When I was a little kid growing up in El Salvador (Ed. Oh no, not again!) watching “Pink Panther” cartoon shorts was a daily ritual. Monday through Sunday, twice a day (at 1:00 and 6:30PM), one of the local TV stations aired one of the dozens of “Pink Panther” cartoons starring either the slender lead character, the Ant/Aardvark duo or The Inspector. It wasn’t until the early 1980’s that I realized this Inspector cartoon character was inspired by the Jacques Clouseau character portrayed by Peter Sellers in five “Pink Panther” movies. Heck, I didn’t even realize that the cartoon series was inspired by the opening/closing credits of the “Pink Panther” movies (even after seeing them!) until much later.

As for the “Pink Panther” movies, very little needs to be said that the movies don’t answer themselves. Peter Sellers is a hell of an actor with a wide range (“Dr. Strangelove,” etc.) and Blake Edwards an outstanding director (“Days of Wines and Roses,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” etc.), but they’ll both be primarily remembered for bringing to cinematic life a bumbling French detective that became the modern-day equivalent of President George W. Bush (you’re welcome!) as he goes about solving crimes. Initially just an incompetent klutz that couldn’t put two and two together, Clouseau’s thick accent and disastrous accidents became increasingly strained, ridiculous and over-the-top as the series went along.

Named after an expensive diamond that was constantly stolen by Clouseau’s nemesis (The Phantom), the latter “Pink Panther” movies didn’t even bother to incorporate the diamond into their increasingly-outlandish plots. Heck, not even Sellers’ death in 1980 stopped Edwards from making three more “Pink Panther” movies (“Trail/Curse/Son of the Pink Panther”), each considerably less funny and coherent than the last. And don’t even get me started on 1968’s “Inspector Clouseau,” the only “Pink Panther” movie in which the Jacques Clouseau character isn’t played by Peter Sellers (Alan Arkin dons the rain coat) and the movie isn’t helmed by Blake Edwards (Bud Yorkin does the dishonor).

2004 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Blake Edwards’ original “Pink Panther” movie in theaters back in ‘64. MGM Home Entertainment has re-released on DVD four of its previously-released “Pink Panther” movies, along with a fifth previously-unreleased-on-DVD film and a Bonus Disc, on a 6-Disc Collector’s Set. Let me get my main beef with this Box Set out of the way early: four movies from the “Pink Panther” series are not included in this package. The absence of the three “Pink Panther” movies not starring Peter Sellers I can understand because, after all, the Box Set is subtitled ‘…Starring Peter Sellers’ (not to mention all three films bombed). But since these three films aren’t available on DVD yet, their inclusion into this Box Set would have made this the ultimate gift for “Pink Panther” completists.

Also missing from this Collector’s Set is 1974’s “Return of the Pink Panther” (reviewed elsewhere on this site) because apparently Artisan owns the rights to release it on DVD and MGM doesn’t. The most financially successful and funny (IMHO) of all the “Pink Panther” films, the absence of “Return…” from the Box Set really hurts the transition from the comedy-of-manners style of the early “Pink Panther” flicks (the ’64 original, “A Shot in the Dark,” etc.) to the maniac, off-the-wall disasters of the latter movies (“Pink Panther Strikes Again,” “Revenge…” and “Trail…”). For whatever they’re worth though, the five movies in this Box Set still pack plenty of laughs at the expense of Inspector Clouseau’s dignity. Here’s a quick look at each “Pink Panther” flick you’re getting when you buy this Collector’s Set:

The Pink Panther (1963): the one that started it all, and done in what today would be considered such a slow pace (gags come slowly and are orchestrated over several scenes) that the latter “Pink Panther” flicks feel alien compared to the original. The building blocks for the franchise are here though: the theft of a diamond named Pink Panther, bumbling French Inspector Jacques Clouseau, a suave villain/nemesis in the presence of Sir Charles Litton, AKA The Phantom (David Niven, the original choice to play Inspector Clouseau before Edwards came on board), exotic European beauties (Capucine as Clouseau’s frustrated wife, Claudia Cardinale as the princess that inherited the Pink Panther diamond, etc.). The movie actually feels more like a road adventure through exotic European locales (no doubt to go along with the female eye candy!), one in which Henry Mancini’s great songs come to life and… gulp… character development takes precedence over gags (in a comedy!). Yep, the original “Pink Panther” is indeed very much a product of its time!

