The Return of The Pink Panther - Plot

Plot

In the fictional country of Lugash, a mysterious thief breaks into the National Museum, sneaks past its elaborate security system, and makes off with the fabled Pink Panther diamond, leaving a white monogrammed glove with a gold-tinted "P" as a calling card. The Lugash Secret Police are brought in to investigate, and the Shah of Lugash requests the assistance of Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers). Clouseau has been temporarily demoted to beat cop by his boss, Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), who despises Clouseau to the point of obsession. Clouseau is awaiting to be reinstated as Inspector of the Sûreté, but after an incident during a bank robbery, Dreyfus suspends him for six months. However, the French government forces Dreyfus to reinstate Clouseau so that he can go to Lugash to investigate the theft of the Pink Panther.

Clouseau's investigations at the Lugash National Museum, which he nearly destroys, lead him to believe that Sir Charles Lytton (Christopher Plummer), the notorious Phantom, is re-creating the most famous heist of his career. Clouseau is delighted at this, and sees his chance to get revenge on Lytton for framing him and temporarily sending him to prison in the first film. Sir Charles, having read about the theft, realizes that he has been framed. He goes to Lugash to investigate and clear his name. Although Clouseau fails to uncover any leads concerning the theft, his bumbling allows him to survive several attempts on his life by a mysterious assassin. After staking out (and nearly demolishing) Lytton Manor in Nice, Clouseau is tricked into leaving France. He follows Sir Charles' wife, Lady Claudine (Catherine Schell) to a resort hotel in Gstaad, Switzerland, where his attempts to investigate her repeatedly fail.

Meanwhile, Sir Charles manages to discover the identity of the true thief - his wife (Lady Claudine). Because they were both bored with their quiet retirement, she stole the diamond for her own excitement, and sent her husband on a wild goose chase. Sir Charles makes a daring escape from Lugash and goes to Gstaad to find his wife and the diamond.

Inspector Clouseau, who has unknowingly been on the trail of the real thief all along, receives a telephone call from Chief Inspector Dreyfus telling him to arrest Lady Claudine. However, when Clouseau calls Dreyfus back to ask why, he is informed that Dreyfus has gone on vacation and will not be back until the following week. Dreyfus, now revealed as the assassin trying to kill Clouseau, prepares to shoot him with a sniper rifle as soon as he enters Lady Claudine's room.

Lady Claudine playfully confesses the theft to her husband, and hands the diamond over to him, so he can go about proving his innocence. They are cornered by Colonel Sharki (Peter Arne) of the Lugash Secret Police, who intends to kill them both. It turns out he has been using the theft of the diamond as an excuse to purge his political opponents. Clouseau barges into the room to arrest the Lyttons. Sir Charles points out that Colonel Sharki is going to kill them all. Suddenly, Dreyfus opens fire on the room, and accidentally kills Sharki while aiming at Clouseau, who ducks at the last minute to check his fly. The Lyttons escape during the fray.

For his work in recovering the Pink Panther, Clouseau is promoted to Chief Inspector, and vows to bring Sir Charles to justice. Lady Claudine's fate is not revealed to the audience, but it is implied she was not arrested. Dreyfus is committed to a lunatic asylum, where he is straitjacketed and placed inside a Padded cell, vowing revenge on Clouseau as the animated Pink Panther enters the room.