As we mentioned in our review of MGM’s “Pink Panther Film Collection,” an important installment in this Blake Edwards-directed series wasn’t included in MGM’s Box Set because Artisan Home Entertainment still owns the DVD rights to it. A shame because 1975’s “The Return of the Pink Panther” paved the way for the character-driven “Pink Panther” comedies from the 1960’s to evolve into the live action cartoon destruction festivals that characterized the series in the 1970’s. Writer/director Edwards concocts a plot that one again has the Pink Panther diamond stolen by jet setting diamond thief Charles Litton, AKA The Phantom (Christopher Plummer, taking over the David Niven role from the first “Pink Panther” movie) and his girlfriend Claudine (Catherine Schell).

Once again only Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) is trusted with the awesome task of tracking down both the Pink Panther and The Phantom. And yet again Clouseau’s boss, Dreyfus, will have his sanity tested by the wreckage Clouseau leaves behind. Even though he hadn’t performed his Clouseau character for 11 years (since 1964’s “A Shot in the Dark”) Sellers delivers more mangled words, embarrassing pratfalls, laughably unconvincing disguises and laughs per minute in this “Panther” movie than in any other, IMHO. The supporting characters introduced in “A Shot in the Dark” (Burt Kwouk’s Cato, Herbet Lom’s Dreyfus) are joined by new one’s (Andre’ Marame’s Francois) that help carry the lunacy of Clouseau’s clumsiness to new heights. The movie slows to a crawl whenever Sellers or Lom aren’t on screen though, which means scenes with either Plummer or Schell’s characters (and there are a lot of them) are deadly dull. Edwards should have paced his script a little more tightly.

Not as mannered or slow-paced as the first two “Panther” movies but nowhere near as over-the-top as “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” or “Revenge of the Pink Panther,” “Return...” is the “Panther” movie that transitions the Clouseau character from a clumsy fool to walking disaster area without losing sight of the character’s humanity. One sequence in particular (Chapters 15 & 16) has Clouseau tracking Claudine over Switzerland and checking into a hotel. The playful Henry Macini-composed tunes that serve as musical backdrop and the escalating gags make me laugh every time I see them. The movie is rated G by the MPAA, which I doubt would be the case today because of all the smoking references in both the movie and the animated titles.

Speaking of animation, the Richard Williams-conceived opening/closing credits for “Return...” (which pay homage to classic Hollywood icons like Mickey Mouse and Charles Chaplin) is the most elaborate and exquisite of all the “Pink Panther” live action films. The absence of “Return...” from the MGM Box Set is crucial because viewers that go from “A Shot in the Dark” to “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” will have a hard time adjusting to the over-the-top extremes to which the latter pushes the series’ comedic muscle. For the $10 asking price most retailers sell this DVD for you might as well swallow hard, tolerate the less-than-perfect pictures & sounds and make this an unofficial addition to MGM’s “Pink Panther Film Collection.”