THE TRAIL OF THE PINK PANTHER
US, 1982, 92 minutes, Colour.
Peter Sellers, David Niven, Herbert Lom, Richard Mulligan, Joanna Lumley, Capucine, Robert Loggia, Burt Kwouk, Harvey Korman, Graham Stark.
Directed by Blake Edwards.
The Trail of the Pink Panther is an odd postscript to the very successful series. After Peter Sellers' death, the popularity of the series continued and it was decided to reuse some of the old material as well as out-takes not previously incorporated into the films. This film and its sequel, The Curse of the Pink Panther, were made back-to-back during 1982. The present film has some excerpts from the whole range of Pink Panther films which bring back happy memories of Peter Sellers' talent over almost twenty years. There is a long sequence from The Revenge of the Pink Panther at the opening and a very humorous toilet sequence in a plane? This material is by way of tribute to Sellers' skill in the role of Inspector Clouseau.
The framework of the new film is Clouseau's disappearance in a plane crash, or because of the Mafia. Marie Jouvet (played by Joanna Lumley) investigates Clouseau's disappearance and builds up a picture of him, thus giving occasion for flashbacks. Members of the cast of previous films are to the fore, especially Herbert Lom, who has a great deal of footage as the put-upon Inspector Dreyfus. Grahame Stark appears as Clouseau's retired assistant Hercule, Bert Kwouk as Cato? with a martial arts encounter with Joanna Lumley. A very aged David Niven and Capuccine are interviewed. New material includes Inspector Dreyfus' dealings with his psychiatrist, played by Ronald Fraser, culminating with a humorous pratfall by Lom. Gangsters are introduced to account for the disappearance of Clouseau.
Joanna Lumley carries the bulk of the film as an attractive French interrogator. She has occasion to visit Clouseau's ancient father? a mugging, exaggerated performance in the Clouseau vein by Richard Mulligan from Soap and from Blake Edwards' S.O.B.
The film was only moderately entertaining - many people would probably enjoy seeing again one of the previous films. Many have asked "To what purpose?". The film seems in many ways absurd and also in terms of manufactured art, absurdist. Carl Reiner's Dead Mean Don't Wear Plaid shows that interpolation of sequences from old films with stars long dead can be done with humour and taste. Some people have considered this film opportunistic, and have labelled it a form of bodysnatching and an inappropriate "Snuff Movie". With all the good intentions, or mixed motives, of the producers, it is a pity that the film itself is not better.
