Son of the Pink Panther

Son of the Pink Panther
Directed by	Blake Edwards
Written by	Blake Edwards Maurice Richlin (Characters) Blake Edwards Madeline Sunshine Steve Sunshine (screenplay)
Produced by	Tony Adams
Starring	Roberto Benigni Herbert Lom Claudia Cardinale
Music by	Henry Mancini
Distributed by	MGM/UA Entertainment Co. Filmauro
Release date	August 27, 1993
Running time	93 minutes
Language	English

Son of the Pink Panther (1993) is the ninth entry in the 30-year-old Pink Panther film series. Directed by Blake Edwards, it stars Roberto Benigni as Inspector Clouseau's illegitimate son. Also in this film are Panther regulars Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk and Graham Stark. In this outing, Lom's Commissioner Dreyfus, citing Clouseau's own track record, gives Jacques Gambrelli (Benigni) virtual carte blanche to proceed with the case at hand.

Plot

Princess Yasmin of Lugash (Debrah Farentino) is kidnapped because of her strong ties between France and Lugash. Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is called into find her. While on the road, he has a run in with the kidnappers, and a local officer, Jacques Gambrelli (Roberto Benigni). Gambrelli goes into the trunk of the van and falls for the Princess.

Cast

• Roberto Benigni as Jacques Gambrelli, illegitimate son of Inspector Clouseau
• Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus
• Burt Kwouk as Cato Fong
• Robert Davi as Hans, the main antagonist
• Claudia Cardinale as Maria Gambrelli
• Shabana Azmi as Queen
• Debrah Farentino as Princess Yasmin
• Graham Stark as Professor Auguste Balls
• Nicoletta Braschi as Jacqueline Gambrelli

Claudia Cardinale played the Princess in the original Pink Panther film. Here she returns as Maria Gambrelli, the part played by Elke Sommer in A Shot in the Dark.

Production

This was the first Pink Panther film in a decade, following two unsuccessful attempts to continue the series following the death of Peter Sellers, who originated the character of Clouseau. Considered a relaunch of the series, the plan was for Benigni - a popular Italian comedian who had yet to be discovered in America - to continue on where Sellers had left off. Son of the Pink Panther failed to generate critical or commercial success, the loss of Sellers proving once again to be too great. (This is the only Pink Panther movie to date to go straight to video in Britain.) Benigni was not Edwards' first choice for the role. Kevin Kline, Rowan Atkinson, Gérard Depardieu and Tim Curry, were all considered before Benigni won the role.

This would be both the last Panther film to be directed by Blake Edwards, and Edwards' final film to date. The series was rebooted in 2006 with the release of The Pink Panther starring Steve Martin as Inspector Jacques Clouseau and Kevin Kline as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus. The Pink Panther 2 saw Kline's Dreyfus replaced by John Cleese.

Soundtrack

The beginning of the movie features a new arrangement of The Pink Panther Theme beatboxed by Bobby McFerrin. At the end, the original version is played. Perhaps appropriately, this was the final film scored by Henry Mancini.

Trivia

• Kroyer Films created the opening and closing titles for the film starring the animated Pink Panther and Clouseau Junior characters.

Casting

• Three actors from the James Bond franchise appear in this film, Robert Davi, who played the main antagonist of this film, played Franz Sanchez in Licence to Kill; while Burt Kwouk, who plays Cato, appeared in Goldfinger as Mr. Ling, You Only Live Twice as SPECTRE #3 and a uncredited role as a Chinese general in the unofficial Casino Royale. Graham Stark, who plays Professor Balls, also appeared in Casino Royale as a casino cashier.

Reception

The Radio Times Guide To Films gave the film only 1 Star out of 5. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of 18% based on 17 reviews.

External links

• Son of the Pink Panther at IMDb
• Son of the Pink Panther at Rotten Tomatoes