The Pink Panther Strikes Again The Pink Panther Strikes Again The Pink Panther Strikes Again is a 1976 British comedy film. It is the fifth film in "The Pink Panther" series and the third to include the phrase "Pink Panther" in its title, although the Pink Panther diamond is not a part of the story. The plot picks up three years after "The Return of the Pink Panther", with former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) about to be released from a psychiatric prison after having been driven mad by Inspector Jacques Clouseau's (Peter Sellers) bumbling in the previous film. A typically disastrous visit from
A Shot in the Dark (1964 film) bomb that had been planted by Commissioner Dreyfus. Having witnessed the explosion, and realizing that he has failed again to kill Clouseau, Dreyfus is reduced to an animalistic fury and is taken away. Finally, Clouseau and Maria celebrate the clearing of her name with a long and passionate kiss—which is swiftly interrupted by another sneak attack by Cato. Sellers was attached to star in the adaptation of Harry Kurnitz's Broadway hit before the release and success of "The Pink Panther", but was not pleased with the script by Alec Coppel and Norman Krasna. Walter Mirisch approached Blake Edwards and asked