Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)

[Clouseau]

Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)
There is only one Inspector Clouseau. His adventure continues...

Plot Notes - the first 45 minutes of this film are very well put-together, especially given the circumstances under which the film was made... shooting scenes to surround unused footage from TPPSA, we get what appears almost to be a new performance from the late Peter Sellers, and the story that develops, while lacking some of the energy of previous flims, is interesting... the last 50 minutes or so, however, are a bit less interesting and less inspired, with few highlights... it is very much what i would refer to as an unfinished film... and oddly enough, though this is one of the shortest films in the series, it still feels like it drags on too long (largely because of the 2nd half, IMO)...

Cast Notes:

• Peter Sellers - the quality of Sellers' performance in the first half of this film is high enough that you begin to wonder why this footage was left out of TPPSA in the first place... of course, some scenes are just alternate versions of things we've seen before, but there are still several original ideas that almost make you feel like we got gipped on a film we were previously satisfied with, if you know what i mean... for instance, the bit in the car with the cigarette lighter, and the bit in the bathroom on the plane... it's a shame they weren't included in TPPSA, but it's nice to finally see them here... i can't really comment on Sellers' performance in the 2nd half, though, since we only see him in flashbacks to previous films... i kinda wish the flashbacks had not been included, because they make it feel more like a made-for-TV bit, but still, they remind us why we've always loved Sellers as Clouseau!
  
• Richard Mulligan - as Clouseau's father, Mulligan didn't impress me much... his voice was too........out there, but i blame most of the failure of the role on the writing... it's one thing to write for a Clouseau when you have someone like Peter Sellers to fill it in, but Mulligan is no Sellers, to put it politely... the only things that made his scenes worth watching, IMO, were the girls in the winepress... ...and they were only on screen for a matter of seconds when Mulligan's character was first introduced...
  
• Joanna Lumley - while i think the world of Lumley, i despised Marie Jouvet... the French accent was annoying, as was most of her character's attitude, IMO...
  
• Burt Kwouk - Cato's character gets to show more depth in this film, and that's one thing i really appreciate... we see his concern over his former employer, and his insights are refreshing... and the scene where he attacks Marie Jouvet is one of the funniest of the film!
  
• Rich Little - due to David Niven's failing health, Little dubbed Niven's lines for this film as well as CotPP, and when it comes to Niven's lines, i'd say that Little did a remarkable job... it's nearly impossible to tell Niven was dubbed unless you know it beforehand... by contrast, whoever did Clouseau's dubbed voice (only in a couple scenes, but i don't think it was Little, if i remember correctly) was a bit too high-pitched, IMO, and just didn't sound natural...

Animated Titles - the animated titles for this film were mildly interesting... the Pac-Man bit was funny the first time around, but got kinda old... overall, though, i don't have any real complaints... it just doesn't stand out as one of the better titles of the series...

Music - like the rest of the film, i think the music is a bit less inspired this time around, but in each scene, the music does seem to fit fine, so there is really nothing to complain about... it's just not a soundtrack i'd rush out to buy, if you know what i mean... the version of the PP theme song played over the animated titles is good, but the music for the film's closing credits was even better, IMO...

SPECIAL NOTE: ordinarily, if i were to claim that a film's closing credits were the best thing about a film, it would be intended as an insult, but this film is a special case... IMO, for all they tried to accomplish with this film, the greatest tribute to Peter Sellers from this film was the video montage that played during the film's closing credits, featuring many of the series' most memorable scenes... a wonderful tribute to the original (and as most would say, the best) Inspector Jacques Clouseau, Peter Sellers...

[tournier]

I think the first half is enjoyable enough if you're fully aware that the deal is you're getting deleted scenes with a plot jury-rigged around them.

I don't know how close they got to filming before they found they couldn't use the deleted scenes from Return (I'm thinking very close since the two Lugash characters are included for just one scene), but the fact that they couldn't give us a plot where Closeau has any reason to go to England doesn't speak well of their ability to drape a plot around those half-dozen scenes.

