Trail of the Pink Panther

Trail of the Pink Panther.
1982 United Artists, distributed to DVD by MGM.
Starring: Peter Sellers (archive footage), David Niven, Rich Little (voice only; uncredited), Herbert Lom, Richard Mulligan, Joanna Lumley, Capucine, Robert Loggia, Harvey Korman, Burt Kwouk, Julie Andrews (uncredited), Robert Wagner (uncredited)
Music: Henry Mancini
Director: Blake Edwards
Available from Amazon.

Let's begin...Peter Sellers died before production of this movie started, so his appearance in the movie was pieced together from flashbacks from previous Pink Panther films and unused footage. This installment is dedicated to his memory. David Niven also makes a cameo in the film, but at the time of filming, he was very ill, and his voice was considered too weak for filming, and he was overdubbed by an uncredited Rich Little.

As usual, the famous Pink Panther diamond is stolen yet again from Lugash, and Chief Inspector Clouseau is called to look for it despite the protests of Inspector Dreyfus (Lom). Clouseau goes to London to investigate Sir Charles Lytton (Niven & Little), but no one has bothered to tell him that Lytton lives in the South of France. En route to an airport, Clouseau accidentally blows up his car, and thinks it's simply an assassination attempt. It is soon confirmed that there's a plot to kill Clouseau, and he is told not to go to Lugash, but Dreyfus, hoping that Clouseau will finally meet his end, orders him to go there.

Clouseau disappears, prompting investigative journalist Marie Jouvet (Lumley) to uncover the mystery, setting out to discover his background by interviewing people who he has met over the years, namely his father (Mulligan). Jouvet also has a run-in with the mafia, led by Bruno Langlois (Loggia), who politely warns her to stop searching for Clouseau, but she refuses, and even files a complaint with Dreyfus, who to her chagrin, presses no charges against Langlois. Despite this, Jouvet concludes that Clouseau must be alive, and he is found at a seaside cliff (played by Joe Dunne only seen from behind) before a montage of clips from previous movies is shown.

This movie is not recommended. The only real humor comes from the previously filmed archive footage of Sellers, and the rest seems like they never should have even bothered. Even MGM didn't think too highly of the finished product after acquiring it; they didn't even bother to edit out or replace the old United Artists logo from the beginning of the film like they've done with just about every other UA movie they now own before releasing it to DVD.