Inspector Clouseau

This film is a forgotten comic masterpiece, replacing the cartoon approach of the well-known Pink Panther movies with better timing and something like a plot. Arkin is hilarious -- actually SUPERIOR to the Clouseau most people know. Peter Sellers wore every role like a mask -- oddly enough, considering this one -- while Arkin is inherently funny and finds the inner motivation to make the character work, which Sellers never did. Also, the script is better. The shtick of Sellers doing "funny French voice" makes no sense a French setting; this removes Clouseau to England on special assignment, which works. It's as if the writers saw their chance to get away from Blake Edwards' influence and ran with it. There are actually some surprises, which never happens in the predictable, boring, unfunny Edwards movies. INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU might be TOO tightly paced, unlike the yawning stretches found in the other films... the plot jumps around a little and it's as if some connective scenes are missing, but this is way better than the alternative. There is plenty of slapstick, but it doesn't form the whole movie, with a plot tossed in on the side and wrapped up in the last few seconds. And even the quality of the slapstick is better, toned down somewhat. Draw back from "too much" and you get "just right." Arkin's Clouseau is somewhat sympathetic, not just a jackass. (This rescues the surrounding characters from their usual status as window dressing, too.) Even the introduction of Bond-like gadgetry doesn't derail the movie. Better direction, better music, and the action moves forward instead of undoing itself every two seconds.

...of the comedic talents of Alan Arkin. Arkin is a fine actor, with a flair for incorporating pathos into comedy. Arkin's Clouseau was different from the one that Sellers had portrayed (though the Clouseau in The Pink Panther & A Shot In The Dark was far removed from the Clouseau in the 70's movies) - Arkin's Clouseau KNEW that he was hopelessly clumsy and introduced a side to the character that Sellers steered clear of when the three picture deal was stuck during the 1970's. Inspector Clouseau is also one of the shortest entries in the series; this would most likely be down to the fact that it seems choppy, with all the hallmarks of a movie being butchered down to around 90 minutes when a studio loses faith during post-production and test screenings. Even if a restored version was released (though it's a pretty safe bet that the original elements ceased to exist decades ago), it would be a far from perfect movie, but it would at least give fans of the series a chance to properly evaluate the movie as a whole, rather than as just a series of disjointed set-pieces where characters appear and disappear and situations occur with little-or-no-reason. Alan Arkin may have been mauled for his interesting interpretation of the character, but there was more inventiveness and creativity into his single stint as Clousea than Sellers put into the three seventies Pink Panther movies.

Alan Arkin playing Clouseau would have to rank as one of the most awful casting choices ever made. (Will Smith as Mohammed Ali? Close. Di Crapio as a tough guy in 19th-century New York? Very close.) Arkin has never played clowns, nor is he one. He is far too cynical-looking for this type of role. Watching him say his lines was an exercise in embarrassment and major cringing. I suppose that die-hard PP fans who have nothing better to do can have endless discussions as to who was worse: Martin or Arkin. Maybe it'll take another 40 years for someone to attempt to make a PP movie without Sellers. What with the direction Hollywood is heading towards in recent years, it'll be someone like David Arquette's son who'll be cast to play the goofy Frenchman... One person here wrote that one should forget about Peter Sellers and watch this movie on its own merits. Maybe he/she can do that, probably with some help from hallucinogenic drugs, but personally I'd find that a task both impossible and stupid. The fact is that Sellers DID do Panther earlier and was about 1000 times better. Arkin is terminally unfunny with the sight gags, but it's the dialogue that really exposes his miscasting: there isn't a single line he says that is even remotely funny. In all fairness, though, the script is garbage. The story has no flow, just a bunch of barely connected scenes strung together, the gags being rare and rather pathetic. The only thing the movie has going for it are the high production values, which make it watchable, if nothing else.

The Mirisch company should have tried harder. It is bad enough having an Inspector Clouseau movie without Peter Sellers, but why no Blake Edwards to direct or William Peter Blatty[A shot in the Dark] to script? Instead we have a rather clever and better looking than Clouseau should be, in the shape of Alan Arkin and a rather boring director in Bud Yorkin. The problem itself is with the script which is unoriginal, tedious and not in the least bit funny. Served with a good script Arkin would have become an adequate Clouseau, but still not as funny or entertaining as Peter Sellers. This is like someone else trying to play Frank Spencer or Rigsby, from british television. Despite this Arkin is at times quite good for the film, wich does have its moments. But i suppose the lesson to be learned is if it aint broke dont fix it. If you haven't seen any other Clouseau movies then you will like this i am sure. Otherwise hunt down A shot in the Dark or The Pink Panther Strikes Again. A total waste!

I had always been a fan of Peter Sellers' Pink Panther movies. Alan Arkin, however, made an excellent Clouseau. Lots of great quotable lines and holds up under repeat viewing.Actually better than some of the later Peter Sellers versions.

I had always been a fan of Peter Sellers' Pink Panther movies. Alan Arkin, however, made an excellent Clouseau. Lots of great quotable lines and holds up under repeat viewing.Actually better than some of the later Peter Sellers versions.