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Topic: "The Pink Panther Film Collection"

William Leland III
Master Film Handler

Posts: 336
From: Charleston, SC,
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 08-15-2003 04:23 PM

Dave after reading the reviews about "A Shot In The Dark", I have very low expectations about it. With quotes like this

"this movie was absolutely one of the worse comedies I've seen in quite some time"

"It wasn't funny and was also poorly done"

and " only a person like the anti-christ would like this movie"

I enjoy British comedies and if the library has "A Shot in the Dark" I will pick it up.

ps. last review is not real

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Per Hauberg
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 883
From: Malling, Denmark
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 08-15-2003 05:23 PM

Edwards and Sellers found each other again, thank God - they both admitted, they needed the money - and did they make money !!
The Party and 3 more PP's, that were extremely succesful.

I don't see why, but many hard-core fans consider "Shot" to be the best Clouseau. It must be one more matter of the indisputeable taste. I find it nearby boring, same as I think, when seen today, both PP1 and "Shot" have problems with dead periods, where the newer Panthers keep up very fine.

And then in between, Blake Edwards found time to make his big beauty: The Great Race in 1965. The best slapstick comedy since Laurel & Hardy and with Mancini in top-form.

p.

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Bill Gabel
Film God

Posts: 3873
From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 08-18-2003 09:55 AM

If you look at Peter Sellers's filmography from after "Dr Strangelove...". You will see a few titles that were Great to many awful ones. He was a hot property after "Strangelove" and after "Return of the Pink Panther".

Peter Sellers's Blake Edwards films *

Dr.Strangelove--1964
Pink Panther--1964*
Shot in the Dark--1964*
World of Henry Orient, The--1964
What's New Pussycat--1965
Wrong Box--1965
After the Fox--1966
Casino Royale--1967
Women Times Seven--1967
Bobo, The--1967
Party, The--1968*
I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!--1968
Magic Christian, The--1969
There's a Girl in My Soup--1970
Hoffman--1970
Day at the Beach, A--1970
Where Does It Hurt?--1970
Alice's Adeventure in Wonderland--1972
Blockhouse--1973
Optimists, The--1973
Ghost of the Noonday Sun--1973
Soft Beds, Hard Battles--1974
Great McGonagall--1974
Return of the Pink Panther, The--1975*
Murder By Death--1976
Pink Panther Strikes Again, The--1976*
Revenge of the Pink Panther--1978*
Prisoner of Zenda, The--1979
Being There--1979
Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu, The--1980 (Last Film)
Trail of the Pink Panther, The--1982 (Clips)

Blake Edward's filmography is very hot to very cold too. After the Pink Panther and Shot in the Dark. His next film is one of my favorite films, The Great Race in 1965. His next major hit was not until 1975 with the Return of the Pink Panther. He had a minor hit with "The Party" in 1968. He had major problems with Paramount with his film "Darling Lili" and final cut problems with MGM on "Wild Rovers". So he left the states for a few years.
And MGM sued him around 1982-83 over his budget of "Trail of the Pink Panther". (MGM claimed his production company BEE, of using money from "Victor/Victoria" budget)

Great Race--1965
What Did You Do in the War Daddy?--1966
Gunn--1967
Party, The--1968*
Darling Lili--1970
Wild Rovers--1971
Carey Treatment--1972
Tamirind Seed, The--1972
Return of the Pink Panther--1975*
Pink Panther Strikes Again--1976*
Revenge of the Pink Panther--1978*
10--1979
S.O.B.--1981
Victor/Victoria--1982
Trail of the Pink Panther--1983*
Curse of the Pink Panther--1983

One story has it that Peter Sellers wanted to direct "Revenge" or a story he was working on.

quote:
I don't see why, but many hard-core fans consider "Shot" to be the best Clouseau.

