By 1978, everyone kind of knew the drill. Peter Sellers was Clouseau, and Clouseau was a goldmine. But looking back at the cast of Revenge of the Pink Panther, you can see the seams starting to fray on what was once the tightest comedy troupe in cinema history. This wasn't just another sequel; it was the final film Sellers completed before his death, and the chemistry on screen is a weird mix of brilliance and exhaustion.
People usually just remember the gags. The inflatable disguise. The Hong Kong chase. But the actual lineup of actors here is a fascinating case study in British comedy royalty trying to keep up with a lead actor who was, by all accounts, increasingly difficult to work with on set.
The Peter Sellers factor and the pressure of Clouseau
Sellers was basically the sun that the rest of the cast of Revenge of the Pink Panther orbited around. If he wasn't "on," the movie didn't exist. By the time they got to Revenge, Sellers had already tried to walk away from the franchise multiple times. He and director Blake Edwards famously hated each other by this point, often communicating through notes even when they were standing a few feet apart on the studio lot.
It shows. Sorta.
Sellers plays Clouseau with a bit more slapstick aggression here than in The Pink Panther Strikes Again. Because the plot involves the French mob—the French Connection parody—trying to whack him, Sellers spends a lot of time in increasingly absurd disguises. Whether he’s "Guy Gadbois" or an elderly Chinese fisherman, the supporting cast had to play it completely straight. That’s the secret sauce. If the other actors wink at the camera, the joke dies.
Herbert Lom and the art of the nervous tic
Honestly, is there a better foil in history than Herbert Lom’s Charles Dreyfus?
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Lom is the MVP of the cast of Revenge of the Pink Panther. While Sellers gets the laughs, Lom provides the stakes. In this film, Dreyfus is technically "cured" and released from the asylum, only to be thrust back into the nightmare of Clouseau’s survival. Lom’s performance is a masterclass in repressed rage. You can actually see his left eye start to twitch the moment he realizes Clouseau isn't dead.
It’s a darker performance than people give it credit for. Lom was a serious actor—he’d done The Phantom of the Opera and War and Peace—and he treated the role of a descending madman with total sincerity. He didn't think he was in a comedy; he thought he was in a tragedy. That’s why it’s funny.
The newcomers: Dyan Cannon and Robert Webber
You’ve got to feel for Dyan Cannon. Joining an established comedy machine like the Pink Panther crew is basically a suicide mission for most actors. She plays Simone Legree, the discarded mistress of the mob boss, and she actually manages to hold her own against Sellers.
Cannon brings a frantic, 1970s energy that the series lacked. She’s the one who has to explain the plot while Sellers is busy falling out of windows. Then there’s Robert Webber as Philippe Douvier. Webber was a veteran—you might remember him from 12 Angry Men—and he plays the villain with a cold, corporate detachment. He’s the "straight man" to the entire movie. Without his grounded presence, the movie would just be a series of sketches. Instead, it feels like a (very silly) crime thriller.
Burt Kwouk and the Cato problem
Cato is a character that hasn't aged perfectly in terms of cultural sensitivity, but Burt Kwouk’s performance is legendary for a reason.
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The "ambush" scenes in Revenge of the Pink Panther are some of the most elaborate in the series. Kwouk was a staple of the cast of Revenge of the Pink Panther, having been with the franchise since A Shot in the Dark (1964). In this film, his role expands slightly as he believes Clouseau is dead and turns the apartment into a "Chinese" themed brothel. It’s chaotic. Kwouk’s timing had to be frame-perfect to match Sellers’ unpredictable physical movements.
The unsung heroes in the background
Most people ignore the "Franch Connect" mobsters, but look at the names. You have Paul Stewart as Julio Scallini. Stewart was part of Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre! He was in Citizen Kane! Having a guy who shared the screen with Charles Foster Kane now dealing with a bumbling French detective is the kind of weird prestige this franchise always carried.
And then there’s André Maranne as François. He’s the quintessential long-suffering assistant. He has maybe ten lines, but his facial expressions do the heavy lifting when Dreyfus starts to lose his mind.
Why the ensemble worked despite the chaos
The budget was roughly $12 million, which was a lot for a comedy in the late 70s. Most of that went into the Hong Kong location shoots and the elaborate costumes. But the real value was the chemistry.
- Graham Stark: A long-time friend of Sellers who popped up in almost every film in a different role. Here, he's the professor who helps with the disguises.
- Douglas Wilmer: As Police Commissioner Dogerelle, providing that stern, British-style authority.
- Tony Beckley: Playing Guy Algo, adding that weird, flamboyant 70s henchman vibe.
The production was a mess. Sellers was erratic. He was reportedly using a lot of "creative control" to change scenes on the fly, which frustrated the veteran actors who were used to hitting their marks and going home. Yet, when you watch the final cut, the timing is still there. It's a testament to the professionalism of the cast of Revenge of the Pink Panther that they could pivot whenever Sellers decided to trip over a rug that wasn't in the script.
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The legacy of the 1978 lineup
This was the last time we saw the "real" ensemble together. After Sellers died in 1980, they tried to cobble together Trail of the Pink Panther using deleted scenes, and then Curse of the Pink Panther with Ted Wass. It didn't work. The magic was specifically the friction between Sellers, Lom, and Kwouk.
You can’t manufacture that.
The film was a massive hit, grossing nearly $50 million. It proved that audiences didn't care if the plot was recycled. They just wanted to see that specific group of people drive each other crazy for two hours.
Actionable insights for film buffs and collectors
If you're looking to dive deeper into this specific era of the franchise, don't just watch the movie.
- Watch the background: In the Hong Kong sequences, look at the faces of the extras. Most of them aren't actors; they're locals who were genuinely confused by Sellers running around in a Quasimodo suit.
- Listen to the Henry Mancini score: This film has a very specific "disco" influence that Mancini hated but adopted anyway. It defines the late-70s aesthetic.
- Compare the "Guy Gadbois" scene: Notice how Robert Webber (Douvier) never breaks character. Not once. That is the peak of "straight man" acting.
- Check the credits: Look for the names of the stunt coordinators. The car chase at the end was actually quite dangerous for the time, involving high-speed maneuvers on narrow piers.
To truly appreciate the cast of Revenge of the Pink Panther, you have to watch it as a farewell performance. It's the end of the "Golden Era" of the series. Everything that came after—the reboots with Steve Martin or the spin-offs—never quite captured the sheer, unadulterated weirdness of Peter Sellers and Herbert Lom losing their collective minds on screen.
For the best experience, grab the Blu-ray shout factory collection. The transfers are cleaner, and you can see the incredible detail in the makeup and prosthetics that often got blurred out on old VHS tapes or low-res streaming versions. Look for the "making of" snippets that detail the Hong Kong shoot; it’s where you’ll see the real tension that was happening behind the camera while the actors were trying to keep the comedy alive.