Inspector Clouseau (1968)

The world's favorite Pink Panther super-sleuth is back and at it again in this outrageous comedy caper, starring Alan Arkin as the beloved but brainless Inspector Clouseau. When a nation's in trouble, criminal masterminds don't stand a chance against the French detective with a knack for recklessinvestigation. Tension is building at Number Ten Downing Street when it's discovered that the money stolen in the Great Train Robbery is merely operating capital for a bigger criminal plan. Never to fear, Clouseau is here! The bumbling detective sets out on a clumsy crusade to catch the crooks.But the case takes a riotous twist when Clouseau's face is seen masquerading from Swiss bank to Swiss bank for the heist of the century. Will Clouseau manage to save the day, or will the case of mistaken identity end his crime fighting forever?

Did Arkin even watch the other versions?

I had not heard of this film until I found it in a bargin bin at one of my local DVD shops. For a few dollars I thought it might be worth a go,......wrong! This had to be one of the worst spinoffs that I have ever come across. It makes me wonder if the script writers and Arkin had even bothered to watch any of the other versions. Arkin comes across as an arrogant tot, not like the much beloved fumbling fool as we have come to know in other films. The language he uses it nothing like what we have come to expect from the inspector, and the accents are some of the worst on screen, and if not for the scenery of the day, it's hard to find anything worth watching in this film. I had to fast forward to the end, just to see if there might be anything of interest. Unless you can find this for a dollar in a used ex-rental bin, don't bother with it. February 16, 2008

Brave attempt

I'm a great fan of the Pink Panther series and a great fan of Alan Arkin. Some reviewers make much of the fact that Arkin doesn't attempt to recreate Sellers character bringing his own take to the film. I, however, believe in not following the formula more closely than he did as created by Sellers in the first two movies, some of Clousseau is also lost. The opening segment of the Inspector disembarking the plane is about as close as the character gets to the one we know so well. Sure, there are flashes of humour throughout but at times you're left questioning whether your watching a comedy or a drama. If you're a die hard fan by all means purchase this for posterity but don't expect it to see the light of day from the shelf too often if at all. As much as it tries to emulate it's predecessors it never quite makes the grade. January 23, 2008

Not The Best!

This is Definately not The Best Pink Panther film. It is not as good as the other ones that I've seen. I've only seen The Pink Panther {1964}, A Shot In The Dark, this one, and The Pink Panther {2006}. If you are into the Pink Panther series just for Peter Sellers, you won't like this one. This film has a great cast.
Alan Arkin as Inspector Jacques Clouseau, Frank Finlay as Supt. Weaver, Barry Foster as Addison Steele, Patrick Cargill as Commisioner Sir Charles Braithwaite, Beryl Reid as the crazed Mrs. Weaver, Clive Francis as Johnny Rainbow, and introducing Delia Boccardo as Lt. Lisa Morrel. You will definately laugh hysterically. As Inspector Clouseau says, "There's a time for laughing and a time for not laughing- and this is not one of them!" September 17, 2006

Rare Panther

"Inspector Clouseau" is the most obscure entry in the Pink Panther franchise, even more obscure than "Curse of the Pink Panther" or "Son of the Pink Panther." Technically the third movie in the series, "Inspector Clouseau" finds Alan Arkin in the title role of French Inspector Jacques Clousea, a character Peter Sellers had started to make famous in two previous movies and a character that Sellers would become inextricably linked to in four more afterwards. "Inspector Clouseau" lacks the boundless energy of director Shawn Levy and actor Steve Martin's 2006 entry in the franchise or the subtle sophistication of any of director Blake Edward and actor Peter Sellers' indisputable classics, but director Bud Yorkin and actor Alan Arkin's entry is undeniably unique and actually quite entertaining.

"Inspector Clouseau" finds the ever klutzy Clouseau heading from France to London to France again and then onto Switzerland to take on the psychotic gang behind the Great Train Robbery, led by the mysterious "Johnny Rainbow". Clouseau is assisted by shifty Scotland Yard Inspector Weaver (Frank Finlay, who played Inspector Lestrade in "A Study in Terror" and again in "Murder by Decree") who arms Clouseau with an array of James Bond-style gadgetry. Along the way Clouseau, as he's always had the knack to, finds his way into the arms of beautiful babes and takes out dangerous underworld assassins trying to kill him, all completely on accident.

Bud Yorkin's directing style is quite different from Blake Edward's, and the whole movie feels like a completely different animal from any of the other Pink Panther flicks. But the movie finds a charm and sense of fun all its own. A lack of a jazzy Henry Mancini score adds to the distance from other Panthers, but Ken Thorne's hummable score is a suitable replacement. Memorable moments include a scene where Clouseau moves from chair to chair while being debriefed by the Scotland Yard commissioner (Patrick Cargill), a scene where he finds himself "modeling" for a seductive photographer, and a hilarious sequence where he and Weaver become intensely competitive playing games on a speeding train. There's also a sufficient number of twists and turns that make this movie worth a look despite its obscurity.


July 12, 2006

ONE EXTRA STAR FOR ALAN ARKIN. . .

After the first two PINK PANTHER films, both Peter Sellers and Blake Edwards chose to move on to other projects. The Mirisch Company, however, the producers of the original movies, wanted another Clouseau. Frank and Tom Waldman, both of whom were Edwards cohorts, came up with a new script. This story is more in keeping with the later Sellers/Edwards movies, in that the focus is entirely on Clouseau and not so much on the characters and situations around him. The weight of this film, therefore, falls entirely on the talented shoulders of Alan Arkin. Mr. Arkin is more than up to the task, and his interpretation of Clouseau is much different than Sellers, as one would expect. Arkin's Clouseau is just as confident in his abilities, but with a somewhat more human and reality-based core. At one point in the film he doubts those abilities for just a moment, but only for a moment. This Jacques Clouseau is also more genuinely attractive to women than the Sellers interpretation, which makes for some comedic goldmining not possible in the Edwards/Sellers films.

INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU has a fine supporting cast, featuring Frank Finlay (from the THREE and FOUR MUSKETEERS, THE PIANIST and TV's PRIME SUSPECT), Patrick Cargill (from TV's THE AVENGERS and THE PRISONER), Barry Foster (from Hitchcock's FRENZY) and Italian actress Delia Boccardo, beautiful European locations, and moves very quickly, if sometimes erratically. The humor is not fall-out-of-your-seat funny, but pleasant and bouncy. Arkin contributes an interesting, dancer's physicality to Clouseau, especially when trying to sneak about. The direction, by future TV mogul Bud Yorkin (he and Norman Lear produced "Sanford and Son", "All In The Family", "Maude", "The Jeffersons" and many more shows), is crisp and professional, if not inspired.

An enjoyable, if not indispensable, sidebar to the PINK PANTHER films.

There are no extras to speak of on the DVD. The transfer is in the original 2:35 aspect ratio, the color is excellent. There is a preview of the Steve Martin PINK PANTHER. May 24, 2006

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