week. Dreyfus, now revealed as the assassin trying to kill Clouseau, prepares to shoot him with a sniper rifle as soon as he enters Lady Claudine's room.
Lady Claudine playfully confesses the theft to her husband, and hands the diamond over to him, so he can go about proving his innocence. They are cornered by Colonel Sharki (Peter Arne
) of the Lugash Secret Police, who intends to kill them both. It turns out the Lugashi government has been using the theft of the diamond as an excuse to purge their political opponents. Just then, Clouseau barges into the room to arrest the Lyttons. Sir Charles points out that Colonel Sharki is going to kill them all, and Clouseau buffoonishly attempts to arrest Sharki. Suddenly, Dreyfus opens fire on the room, and manages to accidentally kill Sharki while aiming at Clouseau, who has ducked at the last minute to check his fly. During the fray, Clouseau is forced to allow the Lyttons to escape.
For his work in recovering the Pink Panther, Clouseau is promoted to Chief Inspector, and vows to bring Sir Charles, who has resumed his crime spree, to justice. Lady Claudine's fate is not revealed to the audience, but it is implied she was not arrested. Dreyfus is committed to a lunatic asylum, where he is straitjacketed and placed inside a rubber room
, vowing revenge on Clouseau as the animated Pink Panther enters the room with a suitcase
in his left hand. As the credits roll, the pink panther gets his cameraman clothes on and sets up his camera. He then begins to film the man's foot making the words "The End" slowly after the credits were finished. And the Pink Panther grins at the camera with a cigarette in his mouth right before the circle closes.
, which intended to make a Pink Panther television miniseries starring Sellers and Lom. However, early in pre-production, ITC made the decision to make a feature film.
As of the present, UA continues to hold the copyright as well as theatrical distribution rights (via MGM
who acquired UA in the early 1980s). When the film made its television premiere in 1976, UA also held television rights until ITC, by contract, took over television syndication, which is why for later TV airings the ITC television logo, instead of the then-current UA/Transamerica logo, preceded the film. But in 2008, UA (via sister company MGM) acquired, for the first time ever, domestic television syndication and internet distribution rights (the MGM logo precedes current internet and television airings of The Return of the Pink Panther). However, those are the only rights UA has to this film.
ITC Entertainment, not MGM/UA, holds select ancillary rights including the home video distribution license. As a result, various distributors (under license from ITC) such as CBS/Fox Video
and Live Entertainment (as well as Live's successor Artisan Entertainment
) handled home video versions. This is why MGM Home Entertainment did not include The Return of the Pink Panther in a 2004 DVD box sets of Pink Panther films or the 2008 "Ultimate" collection.
MGM chose not to license photographic images from this movie in its 2006 publication "Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town", although footage from the movie does appear in the ending credits of Trail of the Pink Panther
, since they could include it in a feature film and the film's home video release.
Current home video rights to The Return of the Pink Panther are controlled by Universal Pictures
(via its Focus Features
division), which recently assumed the ITC distribution rights from Artisan
/Lions Gate Home Entertainment
.
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
in the role of Inspector Clouseau
Inspector Clouseau
Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' The Pink Panther series. In most of the films, he was played by Peter Sellers, with one film in which he was played by Alan Arkin and one in which he was played by an uncredited Roger Moore...
in his third Panther appearance, after the original The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther (1963 film)
The Pink Panther is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and co-written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin, starring David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine, and Claudia Cardinale...
(1963) and A Shot in the Dark
A Shot in the Dark (1964 film)
A Shot in the Dark is a 1964 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and is the second installment in the Pink Panther series. Peter Sellers is featured again as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté...
.
Herbert Lom
Herbert Lom
Herbert Lom is a Czech film actor, best known for his role as former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movie series.-Life and career:...
also reprises his role as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus. The film also features the return of the character Sir Charles Lytton (the notorious Phantom), now played by Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
rather than David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
, who was unavailable but would later return for Trail of the Pink Panther
Trail of the Pink Panther
Trail of the Pink Panther is a 1982 comedy film starring Peter Sellers. It was the seventh film in the Pink Panther series, and the last in which Peter Sellers starred as Inspector Jacques Clouseau, although Sellers died before production began and the film thus contains no original material...
