Music World - Music in Films

Music in
Films

1900 - 2000

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mancini 1

Music in Films

Henry Mancini
1924-1994

composers

Mancini's film music - II
Henry Mancini - Blake Edwards
"The Pink Panther"

Enrico Mancini, ("HENRY"), U.S. composer (born April 16, 1924, Cleveland, Ohio—died June 14, 1994, Los Angeles, Calif.), revolutionized film scoring by incorporating elements of jazz into his enduring melodies; he won four Academy Awards--for the songs "Moon River" (1961) and "Days of Wine and Roses" (1962) and for film scores for Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) and Victor/Victoria (1982)--besides garnering 20 Grammy awards and collecting eight gold records. His other hits included the title song from the film Charade, the Pink Panther film theme song, and the "Peter Gunn" television theme song. Mancini’s musical education began with flute lessons from his father, but in time the piano became his instrument of choice. He briefly attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pa., where Max Adkins, conductor of the Stanley Theater pit band, encouraged him to produce arrangements for that group. Mancini’s studies at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City were interrupted by duty in the army air force during World War II.

While in the service, however, he met Glenn Miller, and after the war he joined Miller’s band as an arranger and pianist. Mancini wrote music for radio before composing scores for such films as The Glenn Miller Story (1954), The Benny Goodman Story (1956), and Touch of Evil (1958). He teamed up with television producer Blake Edwards in 1958, rocketed to fame with his brassy "Peter Gunn" and "Mr. Lucky" theme songs, and wrote the scores for all of Edwards’ films, notably The Great Race, Darling Lili, 10, S.O.B., Sunset, and the Pink Panther series. Besides composing the scores for more than 80 films, he also conducted sellout concerts. At the time of his death, Mancini was working on a stage adaptation of Victor/Victoria.

William Blake Crump (July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010), better known by his stage name Blake Edwards, was an American filmmaker.

Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio scripts before turning to producing and directing in television and films. His best-known films include Breakfast at Tiffany's, Days of Wine and Roses, 10, Victor/Victoria, and the hugely successful Pink Panther film series with British actor Peter Sellers. Often thought of as primarily a director of comedies, he also directed several drama, musical, and detective films. Late in his career, he transitioned to writing, producing, and directing for theater.

In 2004, he received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of his writing, directing, and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen.

1961 Breakfast at Tiffany’s
1962 Days of Wine and Roses
1963 The Pink Panther    (The Pink Panther-1)
1963  Charade
1964 A Shot in the Dark   (The Pink Panther-2)
1965 The Great Race
1966 What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
1967  Two for the Road
1970 Darling Lili
1975 The Return of the Pink Panther   (The Pink Panther-3)
1976 The Pink Panther Strikes Again   (The Pink Panther-4)
1978 Revenge of the Pink Panther   (The Pink Panther-5)
1979 10
1981 S.O.B.
1982 Victor/Victoria
1982 Trail of the Pink Panther   (The Pink Panther-6)
1983 Curse of the Pink Panther   (The Pink Panther-7)
1983 The Man Who Loved Women
1987 Blind Date
1988 Sunset
1989 Peter Gunn
1991 Switch
1993 Son of the Pink Panther    (The Pink Panther-8)

The Pink Panther

The Pink Panther is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and co-written by Edwards and Maurice Richlin, starring David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine and Claudia Cardinale. The film introduced the cartoon character of the same name, in an opening credits sequence animated by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises.

The film was selected in 2010 to be preserved by the Library of Congress as part of its National Film Registry, being deemed "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant."

The Pink Panther 1963

Henry Mancini ‎– The Pink Panther

A Shot in the Dark

A Shot in the Dark is a 1964 British-American DeLuxe Color comedy film directed by Blake Edwards in Panavision. It is the second installment in The Pink Panther film series. Peter Sellers is featured again as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté.

Clouseau's blundering personality is unchanged, but it was in this film that Sellers began to give him the idiosyncratically exaggerated French accent that was to later become a hallmark of the character. The film also marks the first appearances of Herbert Lom as his long-suffering boss, Commissioner Dreyfus, as well as Burt Kwouk as his stalwart man servant Cato and André Maranne as François, all of whom would become series regulars. Elke Sommer portrays the murder suspect, Maria Gambrelli. The character of Gambrelli would return in Son of the Pink Panther (1993), this time played by Claudia Cardinale, who appeared as Princess Dala in The Pink Panther (1963). Graham Stark, who portrays police officer Hercule Lajoy, would reprise this role eighteen years later, in Trail of the Pink Panther (1982).

The film was not originally written to include Clouseau, but was an adaptation of a stage play by Harry Kurnitz adapted from the French play L'Idiote by Marcel Achard. The film was released only a few months after the first Clouseau film, The Pink Panther.

