Good cop gone bad
Clouseau never cared about money and in The Pink Panther Strikes Again
he wouldn't interrupt his mission for love, why now?
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Edwards wanted to keep the ending for Clouseau intact to honor Sellers.
Originally, Sellers was going to do ROMANCE alone, probably with Clive Donner as a director (although Sellers himself threatened to direct). Then, the movie would end with Clouseau retired from the police and married the Countess (that was a thief, BTW, named Frog). Specifically, the movie ends with Cato attacking Clouseau during the ceremony. Then, Edwards was to make THE FERRET, a movie about a UN agent, much like Sleigh in CURSE. On FERRET, this UN agent would've met with Clouseau and his wife, who would supposedly give him informations for his assignment. This scene was to point out how the series moved, and how Clouseau passed the torch of "Clouseau-ian" comedy to a new character, and thus, a new generation.
With Sellers' death, the studio wanted Edwards to do ROMANCE with Dudley Moore, who also wanted to be Clouseau, if only for one movie. Edwards declined, both remembering INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU from 1968 with Alan Arkin in the role, and because he felt he would insult Sellers' contribution to the character. So, Edwards decided to keep the main idea of ROMANCE's ending(Clouseau falling in love and retiring from the force) and turn THE FERRET into CURSE. Before that, he had to show a final Sellers film, and build the plot for CURSE. TRAIL is both a heartfelt goodbye from Edwards to his star (and a confession to their worst times - see Cato's comments when he says "Sometimes when you do something long enough, you miss it, even if it was painful") and an attempt to set up his final fate in CURSE. Because CURSE is what FERRET was meant to be, originally: A last look on Sellers, before moving on to a new series with a new star.
Problem was, the budget was too small, the shoot was awfully difficult, some of the stars (particularly Burt Kwouk) didn't want to be there, financial problems, and IMO, the choice of Ted Wass as Sleigh, simply just didn't work. Honestly, he may have attempted the Harold Lloyd vibe, but he is unsuccessful.
Still, if anything, its good to see Niven-Wagner-Capucine one last time, from the original PANTHER. Especially Niven, who died after the movie...
I think that Clouseau was killed by a person thinking that he was the real Clouseau.
Remember in the Son Of The Pink Panther where Maria Gambrelli tell her son that his Father was Clouseau and he made some mistake that got him killed!
It could be this
What if the mafia actually got to him after CURSE, and Clouseau, while desposing them in his usual, Clouseau style, killed himself in the process? That would make sense, wouldn't it?
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He didn't go bad.He just changed his face and lived away the rest of his years on that island....Seems like pretty good end to me. :)
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The Maria Gambrelli statement to Jacques Gambrelli (He made a mistake and got killed) is based on the end of Curse. Where Sleigh believed he figured it out, that Clouseau -after plastic surgery- renamed himself as Rossi and got killed. Dreyfus, fully aware that this was not the case, used this story to get finally rid of Clouseau (burning the only real evidence that would opose this theory -and doing so set his office on fire also).
So the truth of 'Son of the PP' about Clouseau is based on the lie from 'Curse'. Meaning that NOBODY knows what happened with Clouseau between Curse and Son.
Well, I always suspected Cato knew... I won't buy that Cato hated Clouseau for a sec! Sure, he may have hated how he cheated on kicking his ass, but he surely respected him.
I'd say Clouseau told the truth to Cato, who then assaulted Sleigh to stop searching for Clouseau in case he found out the truth. Cato's tries didn't do much, but then again, Sleigh didn't learn much...
So, I believe that Cato knew Clouseau was alive, from the boss himself... And Dreyfus of course, who was all too aware that this man couldn't be Gino Rossi. Watch out his reaction to Francois' plea for identification, "just to make sure".
Other than these two and Countess Chandra, no, no one ever learned what REALLY happened to Inspector Jacques Clouseau (CHIEF, Inspector...).
what was the evidence dreyfus burnt that opposed the theory
sharethat diamond belongs in a museum!
shareThe line in SON is in reference to a deleted scene which appeared in the original theatrical trailer (not included on the VHS or DVD) where Clouseau accidentally blows himself up when he lights a match in a barn filled with methane gas. Prior to Bruce Markoe's post-production work, SON completely broke continuity with TRAIL and CURSE and presented us with how the Inspector died ten years before the film. There was a sequence shot of Dreyfus trying to get through a crowd wearing Clouseau masks and trenchcoats at the Clouseau Day Parade honoring the tenth anniversary of the great detective's death. The Mancini-Briccuse song, "God Bless Clouseau" was first heard during this sequence. In its shorter theatrical cut, SON no longer contradicts anything in CURSE.
As for The Pink Panther belonging in a museum, that's where it is at the start of THE PINK PANTHER 2...until the jewel thief, The Tornado comes out of retirement and steals it.