. The Pink Panther diamond once again plays a central role in the plot.
Plot
In the fictional country of LugashLugash
Lugash is a fictional country in the Middle East, mentioned and featured in the Pink Panther movie series. Its ruler is known as the Shah. Its greatest national treasure, which comes from the dynasty of Akbar the Magnificent in the early 12th century, and the country's religious symbol for over...
, a mysterious thief breaks into the National Museum, sneaking past its elaborate security system, and makes off with the fabled Pink Panther diamond. The thief places a white monogrammed glove with a gold-tinted "P" as a calling card. The thief then escapes after a hot pursuit by the museum's security. As a result of it, Colonel Sharki of the Lugash Secret Police is brought in to investigate, and the Shah of Lugash requests the assistance of Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
). Meanwhile, in France, the bumbling of Clouseau has resulted in his being demoted to beat cop by his boss, Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom
Herbert Lom
Herbert Lom is a Czech film actor, best known for his role as former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movie series.-Life and career:...
), who despises Clouseau to the point of obsession. Dreyfus had just enforced a six-month suspension without pay on Clouseau for "bungling" a bank robbery, but maybe more out of spite in general. However, the French government forces Dreyfus to reinstate Clouseau as the Inspector of the Sûreté
Sûreté
Sûreté is a term used in French speaking countries or regions in the organizational title of a civil police force, especially the detective branch thereof.-France:...
so that he can go to Lugash to investigate the theft of the fabled Pink Panther diamond.
Clouseau's investigations at the Lugash National Museum, which he nearly destroys, lead him to believe that Sir Charles Lytton (Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
), the notorious Phantom, is re-creating the most famous heist of his career. Clouseau is delighted at this, and sees this as his only chance to get his revenge on Lytton for framing him and temporarily sending him to prison in the first film
The Pink Panther (1963 film)
The Pink Panther is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and co-written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin, starring David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine, and Claudia Cardinale...
. Although Clouseau fails to uncover any leads into the theft, his bumbling allows him to survive several attempts on his life by a mysterious assassin. After staking out, and nearly demolishing, Lytton Manor in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, Clouseau is tricked into leaving France. He follows Sir Charles' wife, Lady Claudine (Catherine Schell
Catherine Schell
Katherina Freiin Schell von Bauschlott is an Hungarian-born actress best known for her work on British televison.Schell rose to fame in various British film and television productions in the 1960s and 1970s...
) to a resort hotel in Gstaad
Gstaad
Gstaad is a village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Berne in southwestern Switzerland. Part of the municipality of Saanen, Gstaad is known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world....
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where his attempts to investigate her repeatedly fail.
Meanwhile, Sir Charles, having read about the theft, realizes that he has been framed. He goes to Lugash to investigate and clear his name, encountering various underworld figures of old acquaintance and foiling several attempts on his life. Lytton eventually manages to discover the identity of the true thief – his wife, Lady Claudine. Because they were both bored with their quiet retirement, she stole the diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
for her own excitement, then sent her husband on a wild goose chase
Snipe hunt
A snipe hunt, a form of wild-goose chase that is also known as a fool's errand, is a type of practical joke that involves experienced people making fun of credulous newcomers by giving them an impossible or imaginary task...
for his. Sir Charles makes a daring escape from Lugash and goes to Gstaad to find his wife and the diamond.
Inspector Clouseau, who has unknowingly been on the trail of the real thief all along, receives a telephone call from Chief Inspector Dreyfus telling him to arrest Lady Claudine. However, when Clouseau calls Dreyfus back to ask why, he is informed that Dreyfus has been on vacation for the past week. Dreyfus, now revealed as the assassin trying to kill Clouseau, prepares to shoot him with a sniper rifle as soon as he enters Lady Claudine's room.