It may be how a person likes slapstick comedy. I like it, but a former girlfriend did not like it at all. And I have friends that love that kind of humor in film. [thumbsup]

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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 08-18-2003 12:11 PM

quote:
His next film is one of my favorite films, The Great Race in 1965

The Great Race is one of my favorites, as well, and probably my favorite Edwards film. The movie is perhaps a bit too long in the running time department but nonetheless a very entertaining movie. The Great Race has often been compared with two other epic comedies produced in the same era -- It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines -- and I have to say I feel The Great Race is the best of the bunch (though I suspect I have the minority view on that).

quote:
Blake Edward's filmography is very hot to very cold too.

* Great Race--1965
What Did You Do in the War Daddy?--1966
Gunn--1967
Party, The--1968*
Darling Lili--1970
Wild Rovers--1971
Carey Treatment--1972
Tamirind Seed, The--1972
Return of the Pink Panther--1975*
Pink Panther Strikes Again--1976*
Revenge of the Pink Panther--1978*
10--1979
S.O.B.--1981
Victor/Victoria--1982
Trail of the Pink Panther--1983*
Curse of the Pink Panther--1983

Edwards didn't retire after Curse Of The Pink Panther (though perhaps he should have). What about post-1983 films? Were they so bad they're not worth mentioning? (Don't answer that!)

The Man Who Loved Women (1983)
Micki + Maude (1984)
A Fine Mess (1986)
That's Life! (1986)
Blind Date (1987)
Sunset (1988)
Skin Deep (1989)
Switch (1991)
Son Of The Pink Panther (1993)

quote:
And final cut problems with MGM on "Wild Rovers".

Wasn't that experience the basis for S.O.B.?

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Bill Gabel
Film God

Posts: 3873
From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 08-18-2003 12:40 PM

Michael

I put the years in which he and Peter Sellers worked together and the release of "Trail", so that is why I did not include the films after 1983.

It was mainly his adventures at and with Paramount more than with MGM. Which was his story for S.O.B.
Blake made a very large budgeted film called "Darling Lili" at Paramount (somewhat of a musical set in WW1) The film in SOB is called "Night Wind" (somewhat of a musical also). The head of Paramount at that time was Robert Evans (Robert Vaughn part), Shelley Winters plays Super Agent to the stars Sue Mengers. The head of MGM at that time was James Aubrey was nicknamed the Smiling Cobra from when head was the head of CBS. Edwards had problems with "Wild Rovers" (1971) over final cut. MGM released the film at 106 minutes. Later a directors cut got released that ran 136 minutes. Aubrey also had problems with Sam Peckinpah with the film "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" (1973). MGM again release a cut version (106 minutes). The full directors cut ran 122 minutes. But most S.O.B. is jabbing at Paramount during the Evans era. I have an acticle from The Post showing that.

[ 08-18-2003, 01:58 PM: Message edited by: Bill Gabel ]

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Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene

Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 08-18-2003 03:30 PM

I don't consider myself a hardcore anything fan, but I do consider "Shot" the best film in the series of cleusau related films, while the others are good to great. I think it is a matter of taste.

For instance, there are plenty of films I love that most people hate to death, such as WaterWorld, or Dark Star, or even APEX. I just have a very quirky love of films that do not have great mass appeal. And "shot" fits my bill just fine.

Dave

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David Rigby
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 134
From: Chorlton, Manchester, UK
Registered: May 2002

posted 08-19-2003 10:36 AM

On a completely un-Pink Panther subject, but definitely a Peter Sellers one, I was fortunate enough to be able to stop by and see The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes while in Paris last week. This was a new reissue print in the original English with French subtitles (luckily for me). I'd forgotten just how laugh-out-loud funny the first half of that movie is before it settles into something a little more Holmes-ish! Cute little basement cinema too - mercifully air conditioned and a fine way to spend an afternoon escaping the 40+ degree heat. Image wasn't all that sharp on the print though - but I think the subtitles were printed on so perhaps there was a little loss on the interneg or something...Great to see Peter Sellers on top form in 35mm.