A Shot in the Dark 1964

Henry Mancini - A shot in the dark (1964)

A Shot in the Dark - Henry Mancini

The Shadow of Paris - Henry Mancini (A Shot in the Dark)

The Return of the Pink Panther

The Return of the Pink Panther is a 1975 comedy film and the fourth film in The Pink Panther series. The film stars Peter Sellers, returning to the role of Inspector Clouseau, for the first time since A Shot in the Dark (1964), after having declined to reprise the role in Inspector Clouseau (1968). The film was a commercial hit and revived the previously dormant series.

Herbert Lom reprises his role as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus from A Shot in the Dark; he remained a regular thereafter. The character of Sir Charles Lytton, the notorious Phantom, is now played by Christopher Plummer rather than David Niven (as in The Pink Panther, 1963), who was unavailable. The Pink Panther diamond once again plays a central role in the plot.

The Return of the Pink Panther 1975

The Return Of The Pink Panther - Soundtrack Suite -Henry Mancini

The Pink Panther Strikes Again

The Pink Panther Strikes Again is a 1976 British comedy film. It is the fifth film in The Pink Panther series and the third to include the phrase Pink Panther in its title, although the Pink Panther diamond is not a part of the story. The plot picks up three years after The Return of the Pink Panther, with former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) about to be released from a psychiatric prison after having been driven mad by Inspector Jacques Clouseau's (Peter Sellers) bumbling in the previous film. A typically disastrous visit from Clouseau prompts a relapse which cancels Dreyfus's planned discharge, but he soon escapes anyway and organizes an elaborate plot to threaten the countries of the world with annihilation by a large laser if they do not assassinate Clouseau for him.

Unused footage from the film was later included in Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), after Sellers' death.

The Pink Panther Strikes Again 1976

The Pink Panther Strikes Again - Soundtrack Suite - Henry Mancini

Revenge of the Pink Panther

Revenge of the Pink Panther is a 1978 British comedy film. It is the sixth film in The Pink Panther comedy film series. Released in 1978, it is the final on-set performance released during the lifetime of Peter Sellers, who died in 1980. It is also the last entry to be distributed solely by United Artists, which was purchased by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1981. The opening credits are animated by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises.

Revenge of the Pink Panther 1978

Revenge Of The Pink Panther - Soundtrack Suite -Henry Mancini

Trail of the Pink Panther

Trail of the Pink Panther is a 1982 British comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and starring Peter Sellers. It was the seventh film in The Pink Panther series, the first film in the series following Sellers' death and also the last in which he appeared as Inspector Clouseau. Sellers died before production began. His performance consists only of deleted scenes from previous films.

Trail of the Pink Panther - Official Trailer - Robert Loggia Movie (1982)

Trail of the Pink Panther (1/11)

Trail of the Pink Panther (2/11)

Trail of the Pink Panther (3/11)

Trail of the Pink Panther (4/11)

Trail of the Pink Panther (5/11)

Trail of the Pink Panther (6/11)

Trail of the Pink Panther (7/11)

Trail of the Pink Panther (8/11)

Trail of the Pink Panther (9/11)

Trail of the Pink Panther (10/11)

Trail of the Pink Panther (11/11)

Curse of the Pink Panther

Curse of the Pink Panther is a 1983 British comedy film and a continuation of The Pink Panther series of films started by Blake Edwards in the early 1960s. The film was one of two produced concurrently following the death of the series' star Peter Sellers. Whereas the previous film Trail of the Pink Panther made use of unused footage of Sellers as Inspector Clouseau, Curse attempted to relaunch the series with a new lead, Ted Wass, as bumbling American detective Clifton Sleigh, assigned to find the missing Inspector Clouseau.

The film features a cameo by Roger Moore—as Clouseau himself—at the end of the film. This was David Niven's final film appearance, and he died shortly before its release. This film marked Herbert Lom's sixth outing as Chief Inspector Dreyfus. He would reprise the role one last time in Son of the Pink Panther (1993). The prized Pink Panther jewel would not return until The Pink Panther reboot in 2006.

This film featured the sixth "Panther" appearance of Clouseau's trusty manservant Cato (Burt Kwouk). Cato and Dreyfus debuted in A Shot in the Dark (1964). The film was a box office bomb and got negative reviews.

Henry Mancini - Curse of the Pink Panther

Curse of the Pink Panther (1/10)

Curse of the Pink Panther (2/10)

Curse of the Pink Panther (3/10)

Curse of the Pink Panther (4/10)

Curse of the Pink Panther (5/10)

Curse of the Pink Panther (6/10)

Curse of the Pink Panther (7/10)

Curse of the Pink Panther (8/10)

Curse of the Pink Panther (9/10)

Curse of the Pink Panther (10/10)

Son of the Pink Panther

Son of the Pink Panther is a 1993 Italian-American comedy film. It is a continuation of The Pink Panther film series. Directed by Blake Edwards, it stars Roberto Benigni as Inspector Clouseau's illegitimate son. Also in this film are Panther regulars Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk and Graham Stark and a star of the original 1963 film, Claudia Cardinale. It was the final film for both filmmaker Blake Edwards and composer Henry Mancini; Edwards retired from movie making, and Mancini died the following year.