Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)

A journalist attempts to uncover the mysterious disappearance of Inspector Clouseau.

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 Clouseau from France. His plane disappears en-route. This time, famous French TV reporter Marie Jouvet sets out to solve the mystery and starts to interview everybody connected to Clouseau. Each interviewee Dreyfus, Sir Charles and Lady Lytton (an ex-wife of Clouseau), George Lytton, Hercule Lajoy (assistant in "A Shot In The Dark"), and Cato tell of their run-ins with Clouseau. She is also kidnapped by mobster Bruno Langlois who doesn't want Clouseau found but she continues and finds Clouseau Sr., 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 had sadly passed away) as Marie continues to get a honest view or impression of the great French detective.

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Plot Keywords:

interview | reporter | diamond | detective | pink panther | 

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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

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 December 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

La pista de la pantera rosa

Filming Locations:

Valencia, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,341,695, 19 December 1982, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$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

Did You Know?

Trivia

United Artists had initially wanted to continue the franchise with Dudley Moore taking over the role of Inspector Clouseau. There was even a script in existence, entitled "Romance of the Pink Panther" which had been written by Peter Sellers himself. 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

Back in the French Resistance, a young Clouseau has placed bombs around a bridge to blow away the Nazis from crossing. As he goes to active the detonator box, the handle is facing vertically (that way the detonator can be activated); albeit in the next shot, it's horizontal.

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Quotes

Hotel Clerk: [Clouseau rings the bell for service] Yes?
Insp. Jacques Clouseau: Do you have for me the 'massage'?
Hotel Clerk: Oh. You want a massage, ey?
Insp. Jacques Clouseau: If you have one for me, yes.
Hotel Clerk: Here. Why don't you try Tokyo Lil at the end of the block. Ask for Passionflower Shirley, the Yokohama Butterfly.
Insp. Jacques Clouseau: And why should I do that?
Hotel Clerk: Well, you want a massage, don't you?
Insp. Jacques Clouseau: Yes, but I want it from you.
Hotel Clerk: Sir, I don't give massages.
Insp. Jacques Clouseau: But you gave me one early this morning.
[...]

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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

Follows A Shot in the Dark (1964)

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Soundtracks

I'll Never Smile Again
Written by Ruth Lowe

User Reviews

A strange, VERY strange experience....

Peter Sellers died in late 1980, just as he was on the verge of getting another Clouseau flick off the ground. The film was to be titled Romance of the Pink Panther, and this time Sellers was writing the film, with Blake Edwards nowhere in sight. Upon Sellers' death, UA offered the film (which was originally to be helmed by Sidney Poitier, then later Clive Donner) back to Edwards. Rumor has it that the studio wanted Dudley Moore to replace Sellers. Moore and Edwards passed on the same grounds: that no actor could possibly replace could Sellers. A sensible move. Unfortunately, Edwards had other ideas....

This is the result.

There's seldom been a film that's felt as simply, utterly wrong as Trail of the Pink Panther. With this film, Edwards attempted to make an "all new" Panther escapade using deleted footage of Sellers from the previous three Panthers, with brand new scenes filmed around him to make it appear as if Sellers was really involved. For a little while, it almost works (the joins are at times seamless) despite itself. But then you see a sequence lifted wholesale from "Strikes Again" (Clouseau's mishap with a bag of groceries) and things go rapidly downhill. The Sellers footage is of course very amusing, but it's painfully obvious which Panther films the scenes were cut from (especially the "Strikes Again" footage, where a number of that film's supporting characters suddenly appear for no good plot reason) and the flimsy plot does all manner of convulsions to fit the scenes in.

Then, 40 minutes in, Clouseau vanishes, his plane having "disappeared". Suddenly, what plot there was (which was nothing hot anyway) evaporates and the film wanders into would-be Citizen Kane territory. From here on Joanna Lumley (quite lovely with a French accent) wanders in as a TV reporter determined to track down Clouseau. With her arrival, the pace grinds to a halt and so do the laughs. It's certainly nice to see some of the early Panther notables again (David Niven, Graham Stark, Capucine) along with an amusing contribution from Richard Mulligan as Clouseau's even battier father, but even this doesn't really work, outside of padding the film to a releasable running time.

Even worse is that Niven, who was gravely ill at the time, is dubbed by C-Grade impressionist Rich Little. Little can be hilarious impersonating celebrities (his Howard Cosell on Futurama is a blast) but his attempt to seriously imitate Niven is just painful, with his own accent frequently creeping in. It only gives Niven's scenes a bizarre, otherworldly quality, in a film that already feels mighty creepy. Little is also roped in to imitate the voice of Harvey Korman (more successfully) and Sellers (excruciating), which only makes things stranger.

This second half of the film mixes Lumley's interviews with Clouseau's contemporaries with heavy doses of flashback footage (from earlier Panthers), all of it so much better that the new stuff. Even when it attempts to be funny on its own, Edwards resorts to stealing these gags (as opposed to the footage) from earlier triumphs. Witness Dreyfus's barely concealed laughter during his attempt to eulogise his former nemesis...And then remember that he did the exact same thing in "Revenge"...

If there is one shining light in this misbegotten dud, its the peerless Herbert Lom. He's a truly underrated comic presence who manages to rise above the material with all his facial ticks, pratfalls and explosions of rage.

The final shot of the film, with Clouseau standing on a cliff face, looking out to sea (only to get pooped on by a seagull) manages to sum up the whole enterprise. It's a blatant stand-in (how could it be anything but?) and when he does speak (cursing the "swine seagull") it's clearly Little's voice doing a bad Sellers impression. Having passed on "Romance" because he believed no one could replace Peter Sellers, Blake Edwards only went on to prove his point.... In an even less dignified way!

Maybe the final comment should go to Edwards and his dedication at the beginning of this misguided, shambolic but possibly well-intentioned fiasco..."To Peter. The One and Only Inspector Clouseau"