With Pink Panther 2 coming out on February 6, the time is right to take a look at cinematic masters of disguise. Some used their disguise to hide superpowers, some to get better acting roles, some just to stay alive and others to solve crimes. All of them mastered their disguise to perfection.

Will Steve Martin’s second attempt at reviving the Pink Panther series be the charm? Time will tell… Meanwhile, here are cinema’s top ten masters of disguise:

With a simple mask that covers only his eyes, he is unrecognizable…

10. Zorro (The Mask of Zorro, 1998)

In The Mask of Zorro, Don Diego de la Vega (Anthony Hopkins) recruits Alejandro Murieta (Antonio Banderas) to become his replacement as Zorro, the legendary hero. Together, they infiltrate the circle of Don Raphael - the fiercest of the Spanish tyrants. Armed with mask, sword, whip and jet-black stallion, Tornado, the new Zorro, embarks on a mission to stop Don Raphael’s plot to buy California, to set right twenty years of wrongs, to bring justice to the people ensnared by Spanish greed… and to win the heart of Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Don Diego’s daughter.

Add hair gel, remove the glasses, and you would never guess that Clark Kent is really -

9. Superman (Superman:The Movie, 1978)

From his birth on the doomed planet Krypton to his childhood in a small Kansas town and beyond, the Superman legend is well told in Richard Donner’s blockbuster. After he comes of age, young Clark Kent (as his Earth parents named him) discovers the truth about his alien birth on a voyage of discovery to the Arctic. There he learns - through a link to his long-dead birth parents - of his superhuman abilities and his responsibility to preserve and protect “truth, justice and the American Way.” Adjusting to life in the big city, Metropolis, he discovers that hiding his superpowers as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) isn’t easy as he flirts with hard-nosed Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) and battles super-villain Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman).

Only one journalist can disguise himself as a doctor, a bum and a high-society snob in 94 minutes…

8. Fletch (1985)

Irwin “Fletch” Fletcher (Chevy Chase) is a crack investigative journalist who goes undercover for a story about possible connections between the L.A.P.D. and the local drug trade. He’s distracted when a Santa Monica businessman, Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson), mistakes him for a homeless man and offers him $50,000 to commit murder. The businessman claims to have terminal bone cancer but can’t commit suicide if he wants his family to collect on his insurance policy, so he wants Fletch to do the dirty work. Fletch pretends to accept the offer and finds that it leads him deeper into the heart of his own investigation. Chase relishes every line of dialogue in Andrew Bergman’s crackling script for this goofy, master-of-disguise character - making Fletch one of the most influential and oft-quoted comedies of the 1980s.

Who would have thought that the inspirational feminist actress Dorothy Michaels is actually -

7. Michael Dorsey (Tootsie, 1982)

When theatrical mastermind Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) finds himself blacklisted by just about every producer in the acting business, he decides to thwart the entertainment industry by disguising himself as an older woman and auditioning for a daytime soap opera. Dorsey arrives for the audition in a dress and makeup. Calling himself Dorothy Michaels, s/he gives an astonishing screen test and is hired on the spot by the show’s executive (Dabney Coleman). Dorsey is an overnight sensation with the show’s fans, but as his career escalates, his relationship with his girlfriend (Teri Garr) suffers. Hoffman is unforgettable as the actor so desperate for work that he’ll dress up as a woman to get it, and supporting players Geena Davis and Bill Murray offer plenty of comic relief.

Jerry: Oh, you don’t understand, Osgood! Ehhhh… I’m a man.
Osgood: Well, nobody’s perfect.

6. Jerry (Some Like It Hot, 1959)

Billy Wilder’s classic comedy stars Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as a pair of unemployed musicians who inadvertently witness the St. Valentine Day’s Massacre. To escape the wrath of the gangsters, Joe (Curtis) and Jerry (Lemmon) hit the road in drag, taking the only jobs available with an all-girl band bound for Miami. En route, both men fall for lead singer and blond bombshell Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe), but are unable to fulfill their desires for fear of revealing their identities. Joe tries to get around this by adopting a third identity for seduction, that of a shy millionaire who sounds strangely like Cary Grant. Meanwhile Jerry has his own problems, fighting off the advances of Osgood E. Fielding, a real millionaire hypnotized by “her” charms.

When the girls thought a guy couldn’t possibly be that considerate and sensitive… they were right.

5. Brandon Teena (Boys Don’t Cry, 1999)

Kimberly Peirce’s directorial debut tells the gut-wrenching true story of transvestite Teena Brandon. Relocating to Falls City, Nebraska from Lincoln, she manages to convince her newfound group of friends that she is a man, Brandon Teena. The film treats these events with painful objectivity, as Brandon’s relationships with friends John, Tom, Kate, Candace, and Lana unfold toward their inevitably horrific conclusion. A shining example of independent filmmaking at its most impassioned.

The good guy is the bad guy, and the bad guy is the good guy in -

4. Face/Off (1997)

The ordeal of super-heroic, singularly dedicated FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) is only beginning after he finally captures his arch-nemesis Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), an elusive, maniacal terrorist who claimed the life of Archer’s son. While Troy languishes in a coma, Archer surgically “borrows” Troy’s face in an attempt to gather evidence about Troy’s last bomb - which is ticking away in a Los Angeles office building. Trouble ensues when Troy wakes up faceless, borrows Archer’s visage, and proceeds to make a mess of Archer’s life. Both men struggle to adapt to their new identities while also struggling to blow each other away… Another balletically filmed, thematically complex action smorgasbord from Hong Kong vet John Woo.

They look like humans, they talk like humans, but they’re actually -

3. Aliens (Cocoon, 1985)

In Ron Howard’s wonderful tribute to the human spirit, Brian Dennehy is Walter, an alien who returns to earth to rescue 20 of his friends now hibernating in cocoons off the coast of Florida. With the help of a charter boat captain, the cocoons are stored in a deserted swimming pool. When three men from a nearby retirement village sneak over for a swim, they suddenly feel physically and spiritually rejuvenated. Have they found the long elusive Fountain of Youth? The men’s frisky behavior causes some controversy as the retirement village residents are forced to choose between a second youth or the natural aging process…

When in Rome…

2. Zelig (1983)

Zelig (Woody Allen) is a media sensation. He seems to have the unique ability to transform himself to fit in with those around him. With Greeks, he becomes Greek; with fat men, he becomes hefty. But his condition leaves him open to exploitation and the only person who believes in him is ambitious psychologist Eudora Fletcher (Mia Farrow). Allen explores one of the most serious themes of his career: the assimilation of Jews and other immigrant groups into American culture - though the serious subject is still tempered by intelligent verbal wit. Allen sees some assimilation as a necessary part of cultural inclusion, but recognizes its dangers. The imperative to be “Chameleon Man” seems only one step away from outright fascism.

This clueless inspector is the ultimate master of disguise -

1. Inspector Clouseau (The Pink Panther franchise)

He’s definitely not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he gets the job done, often thanks to his skills of disguise: he can turn himself into a hunchback, a dentist, a knight or a priest and you won’t even know it. Peter Sellers was the lovable inspector for fifteen years (1963–1978), during which he made four Pink Panther movies. In 2006 Steve Martin made his first - and not very successful - attempt as Clouseau. Now in 2009 we get his second attempt at reviving the Pink Panther. With Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, John Cleese, Andy Garcia and Alfred Molina in the supporting cast, his chances aren’t too bad…

Go see it and let us know what you think!

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