The first half goes along fairly well, with somewhat-amusing Clouseau scenes alternating with short interludes with Dreyfus. Then Clouseau disappears off-screen with no real explanation. That Joanna Lumley spends the whole second half of the movie asking about what kind of fellow Clouseau was, while the audience yearning for details of what happened to him.

The re-used footage from Panther films I-V was great, but I still felt like I was being cheated as I watched them. The interviews with Cato, etc. all seemed like blatant padding to me. I thought the Mulligan scene was awful, although the flashback to young Clouseau was okay.

On the voice dubbing, they could have done a better job in the recording, just so all those lines didn't sound like they were coming out of a closet. I'm no Niven expert, but Rich Little's Niven voice sounded acceptable to me, but the dubbed Clouseau voice didn't sound too close.

To wrap things up, I thought the animated credits opening looked cheesy, as well

I never found myself engrossed in the movie for a minute, but it was enjoyable in a kind of Plan 9-ish "our star is dead, let's make a movie" kind of way

[georgelytton]

The closing credits of TRAIL are the best, and funniest, closing credits in the history of cinema.

Period!

[panther67]

Hi,

I watched this movie for the 1st time a week or so ago. I was very unhappy with it. I later looked it up online and learned the story behind it.

My 1st impression is it could have been done way way better. It could have had the Sellers footage more spread out. Instead it takes about half the movie without any Sellers in it, albiet for some flashbacks.

But I think this movie really was just made at all, to be a set up for Curse. Being it was filmed at the same time, with the same actors. It seemed like one last attempt to milk Sellers name, and image, and create a set-up for Curse. I have read also that this would have been better if somehow Trail and Curse were combined into one movie. Perhaps.

When I 1st stumbled on the Big Lots sale, I didn't think I wanted any but the Sellers titles. Which is what I picked up then. But then after I watched and read about Trail, it was incomplete, and so I went back to Big Lots, and picked up Curse, to end it out. I also picked up Son and IC then as well, figuring I may as well have the whole collection.

But on it's own, Trail just leaves you hanging, and only provides at all for the 1st half. Lom is good as always.... but all the "looking" for Clouseau just got boring to me.

I do want to watch it again. I only saw it that one time, and that's the impression I got.

Carl

[crimsonking]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ok, here's the lowdown on the deleted-Strike Again-scenes from Trail:

1) the Balls sequence w/Harvey Korman was originally filmed for "Strikes again", but was deleted.....i actually prefer Korman to Graham Stark, because he seems to have more of a dignified, calm, arrogant, outgoing, even more "French" presence that Stark doesn't deliver in Revenge.....also, the short scene from Revenge at Balls' seemed rushed, obviously the writers trimmed the dialogue down considerably.

2) the scene in the office w/the fire was also from Strikes, and the interesting thing here is that it was originally shot as a reflection on Tournier the bank robber, and Edwards inserted a quick new shot of a newspaper headlining the theft of the diamond, INSTEAD of a headline showing that Tournier had escaped....also, when the Commissioner come in and starts talking, his lines were changed and dubbed in to say "theft of the pink panther" instead of something about the bank robber, which was original dialogue.

3) the scene with the rice and the elevator is also lifted directly from Strikes...only a longer version.....i wish that they had kept that long version, because it is funnier, esp. when he starts singing "Dancing in the Rice"!

4) the scene with the "pup-out" lighter was also from Strikes, and Edwards dubbed in some dialogue with Francois saying "Does Sir Charles KNOW you are coming?", which was taped on audio in 1982 and inserted into the old footage (note that we cannot SEE Francois' face when he says this!).

5) the airplane scene is lifted entirely from the "original" Strikes, since at the end we see Drummond and his assistant (who resembles Micky Dolenz from the Monkees, BTW)....also, in the original trailer for that movie they show Clouseau with the turban-bandage on at the runway-tarmac.

6) the scene with the phone operator-hotel manager is ALSO from Strikes, since this occurs right before Clouseau meets the detectives at Scotland Yard.

7) now, the LAST scene with Sellars, when he gets into the wrong taxicab, should also be from Strikes, as he is leaving for the Fassbender estate.

hope this clears things up!

Sincerely,
Crimson_King