This speech is one of the greatest acting performances of all time. Lom found the subtle nuance between laughter - at the absurity of Clouseau's "greatness" - and tears, which were necessary to play to the crowd (and the chief's wife). His combination "tears of laughter" (and all the accompanying facial expressions) was pure genius. Think of how hard it would be to pull that off authentically. Few could do it. He should have won an academy award just for that scene.
Marshal, funny you mention it because in all the Clouseau movies, if you take Lom out of them are they the classic to humor all honor them to be? He added so much to them the more I rewatch them the more I come to the conclusion that Lom was almost as irreplacable as Sellers (Almost!).
Desoxyn Man only difference imo is that Lom did a genious performance while Sellers was full time genious, both deserve respect of the outcome of their role .. hope I'm understood correctly . Btw I would never ever think of Pink Panther without Lom .. no way .. he's part of the whole character of movie (Clouseau's character) .. :Period.
banq0o -Can you imagine the laughs that must have come from the crew when these two got together? How can a camera man hold the camera still laughing his ars off?? That's one reason we love these movies---two masters of comedy at their craft and at their best!
@@drewski1535 these movies were the product of 3 amazing characters Clouseau, Cato and Dreyfeus may those 3 continue to grace the divine with their endless battle and want less destruction of heavens most precious artifacts LOL
They should have given him a cameo in The Pink Panther movies with Steve Martin as Clouseau and Kevin Kline as Dreyfus. Herbert Lom will always be better as Dreyfus, though.
He actually did but I think he was a bit underrated. He seemed to steal the scenes he was in, such an incredibly versatile actor capable of playing serious and funny roles with ease. I would go as far as saying that the chemistry between Lom and Sellers is part of what made the Pink Panther films so successful. Sellers alone would still have been funny and vice versa but the two together were dynamite.
Richard Motroni There is only one thing that doesn't make sense with Lom's character. Didn't Dreyfus die at the end of one Pink Panther movie only to show up again in the next one as Clouseau's boss.
"We are here to say goodbye to a uh...(holds script closer in disbelief) a great man." Peter Sellers and Herbert Lom define the true meaning of acting in these films.
When I saw this in the theater, I thought I was going to die I was laughing so hard. I had to go out into the lobby to calm down! lol Sellers was funny, but Lom had me in stitches!
I was just a kid when this first came out, I went with my parents to see it. I swear, everyone in the cinema, including me and my folks were laughing until they were in physical pain. :)
Tell you what, this really is a cure for depression. No matter how bad you feel, watching Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Dreyfus will have you in tears!
What is amazing, is that the characterization of Dreyfus was totally the work of Lom himself. In the original scripts, the character was basically deadpan. Lom completely reworked the character, and made it his own. As with Sellers, Blake Edwards saw the amazing result, and pretty much left both of them develop the characters themselves. The result is pure genius.
I think the brilliant part of this scene is the chief's wife who thinks Dreyfus is all broken up about Clouseaus demise when he's really trying hard not to burst into hysterics. Subtle but very effective.
He is crying.....from laughing! XD He's reading this....sob of a eulogy, meant to laud, praise, honor and uplift the very man he hates most in as serious and sorrowful a way as he can.....but just can't bring himself to take what's written seriously because he knows just how STUPID Clouseau REALLY is, but can't just come out and laugh, because he knows just how heartless, cold and crazy it would make him look! So, he is forced to disguise his laughter as genuine crying and sorrow! It's brilliant, really!
10 лет назад
I honestly cannot stop myself from laughing every time I see this scene. Sellers and Lom were so great. They will be missed.
❤❤😂😂😂😅😅😅😊😊😊😊creid and cried nearly died of laughter couldn't breathe and stop laughing appreciate the memories and a good laugh to peter sellers and herbert lom they would be brilliant true comedy at its very best to the actors and actresses who passed away my thoughts are with your family you may be gone but not forgotten still going strong keep the laughs old is solid pure gold great job people you should be proud way to go very impressed !!!! Joe
That was like me at my father's funeral, many years ago. Every time the priest kept referring to him as "brother Gordon", I would struggle to stifle a giggle by disguising it as grief. X'D
It was so much fun to see his movies in theaters, they would rock with laughter & tears of fun. The Loudest was Peter Seller's in "The Pick Panther Strikes Again" my stomach hurt from laughter start to finish....nobody hid their feelings.
Oscar winning performance, no kidding. Look at all the emotions Lom has to display through reading the eulogy and his reaction. So what if it's a slapstick comedy, his performance was genius!
Herbert Lom was a SUPERB actor. He had also portrayed Herod Antipas in "The Big Fisherman" and "The Phantom of the Opera". His acting chops were on full display in this clip!
Herbert Lom as an actor was irreplaceable as Clouseau's boss. However he was also doomed by fate to be Clouseau's Beuss, his Seuperieur. If Lom had never been an acteur, then Clouseau could never have been a hero.
Ladies and gentlemen... honored guests... dear friends... We are gathered here to say... GOODBYE to a... (looks at his speech) a great man! Not only was he a model police officer, a brilliant detective... (coughs) Admired and respected by his fellow officers and all those who were fortunate enough... enough... enough to know him! He was above all else... a MODEST MAN! His kind will not pass this way again... and our lost is surely... HEAVEN's GAIN! LMAO!!!
There's another scene in a pink panther movie that has Dreyfus cheering after singing "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair" and trips and falls down the staircase. I absolutely was rolling laughing! Pink panther movies are the best
This is in my opinion the best and most hilarious comedy moment in film history. Herbert Lom's crafting and delivery was simply impeccable. It's hard to find the right words to do it justice no less because I'm just too busy laughing every time I try to think about it.
Why can't I simply share something as priceless & beautiful & funny as this on facebook? Where pray tell is the harm in that? Laughter is the cure all medicine
Lom's genius is mentioned here to great effect and deservedly so. I just wish to add that this role must have been the most FUN he had on earth - at least while working. Extremes of comedy brush against tragedy and vice versa. In that vein, who else could have wielded the club of continuous approbation as righteously and forcefully as Lom in this greatest of roles? Rest in Joy, Monsieur. And merci..❤️🙋🌟
"I *hated* him intimately!" This scene is nothing short of hilarious, made even more so by the fact that everyone else, especially the chief's wife, believes Dreyfus to be deeply grieved, rather than beside himself with glee. The scene where he is interviewed on TV about Clouseau produces the same effect.
I would have said and reacted the same way Chief Inspector Dreyfus did while reading the eulogy, trying not to burst out in protested laughter: " "...Heaven's gain??? Are you kidding me???"
No doubt this particular performance of Lom's speaks books to us all both regarding his truly prowess as an actor and how could people who bestowed accolades at the time (The Oscar's, Venice, Cannes) could have possibly overlooked his body of work throughout most of The Pink Panther's installments. But one thing that strikes me as pure genius in this passage in particular, is the fact that, no matter what, Clouseau is always oblivious to the level of ever-growing animosity and hatred which Dreyfus has for him, such as in this last scene in the graveyard, when by revealing himself to Dreyfus only, he does it so with an open smile, as if that were good news to the earlier. Genius!
