The famously inept but accidentally brilliant Inspector Clouseau returns to help foil a group of daring robbers in this comedy, the only film in the long-running series not to feature
Peter Sellers as the bumbling inspector. Instead, the talented
Alan Arkin assumes the role, blundering his way through the expected series of absurd, slapstick situations. The plot centers on a series of Swiss bank robberies under investigation by an uptight Scotland Yard inspector (
Patrick Cargill), who naturally becomes infuriated by Clouseau's unwelcome intervention. Meanwhile, the robbers decide to confuse matters by wearing Clouseau masks, offering further opportunities for farcical mistaken identities. Due to the absence of both Sellers and director
Blake Edwards, Inspector Clouseau has largely been forgotten in comparison to the other
Pink Panther films, though it maintains some interest as a curious aberration in the popular comic series. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide