Background
Sellers died over 18 months before production began, and his performance was constructed from deleted scenes from The Pink Panther Strikes Again.
David Niven appears in the film, reprising a role he first played in the original The Pink Panther of 1963. Niven was in the early stages of ALS and his voice subsequently proved too weak for looping. He was dubbed by impressionist Rich Little during post-production.
Returning series regulars include Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Dreyfus, Graham Stark as Hercule LaJoy (from the 1964 Pink Panther film A Shot in the Dark) and Burt Kwouk as Clouseau's faithful manservant Cato. The film also featured Joanna Lumley as an investigative reporter on the trail of the missing Clouseau. Trail featured animated opening and closing credits, which were animated by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, now Marvel Productions.
Director Blake Edwards dedicated the film to Sellers, "the one and only Inspector Clouseau". Despite the dedication, Sellers' wife Lynne Frederick filed a $3 million lawsuit against the film's producers and the studio claiming that the film diminished Sellers' reputation. She was awarded over $1 million dollars in damages. Edwards' wife, Julie Andrews has an unbilled cameo as a cleaning lady, dressed as her friend Carol Burnett's charwoman character. Contrary to rumour, Alan Arkin (who played Clouseau in 1968's Inspector Clouseau) does not have a cameo appearance as Clouseau in the World War II flashback.
Read more about this topic: Trail Of The Pink Panther
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