David

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Bill Gabel
Film God

Posts: 3873
From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 08-19-2003 11:01 AM

quote:
But definitely a Peter Sellers one, I was fortunate enough to be able to stop by and see "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" while in Paris last week.

quote:
Great to see Peter Sellers in top form in 35mm.

Peter Sellers was not in the 1970 Billy Wilder film "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes". The stars in that film were Robert Stephens, Colin Blakely, Christoper Lee, Stanley Holloway.

Was it maybe the film "Murder By Death" that you saw???

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William Hooper
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1879
From: Mobile, AL USA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 08-28-2003 06:54 AM

My favorite in the series is "The Pink Panther Strikes Again", in which Herbert Lom creates a destructive ray.
"Does you dog bite?"
Herbert Lom really glued all these movies together. He's a strong, effective heavy, BRILLIANT work as a straight man, for example watch him in "Strikes Again" in the scene talking on the bench with Sellers, plus he's a brilliant comic who never misses when there's a gag given to him.

His routine doing Clouseau's eulogy in "Revenge of the Pink Panther" was incredible piece of sustained comedy. I saw a theater CRYING & IN PAIN with laughter while that thing ran.

Herbert Lom is extraordinary.

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Per Hauberg
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 883
From: Malling, Denmark
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 08-31-2003 05:14 PM

quote:
The Great Race has often been compared with two other epic comedies produced in the same era -- It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines -- and I have to say I feel The Great Race is the best of the bunch (though I suspect I have the minority view on that).

Michael:

Don't feel alone. I'm on that wagon too, although I don' t find "Great Race" one minute too long. First time, I saw that blue slide in start "For Mr Laurel and Mr Hardy" - I thought, someone was thinking big about their own work, but no: A warm and heart-felt celebration of those two old guy's work it is, all the way. And Mr Mancini was never better - except from Victor/Victoria, that is...
We had a single 70mm print of "Great Race" running in Denmark from the premiere - I have no count of how many times, I have been running it, but it was a very dear guest at least once a year in those three 70mm houses, I have been booking. About 1990 it began fading, but still nice to look at and great, great sound ! (Even one trailer print was in 70mm !) When Warner (DK) became new leadership mid-ninetees, their last 70mm prints were donated to the danish film museum, who later gave them away to Norway. I hope, the norwegians are more grateful to this present. The films were "Great Race", "Camelot"(The [bs]

edited version - one or two werses cut from every song to make room for an extra show pr. day, which was not needed at all, alas) , "Cheyenne Autumn" (6-7 minutes missing, but still impressing) and "Battle of the Bulge" (Ultra-Pan.)

On a Copenhagen visit, I once actually in one night saw first "Race" - in 70mm on a 50 foot screen, and later "Mad World" in a totally worn-out 35 mono at a small plex. Guess, which one won...

p.

quote:
"Push the Button, Max"

(Fate, Professor)

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Bill Gabel
Film God

Posts: 3873
From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 09-02-2003 10:35 AM

Per

We had a late show for friends of "The Great Race" in 70MM, back in 1990 at the Chinese Theatre main house. It had only slightly faded and still had a great soundtrack on it. The next night we ran an IB of "Airport" in 4 Track mag Stereo.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 09-02-2003 02:48 PM

Getting some of those 70mm prints into proper cold storage vaults would greatly extend their life. Obviously, new prints would be the best option. [Smile]

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Per Hauberg
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 883
From: Malling, Denmark
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 09-02-2003 06:08 PM

Is it true, what I mean to remember, that AIRPORT had only a very narrow 70mm release, although filmed in original ToddAO ? We never got a single 70 print over here - not even 35mag, and for reissue 'round 1980, only very few prints were send in circulation - showing up to be put together from what was left of the premiere prints. That film definitely never got a fair chance i Denmark !

p.

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