1976, Film: The Pink Panther Strikes Again

The American-British comedy film "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" was released on 15 December 1976 (United States) and 22 December 1976 (United Kingdom). The film, directed by Blake Edwards, was written by himself together with Frank Waldman. Main stars are Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Colin Blakely, Leonard Rossiter, Lesley-Anne Down, Burt Kwouk and André Maranne. The music was composed by Henry Mancini. "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" is the fifth film in The Pink Panther series, its plot picks up three years after "The Return of the Pink Panther".

"The Pink Panther Strikes Again" poster

Synopsis
After three years in a psychiatric hospital, former Chief Inspector of the Sûreté Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), has recovered from his obsession to kill Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) and is about to be released; Clouseau, who has since replaced Dreyfus as Chief Inspector, arrives unannounced to speak on behalf of his former boss, and within minutes drives Dreyfus insane again...

Herbert Lom as Former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus and
Peter Sellers as Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau

Main cast

• Peter Sellers as Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau
• Herbert Lom as Former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus
• Colin Blakely as Inspector Alec Drummond
• Leonard Rossiter as Superintendent Quinlan
• Lesley-Anne Down as Olga Bariosova
• Michael Robbins as Ainsley Jarvis
• Richard Vernon as Professor Hugo Fassbender
• Briony McRoberts as Margo Fassbender
• Burt Kwouk as Cato Fong
• André Maranne as François
• Vanda Godsell as Mrs. Leverlilly
• Tony Sympson as Mr. Shork
• Patsy Smart as Mrs. Japonica
• Norman Burton as Mr. Bullock
• Dudley Sutton as Inspector McLaren
• Dick Crockett as the President of the United States (Gerald Ford)
• Byron Kane as the US Secretary of State (Henry Kissinger)
• Paul Maxwell as CIA Director
• Gordon Rollings as Inmate
• John Clive as Chuck
• Damaris Hayman as Fiona
• Deep Roy as Diminutive Assassin

Peter Sellers as Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau and
Chrome the parrot

Peter Sellers as Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau and
Lesley-Anne Down as Olga Bariosova

Trivia

• Michael Robbins' singing as the female Ainsley Jarvis was dubbed by Julie Andrews.
• Lesley-Anne Down was cast as Olga by mistake. Blake Edwards meant to audition Nicola Pagett, but auditioned Lesley-Anne Down, both acted in “Upstairs, Downstairs” at the time.
• Omar Sharif appeared briefly and uncredited as the Egyptian assassin.
• Peter Sellers' stunt double, Joe Dunne, performed in all of the scenes that required any action, owing to Sellers' fragile heart condition.
• Cyd Child, who did the stunts for Diana Rigg and Linda Thorson in “The Avengers” (1966-1969), appeared with her parrot "Chrome". The bird originally belonged to Diana Rigg, but she didn't have enough time to spend with him, so she gave him to Cyd Child.
• Tom Jones sang the Oscar-nominated song "Come to Me".
• Blake Edwards made a cameo appearance in the background of the nightclub scene.

Peter Sellers as Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau in Quasimodo disguise

Peter Sellers as Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau and
Michael Robbins as Ainsley Jarvis

Awards

• Evening Standard British Film Awards for Best Comedy: Blake Edwards
• Writers Guild of America Awards for Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium: Frank Waldman and Blake Edwards

"The Pink Panther Strikes Again" Trailer

1961, Film: “Breakfast at Tiffany's”

The American romantic comedy "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is released on 5 October 1961 in the USA by Paramount Pictures. The film, directed by Blake Edwards, was written by George Axelrod based on the novel with the same name by Truman Capote from 1953. Main stars are Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. Audrey Hepburn's portrayal of Holly Golightly is one of her most memorable roles. The music, with the famous song "Moon River" with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, was written by Henry Mancini.

Synopsis

Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) is a charming socialite who lives alone in a flat. She lives her live with childlike innocence but nevertheless wears the most perfect designer clothes from Givenchy. She escorts various wealthy men but she fails to return their affections. When she meets her new neighbour, writer Paul Varjak (George Peppard), her carefree independence is overturned...

Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly with "Cat"

George Peppard as Paul Varjak and Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly

Main cast

• Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly
• George Peppard as Paul Varjak
• Patricia Neal as Mrs. Emily Eustace "2E" Failenson
• Buddy Ebsen as Doc Golightly
• Martin Balsam as O.J. Berman
• Mickey Rooney as I.Y. Yunioshi
• Alan Reed as Sally Tomato
• José Luis de Vilallonga as José da Silva Pereira
• Stanley Adams as Rutherford "Rusty" Trawler
• John McGiver as Tiffany's salesman
• Dorothy Whitney as Mag Wildwood
• Claude Stroud as Sid Arbuck

Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly, singing "Moon River"

George Peppard as Paul Varjak and Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly

Awards

• Academy Awards, USA (1962), Oscar for Best Music, Original Song: Henry Mancini (music), Johnny Mercer (lyrics) for the song "Moon River"
• Academy Awards, USA (1962), Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture: Henry Mancini
• David di Donatello Awards, Italy (1962), David for Migliore Attrice Straniera (Best Foreign Actress): Audrey Hepburn
• Grammy Awards, USA (1962), Grammy for Best Soundtrack Album or Recording or Score from Motion Picture or Television: Henry Mancini
• Grammy Awards, USA (1962), Grammy for Record of the Year: Henry Mancini and His Orchestra (For the song "Moon River")
• Grammy Awards, USA (1962), Grammy for Song of the Year: Henry Mancini (composer), Johnny Mercer (lyricist), Henry Mancini and His Orchestra (performer) (For the song "Moon River")
• Grammy Awards, USA (1962), Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement: Henry Mancini (For the song "Moon River")
• Grammy Awards, USA (1962), Grammy for Best Performance by an Orchestra - for Other Than Dancing: Henry Mancini
• Laurel Awards, USA (1962), Golden Laurel for Top Song: Johnny Mercer, Henry Mancini (For the song "Moon River")

George Peppard as Paul Varjak and Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly

Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly and George Peppard as Paul Varjak

Trivia

• The song "Moon River" was especially written for Audrey Hepburn by Henry Mancini. Many versions later Mancini said that Audrey's performance was the best.
• Writer Truman Capote was unhappy with the decision to cast Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly, his choice for the role was Marilyn Monroe. Monroe was originally cast as Golightly, but her coach advised her not to play the role.
• Other actresses that turned down the role were Shirley MacLaine and Kim Novak.
• Audrey Hepburn received Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress.
• The famous black Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the opening scenes of the movie was sold for £467,200 on December 4, 2006 at Christie's Auction House in London, making it the second most expensive piece of film memorabilia ever sold.
• With her role as Holly Golightly, Audrey Hepburn became one of the style icons of the 1960s.
• The song "Moon River" was selected as the fourth most memorable song in Hollywood history by the American Film Institute in 2004 (after: "Over the Rainbow", "As Time Goes By" and "Singin' in the Rain").
• In 2012 "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was considered as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry

Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly

Original 1961 trailers

"Breakfast at Tiffany's", trailer 1

"Breakfast at Tiffany's", trailer 2

1964, Film: “A Shot in the Dark”

The British-American coproduction "A Shot in the Dark" was released on 23 June 1964 in New York City. The comedy, based on Harry Kurnitz adaption from the 1961 French play "L'Idiote" by Marcel Achard, was directed by Blake Edwards. The main cast includes Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk, George Sanders and Elke Sommer. The music was written by Henry Mancini.

"A Shot in the Dark" is the second film in The Pink Panther series after “The Pink Panther” from 1963. Peter Sellers plays the clumsy French Sûreté Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté. New in this film is Clouseau's exaggerated French accent, his boss Commissioner Dreyfus played by Herbert Lom and his loyal servant Cato played by Burt Kwouk.

Burt Kwouk as Kato and Peter Sellers as Jacques Clouseau

Herbert Lom as Charles Dreyfus and Peter Sellers as Jacques Clouseau

André Maranne as François, Herbert Lom as Charles Dreyfus and Reginald Beckwith

George Sanders as Benjamin Ballon and Tracy Reed as Dominique Ballon

Synopsis

When M. Ballon's (George Sanders) spanish driver, Miguel Ostos, is found shot dead, Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) is called to investigate the crime. All evidence points to Maria Gambrelli (Elke Sommer), the maid, to be the murderer. But Clouseau, being attracted to the beautiful girl, is convinced of her innocence...

George Sanders as Benjamin Ballon and Peter Sellers as Jacques Clouseau

Peter Sellers as Jacques Clouseau

Peter Sellers as Jacques Clouseau and Graham Stark as Hercule Lajoy

Elke Sommer as Maria Gambrelli

Main cast

• Peter Sellers as Jacques Clouseau
• Elke Sommer as Maria Gambrelli
• George Sanders as Benjamin Ballon
• Herbert Lom as Charles Dreyfus
• Tracy Reed as Dominique Ballon
• Graham Stark as Hercule Lajoy
• Moira Redmond as Simone
• Vanda Godsell as Madame LaFarge
• Maurice Kaufmann as Pierre
• Ann Lynn as Dudu
• David Lodge as Georges
• André Maranne as François
• Martin Benson as Maurice
• Burt Kwouk as Kato

Elke Sommer as Maria Gambrelli, Burt Kwouk as Kato and Peter Sellers as Jacques Clouseau

Elke Sommer as Maria Gambrelli in the Radford Mini Cooper

Elke Sommer as Maria Gambrelli and Peter Sellers as Jacques Clouseau

Elke Sommer as Maria Gambrelli

Trivia

• The adaption by Harry Kurnitz did not include Clouseau, the whole screenplay was rewritten by Blake Edwards and William Peter Blatty.
• Maria Gambrelli was originally to be played by Sophia Loren, but she became ill. The second choice was Romy Schneider, but she had another commitment.
• The 1963 Morris Mini Cooper by Radford that Peter Sellers drives in the movie was his own car. The special Cooper Radford conversion costed more than a contemporary Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud.

Trailer "A Shot in the Dark" (1964)