A Shot in the Dark (1964): Clouseau’s first solo movie still feels and comes across like a “Pink Panther” movie. For what it’s worth the on-screen chemistry between Sellers and “ASITD’s” Elke Sommer must have been real because the two were married soon after the movie wrapped (they divorced a few years later). Mancini’s musical score for “ASITD” shines as it is both similar and totally different from the scores of other “Panther” movies. Even though there are more dead bodies and implied nudity than in all the “Panther” movies put together this is still a gentile comedy of manners in which Clouseau brings most of his disasters onto himself. Based on a theater play that had nothing to do with the “Pink Panther” series (Edwards only came on board at the request of Sellers, who wanted to turn an unwanted movie role into another Clouseau caper) “ASITD” ramps-up the pratfalls and gags at the expense of character development. It’s still tamer and more coherent than the 70’s “Panther” films, but at least it introduces into Clouseau’s warped universe the welcomed presence of Burt Kwouk as Cato (Clouseau’s whipping boy and manservant) and Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfuss (Clouseau’s real nemesis throughout most of the series).

Between 1964 and 1976 two “Pink Panther” movies were released, one unofficial (1968’s “Inspector Clouseau” starring Alan Arkin) and an official entry that brought the series’ disaster-type gags into the forefront (1974’s “The Return of the Pink Panther”). Neither movie is part of this MGM Collector’s Set, so the next “Panther” movie in the series is:

The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976): Clouseau has driven Dreyfus so mad that the latter becomes a villain (complete with castle and world-ending doom weapon) and threatens to destroy the world if Inspector Clouseau isn’t dealt with. Viewers who haven’t seen (or are not familiar with) “Return of the Pink Panther” will be thrown by how much the series changes from “ASITD” to this, an over-the-top cartoony homage (I think!) to mad cartoon villains as well as the James Bond series. There are sporadic gags of inspired lunacy throughout this flick, and the Mancini-composed scores still sound great (especially remastered in Dolby 5.1). But as a whole this is a one-joke movie that wears its welcome long before it’s over. Plus, for a movie named “Pink Panther” it’s sad that the only thing pink about this movie is the color of the energy beam that Dreyfus uses to wipe out the United Nations building.

The Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978): don’t ask me to explain how the French government would allow Dreyfus to become Chief Inspector again! All you have to know is that elements of the criminal underworld are after Clouseau, who accidentally (is there any other way?) pretends to be dead while trying to seek those that are trying to kill him. No attempt to make sense or establish any character development whatsoever is done. “Revenge” feels like a “Saturday Night Live” movie in which all sorts of disguises for Clouseau (a Chinese man, a sailor, etc.) and gags revolving around pop culture icons (“The Godfather”) are thrown at the viewer by Edwards hoping some of it sticks. Slightly better than “Pink Panther Strikes Again” and Sellers’ last real appearance as Clouseau (it’s fitting that the movie’s last scene has him walking away from the camera and into the proverbial sunset!), “Revenge” also marks the downgrade of the opening animation from beautiful works of art to cheap filler done by TV animators.

The Trail of the Pink Panther (1982): the end of “Trail of the Pink Panther” features perhaps the best footage to play out the closing credits from any movie I have ever seen. It’s all highlights from all the previous “Pink Panther” movies, and watching them unfold one can sense how profound the loss of Peter Sellers was to the world of comedy. There will never be another one like him (though give credit to Mike Myers’ Austin Powers for really trying), and that’s precisely what’s wrong with “Trail.” A hodgepodge of recycled footage, deleted scenes and newly-shot footage in which the absence of Clouseau is poorly explained, “Trail” should have been either a documentary or a retrospective film paying homage to Clouseau. Not even return appearances by many cast members from previous “Panther” movies (Sir David Niven before his death, Capucine, Graham Stark, etc.) can save the movie from its grossly unappealing lead character (Joanna Lumley’s Marie Jouvet, a reporter that interviews all former Clouseau associates) or the fact that Blake Edwards simply can’t bring himself to put the Clouseau character out for good.

Not even the dismal returns of this movie stopped Edwards from making two more “Pink Panther” movies (1983’s “Curse of the Pink Panther” and 1993’s “Son of the Pink Panther”), both of which tanked and are also NOT part of this MGM Collection.