Directed by:
Blake EdwardsCinematography:
Dick BushComposer:
Henry ManciniCast:
Peter Sellers (a.f.), David Niven, Herbert Lom, Richard Mulligan, Joanna Lumley, Capucine, Robert Loggia, Harvey Korman, Burt Kwouk, Ronald Fraser (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Inspector Jacques Clouseau is missing! And so is the Pink Panther diamond. (official distributor synopsis)
Reviews (3)
Blake Edwards was being a total bastard when, even after Peter Sellers' death, he tried to squeeze out more money from one of the funniest film series ever. Trail of the Pink Panther is a completely unforgivable affair that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth just a few minutes after the opening credits. The second star is only earned for the uncontrollable laughter provoked by the scenes featuring the divine Clouseau, even in the absence of a real film.
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Some call it a tribute or a farewell to Peter Sellers, some simply rude panning. I'm one of those others who can do without Edwards' dance on Sellers' fresh grave. I don't deny that I like to watch Clouseau's unused or extended scenes from previous episodes, and that they amuse me (starting a fire - fires, actually - in the office, getting out of the elevator, eternally resisting something with a karate chop), but the fewer they are over time, the harder it is to connect them in any meaningful way. When these scenes run out about halfway through the film, the plane with Clouseau "disappears" and a tragedy begins, full of reminiscing characters and repeated, familiar scenes. It's all horribly messy and what does it matter that old familiar faces appear - it all looks morbid and vulgar to me. The tribute to Sellers' most famous character could have been just the cut sequence in the closing credits, there was no need for such a patchwork beginning with a silly dedication to "Peter, the one and only Clouseau" and ending with a callback to Curse of the Pink Panther (which I'd rather not see).___P.S. Even the opening credits were done by different people this time and it is unfortunately evident.
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In the film Trail of the Pink Panther, I really appreciate that they managed to create something cohesive out of scraps and unused scenes. I watched the film in its original version, and it's painfully evident how patched together it is, with scenes where Peter Sellers didn't voice the dialogue. But as a reminder of some of Sellers' awesome scenes, it's fine.
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