Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)

Journalist Marie Jouvet (Joanna Lumley) attempts to uncover the mysterious disappearance of Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers).

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Blake Edwards (story), Frank Waldman (screenplay)

Stars:

Peter Sellers, David Niven, Herbert Lom

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Sellers	...	Chief Insp. Jacques Clouseau (archive footage)
David Niven	...	Sir Charles Litton
Herbert Lom	...	Chief Insp. Charles Dreyfus
Richard Mulligan	...	Clouseau's Father
Joanna Lumley	...	Marie Jouvet
Capucine	...	Lady Simone Litton
Robert Loggia	...	Bruno Langois
Harvey Korman	...	Prof. Auguste Balls (archive footage)
Burt Kwouk	...	Cato Fong
Graham Stark	...	Hercule Lajoy
Peter Arne	...	Col. Bufoni
André Maranne	...	Sergeant Francois Duval
Ronald Fraser	...	Dr. Longet
Leonard Rossiter	...	Superintendant Quinlan (archive footage)
Marne Maitland	...	Deputy Commissioner Lasorde

Storyline

The Pink Panther diamond is stolen once again from Lugash and the authorities call in Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Peter Sellers) from France. His plane disappears en-route. This time, famous French television reporter Marie Jouvet (Joanna Lumley) sets out to solve the mystery and starts to interview everybody connected to Clouseau. Each interviewee: Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), Sir Charles Litton (David Niven) and Lady Simone Litton (Capucine) (an ex-wife of Clouseau), George Lytton (Robert Wagner), Hercule Lajoy (Graham Stark), and Cato Fong (Burt Kwouk) tell of their run-ins with Clouseau. She is also kidnapped by mobster Bruno Langlois (Robert Loggia), who doesn't want Clouseau found, but she continues and finds Clouseau, Sr. (Richard Mulligan), Clouseau's father. Is Clouseau alive or is he dead? Each interview has not-yet-seen or famous clips from the previous movies (since Peter Sellers died) as Marie continues to get a honest view or impression of the great French ...

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Plot Keywords:

jewel thief | false nose | wig | wastebasket | sprinkler | 

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Taglines:

There is only one Inspector Clouseau. His adventure continues...

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

United Artists had initially wanted to continue the franchise with Dudley Moore taking over the role of Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau. There was even a script in existence, titled "Romance of the Pink Panther", which had been written by Peter Sellers. Blake Edwards blocked any such moves, obviously still smarting from the time that Alan Arkin had taken on the part in Inspector Clouseau (1968).

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Goofs

When the Godfather tells the girl to take a swim, she jumps in with sunglasses on and comes back up without them. Later in the scene, she asks him if she can get out and she has the sunglasses on again.

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Quotes

Marie Jouvet: So far, the incident hasn't even been investigated. And if Bruno Langlois is in the mood to deny the allegation, I will be happy to repeat it on the witness stand.

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Alternate Versions

All UK cinema and video versions were cut by 21 secs by the BBFC to remove the nunchaku footage previously edited from The Pink Panther Strikes Again. The cuts were fully restored in 2003.

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Connections

Featured in Banánové rybicky: Jak prezít trapasy (1999)

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Soundtracks

I'll Never Smile Again
Written by Ruth Lowe

User Reviews

Trail of the Pink Panther was an uneven mix of old Sellers outtakes and new linking scenes

"To Peter, the one and only Inspector Clouseau" Well, the late Sellers is certainly the essential Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau. That dedication provided by director Blake Edwards was certainly heartfelt and the outtakes from The Pink Panther Strikes Again provide some "new" hilarity for Sellers fans especially during the "massage/message" scene and the beginning Harvey Korman as Auguste Balls one. And seeing Joanna Lumley as a French reporter interview Clouseau's former partner Hercule Lovejoy (Graham Stark in a very touching performance) as well as now marrieds Sir Charles and Lady Simone Litton (David Niven and Capucine) brought some closure to those characters though I did wonder how Charles could remember that old man trying to cross the street in The original Pink Panther when he was in such a hurry in those chase scenes. And both Burt Kwouk as Cato and especially Herbert Lom as now-reinstated Chief Inspector Dreyfus continue to provide their own earned laughs whenever they're on screen. And adding Richard Mulligan as Jacques' father was another stroke of genius for director Edwards. But the subplot concerning Robert Loggia's gangster from Revenge of the Pink Panther didn't really go anywhere though the way he seems to both admire and detest Lumley was amusing. And those scenes from Clouseau's earlier life with other actors portraying him as a younger boy and man were painful to watch. What's even more painful was hearing someone else impersonate Sellers' Clouseau voice at the end. As for the Marvel Productions (which took over Depatie-Freleng Enterprises) animated sequence, it was partially amusing with the now-dated Pac Man reference though it was nice to once again hear Henry Mancini's now iconic Pink Panther theme again. As if to illustrate the beginning dedication, the end credits sequence contains various memorably funny Peter Sellers scenes from all five of his Panther movies starting with his first one when, spinning a globe, he says, "We must find that woman" before placing his hand on the still-moving globe and falling down! So with all Sellers footage used up, you'd think this would indeed be the end of Pink Panther series. You'd be wrong. Next up, Curse of the Pink Panther...

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 December 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Trail of the Pink Panther

Filming Locations:

Valencia, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,341,695, 19 December 1982

Gross USA:

$9,056,073

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,056,073

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists, Blake Edwards, Titan Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1