Lady Claudine playfully confesses the theft to her husband, and hands the diamond over to him, so he can go about proving his innocence. They are cornered by Colonel Sharki (Peter Arne
Peter Arne
Peter Arne was a British character actor best known for various performances in British film and television, including supporting roles in the television series The Avengers, Danger Man, as well as villains in Blake Edwards' Pink Panther series, in a career that spanned 40 years...
) of the Lugash Secret Police, who intends to kill them both. It turns out the Lugashi government has been using the theft of the diamond as an excuse to purge their political opponents. Just then, Clouseau barges into the room to arrest the Lyttons. Sir Charles points out that Colonel Sharki is going to kill them all, and Clouseau buffoonishly attempts to arrest Sharki. Suddenly, Dreyfus opens fire on the room, and manages to accidentally kill Sharki while aiming at Clouseau, who has ducked at the last minute to check his fly. During the fray, Clouseau is forced to allow the Lyttons to escape.
For his work in recovering the Pink Panther, Clouseau is promoted to Chief Inspector, and vows to bring Sir Charles, who has resumed his crime spree, to justice. Lady Claudine's fate is not revealed to the audience, but it is implied she was not arrested. Dreyfus is committed to a lunatic asylum, where he is straitjacketed and placed inside a rubber room
Padded cell
A padded cell is a cell in a mental hospital with cushions lining the walls. The padding is an attempt to prevent a patient from hurting him/herself by hitting his/her head on the hard surface of the walls...
, vowing revenge on Clouseau as the animated Pink Panther enters the room with a suitcase
Suitcase
A suitcase is a general term for a distinguishable form of luggage. It is often a somewhat flat, rectangular-shaped bag with rounded/square corners, either metal, hard plastic or made of cloth, vinyl or leather that more or less keeps its shape. It has a carrying handle on one side and is used...
in his left hand. As the credits roll, the pink panther gets his cameraman clothes on and sets up his camera. He then begins to film the man's foot making the words "The End" slowly after the credits were finished. And the Pink Panther grins at the camera with a cigarette in his mouth right before the circle closes.
Cast
- Peter SellersPeter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
as Insp. Jacques Clouseau - Christopher PlummerChristopher PlummerArthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
as Sir Charles Lytton - Catherine SchellCatherine SchellKatherina Freiin Schell von Bauschlott is an Hungarian-born actress best known for her work on British televison.Schell rose to fame in various British film and television productions in the 1960s and 1970s...
as Lady Claudine Lytton - Herbert LomHerbert LomHerbert Lom is a Czech film actor, best known for his role as former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movie series.-Life and career:...
as Chief Insp. Charles Dreyfus - Peter ArnePeter ArnePeter Arne was a British character actor best known for various performances in British film and television, including supporting roles in the television series The Avengers, Danger Man, as well as villains in Blake Edwards' Pink Panther series, in a career that spanned 40 years...
as Col. Sharki - Peter JeffreyPeter JeffreyPeter Jeffrey was a British actor with many roles in television and film.Jeffrey was born in Bristol, the son of Florence Alice and Arthur Winfred Gilbert Jeffrey. He was educated at Harrow School and Pembroke College, Cambridge but had no formal training as an actor...
as Gen. Wadafi - Grégoire AslanGrégoire AslanGrégoire Aslan was an Armenian actor.Born Krikor Aslanian in Switzerland or in Constantinople, according to different sources, Aslan made his professional debut at 18 as a vocalist and drummer with a Paris dance band, then launched an acting career under the name of Koko Aslan. His first film...
as Police Chief Lundallah - David LodgeDavid Lodge (actor)David William Frederick Lodge was a British character actor.Before turning to acting he worked as a circus clown...
as Mac - Graham StarkGraham StarkGraham Stark is an English comedian, actor, writer and director.Stark was born in Wallasey on the Wirral in Cheshire, England. He first came to prominence on BBC Radio, making his debut in Happy Go Lucky and going on to Ray's A Laugh, Educating Archie and substitute on The Goon Show...
