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

1963, Film: “Charade”

On 5 December 1963 the American romantic thriller "Charade" premieres in the USA. The film, directed by Stanley Donen and written by Peter Stone and Marc Behm, stars Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn and George Kennedy. The film was entirely filmed on location in Paris and Megève. The musical score was written by Henry Mancini with animated titles by Maurice Binder. Charade received very positive reviews, it has been referred to as "the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made."

At first Cary Grant, 59 at the time, turned down the role because he felt he would be too old pursuing the much younger Audrey Hepburn, 33 at the time. Screenwriter Peter Stone reworked the script by removing all of the romantically aggressive lines from Grant's character.

Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn

Cary Grant

Synopsis

Regina "Reggie" Lampert (Audrey Hepburn), on a skiing holiday in Megève, tells her friend Sylvie Gaudel (Dominique Minot) that she will divorce her husband. Afterwards she meets a charming stranger, Peter Joshua (Cary Grant). When she returns to her flat in Paris she finds it completely empty. Police inspector Edouard Grandpierre (Jacques Marin) notifies her that Charles has been murdered...

Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn

Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn

Main Cast

• Audrey Hepburn as Regina Lampert
• Cary Grant as Brian Cruikshank (alias Peter Joshua, alias Alexander "Alex" Dyle, alias Adam Canfield)
• Walter Matthau as Carson Dyle (alias Hamilton Bartholomew)
• James Coburn as Tex Panthollow
• George Kennedy as Herman Scobie
• Thomas Chelimsky as Jean-Louis Gaudel
• Dominique Minot as Sylvie Gaudel
• Jacques Marin as Insp. Edouard Grandpierre

Jacques Marin

George Kennedy and Cary Grant

Awards

• Edgar Allan Poe Awards, Edgar for Best Motion Picture: Peter Stone (US, 1964)
• David di Donatello Award, Golden Plate For the artistic contribution: Universal Pictures (Italy, 1964)
• BAFTA Film Award for Best British Actress: Audrey Hepburn (UK, 1965)

Charade Official Trailer (1963)