Curse of the Pink Panther by Roger Moore—as Clouseau himself—at the end of the film. This was David Niven's final film appearance, and he died shortly before its release. This film marked Herbert Lom's sixth outing as Chief Inspector Dreyfus. He would reprise the role one last time in "Son of the Pink Panther" (1993). The prized Pink Panther jewel would not return until "The Pink Panther" reboot in 2006. This film featured the sixth "Panther" appearance of Clouseau's trusty manservant Cato (Burt Kwouk). Cato and Dreyfus debuted in "A Shot in the Dark" (1964). The film was a box office bomb and got negative
The Pink Panther (1963 film) the script a "basically unoriginal and largely witless piece of farce carpentry that has to be pushed and heaved at stoutly in order to keep on the move." "Variety" was much more positive, calling the film "intensely funny" and "Sellers' razor-sharp timing ... superlative." In a 2004 review of "The Pink Panther Film Collection", a DVD collection that included "The Pink Panther", The A.V. Club wrote: Because the later movies were identified so closely with Clouseau, it's easy to forget that he was merely one in an ensemble at first, sharing screen time with Niven, Capucine, Robert Wagner and Claudia