as Pepi - Eric PohlmannEric PohlmannEric Pohlmann was an Austrian theatre, film and television character actor.Born Erich Pollak in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, he was a classically trained actor who studied under the renowned director Max Reinhardt...
as The Fat Man - André MaranneAndré MaranneAndré Maranne is an Anglo-French actor who appeared chiefly in English-language roles from the mid 1950s.-Career:Born in Toulouse, France, Maranne's most prominent recurring role was Sergeant François Chevalier in six of The Pink Panther films, alongside Peter Sellers and Herbert Lom. Before the...
as Sgt. François Chevalier - Burt KwoukBurt KwoukBurt Kwouk OBE , born Herbert Kwouk, is an English actor of Chinese descent, known for many television appearances and for his role as Cato in the Pink Panther films.-Career:...
as Cato Fong - Victor SpinettiVictor SpinettiVictor Spinetti is a Welsh comic actor.-Early life:Spinetti was born in Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Wales of Welsh and Italian heritage from a grandfather who was said to have walked from Italy to Wales to work as a coal miner...
as Hotel Concierge - John BluthalJohn BluthalJohn Bluthal is a Polish-born British film and television actor, mostly in comedy. He is best known for his work with Spike Milligan and for his roles in the television series Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width and The Vicar of Dibley.-Early life:Bluthal was born in Galicia, Poland, of Jewish...
as Blind Beggar - Mike Grady as Bellboy
- Peter JonesPeter Jones (actor)Peter Jones was an English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster.-Early life and career:Jones was born in Wem, Shropshire and he was educated at the Wem Grammar School and Ellesmere College. He made his first appearance as an actor in Wolverhampton at the age of 16 and then appeared in repertory...
as Psychiatrist
Production notes
- Richard Williams, the creator of Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
, The Thief and the CobblerThe Thief and the CobblerThe Thief and the Cobbler is an animated feature film, famous for its animation and its long, troubled history. The film was conceived by Canadian animator Richard Williams, who worked 28 years on the project. Beginning production in 1964, Williams intended The Thief and the Cobbler to be his...
, and Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical AdventureRaggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical AdventureRaggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure is a 1977 American animated film directed by Richard Williams. It was produced by the Bobbs-Merrill Company, and released by 20th Century Fox...
, did the animated open and close titles for this picture and The Pink Panther Strikes AgainThe Pink Panther Strikes AgainThe Pink Panther Strikes Again is the fifth film in the Pink Panther series and picks up where The Return of the Pink Panther leaves off...
, due to DePatie-FrelengDePatie-Freleng EnterprisesDePatie-Freleng Enterprises was a Hollywood-based animation production company, active from 1963 to 1981. They produced theatrical cartoons, animated series, commercials, title sequences and television specials. Notable among these is The Pink Panther film titles and cartoon shorts and the Dr....
's work on the Pink Panther shorts and other cartoon projects for TV and film. - Catherine SchellCatherine SchellKatherina Freiin Schell von Bauschlott is an Hungarian-born actress best known for her work on British televison.Schell rose to fame in various British film and television productions in the 1960s and 1970s...
can be seen laughing on at least two occasions in the film - once when Clouseau impersonates a telephone repairman to infiltrate her home, and again when he meets her in a restaurant and pretends to be "Guy Gadbois", a ladies' man. This magnifies the impression that Lady Lytton sees Clouseau as "cute" rather than as a real threat. These scenes are frequently proferred as classic examples of corpsingCorpsingCorpsing is a British theatrical slang term used to describe when an actor unintentionally breaks character during a scene by laughing or by causing another cast member to laugh...
, and it was not uncharacteristic of Sellers to goad his fellow actors to break characterBreaking characterBreaking character, "to break character", is a theatrical term used to describe when an actor, while actively performing in character, slips out of character and behaves as his or her actual self...
, but Schell has maintained in various interviews that she always considered it in character for Lady Lytton to be amused at Clouseau's antics. - The scene in which Sir Charles Lytton arrives at his hotel in Lugash is an obvious homage to the film CasablancaCasablanca (film)Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
. The song "As Time Goes ByAs Time Goes By (song)"As Time Goes By" is a song written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931. It became most famous in 1942 when it was sung by the character Sam in the movie Casablanca. The song was voted #2 on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs special, commemorating the best songs in film. It was used as a fanfare for Warner...
" can be clearly heard playing on a piano in the background. As Sir Charles meets with his contact he also asks for "The Fat Man" (a reference to the rather large Sydney GreenstreetSydney GreenstreetSydney Hughes Greenstreet was an English actor. He is best known for his Warner Bros. films with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, which include The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca .-Biography:...
, who played Señor Ferrari in Casablanca and Casper Gutman, "The Fat Man" in "The Maltese FalconThe Maltese FalconThe Maltese Falcon is a 1930 detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally serialized in the magazine Black Mask. The story has been adapted several times for the cinema...
"), and tells the contact to have a drink of Renault (the name of Claude RainsClaude RainsClaude Rains was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 66 years. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man , a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Mr...
' French police prefect character). - Carol ClevelandCarol ClevelandCarol Cleveland is a British actress/comedienne, most notable for her appearances as the only significant female performer on Monty Python's Flying Circus.-Early life:...
, known to many for her regular appearances on Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
, has a small part as a swimming pool diver.
Ownership and distribution history
As with the previous three Panther films, The Return of the Pink Panther was released by United Artists. However, UA was not directly involved in the production of this film. The film was produced by independent company ITC EntertainmentITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
, which intended to make a Pink Panther television miniseries starring Sellers and Lom. However, early in pre-production, ITC made the decision to make a feature film.
As of the present, UA continues to hold the copyright as well as theatrical distribution rights (via MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
who acquired UA in the early 1980s). When the film made its television premiere in 1976, UA also held television rights until ITC, by contract, took over television syndication, which is why for later TV airings the ITC television logo, instead of the then-current UA/Transamerica logo, preceded the film. But in 2008, UA (via sister company MGM) acquired, for the first time ever, domestic television syndication and internet distribution rights (the MGM logo precedes current internet and television airings of The Return of the Pink Panther). However, those are the only rights UA has to this film.
ITC Entertainment, not MGM/UA, holds select ancillary rights including the home video distribution license. As a result, various distributors (under license from ITC) such as CBS/Fox Video
CBS/Fox Video
CBS/Fox Video was a home video company formed and established in 1982, as a merger between 20th Century Fox Video, formerly Magnetic Video Corporation, and CBS Video Enterprises....
and Live Entertainment (as well as Live's successor Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment Inc. was a privately held independent American movie studio until it was purchased by a Canadian studio, Lionsgate, in 2003. At the time of its acquisition, Artisan had a library of thousands of films developed through acquisition, original production, and production and...
) handled home video versions. This is why MGM Home Entertainment did not include The Return of the Pink Panther in a 2004 DVD box sets of Pink Panther films or the 2008 "Ultimate" collection.
MGM chose not to license photographic images from this movie in its 2006 publication "Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town", although footage from the movie does appear in the ending credits of Trail of the Pink Panther
Trail of the Pink Panther
Trail of the Pink Panther is a 1982 comedy film starring Peter Sellers. It was the seventh film in the Pink Panther series, and the last in which Peter Sellers starred as Inspector Jacques Clouseau, although Sellers died before production began and the film thus contains no original material...
, since they could include it in a feature film and the film's home video release.
Current home video rights to The Return of the Pink Panther are controlled by Universal Pictures
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
(via its Focus Features
Focus Features
Focus Features is the art house films division of NBC Universal's Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distributor for foreign films....
division), which recently assumed the ITC distribution rights from Artisan
Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment Inc. was a privately held independent American movie studio until it was purchased by a Canadian studio, Lionsgate, in 2003. At the time of its acquisition, Artisan had a library of thousands of films developed through acquisition, original production, and production and...
/Lions Gate Home Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
.