Film Review--Inspector Clouseau

Inspector Clouseau
directed by Bud Yorkin
written by Tom Waldman, Frank Waldman
starring Alan Arkin, Frank Finlay, Delia Boccardo, Barry Foster, Patrick Cargill, Beryl Reid, Clive Francis


Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Arkin) is an iconic character who is wholly predictable in his inanity. He falls, trips, stumbles about and we respond when the pratfalls have a certain logic about them and when they are organic. In this film Arkin knows how to portray Clouseau as a hapless fool and he performs the requisite amount of lunatic posturing throughout. It’s impossible to compare him to Peter Sellers because he only had one stab at the character to which Sellers will forever be linked. Arkin manages to sell the brave yet hapless maneuverings of Clouseau with just a tad less self-awareness than Sellers which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The story as it goes involves a crime syndicate who have planned a series of major bank heists in and around London. They are mostly a faceless group of thugs but they do feature the dashing Johnny Rainbow (Francis) who definitely has the whole swingin’ London vibe down. He’s the cool face of youth deranged by the prospect of a massive cash influx that can buy a whole lot of Beatle boots. The gangsters are mostly a fiercely ugly bunch of cons but they do possess an ingenious plan that is part Bond and part Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Their operation is the most thrilling thing in the film and a proper use of technology for the sake of ill-gotten gains.

Clouseau finds himself suffocating under the heaving breasts of Mrs. Weaver (Reid). She’s a randy old coot and makes it plain she wants Clouseau to mount her and sing “Flower of Scotland” in a nasally twang. She forces him to go to a Scottish festival and practically wears him out. Then she coquettishly tries to seduce him while sitting in his lap. It’s a decidedly discomforting scene and one is relieved when he rolls her onto the floor and makes his escape. There is another scenes that work fairly well where Clouseau attempts to ease drop on the robbers. Instead he hears an old TV western where the characters are planning a major score. These two scenes generate a few laughs and are about as sophisticated as the film gets.

The film hinges on a scary thought, indeed. The crime syndicate has managed to make a copy of Clouseau’s face and have created thirteen masks out of the mold. In turn they rob banks city wide using the masks and of course Clouseau is implicated in all of them. But, Clouseau, despite himself, has tricks and knows without knowing what he knows. As always he manages to put the puzzle together without ever knowing there is a puzzle in front of him to be put together.

Arkin’s Clouseau is a non-stop atrocity arcade throughout this film. He manages to fall over just about everything in front of him and the results are always exceedingly dramatic and filled with great pablum. Essentially, it lacks the grace and elegance of the earlier work with Sellers but for what it is, it does possess its own unique brand of charm and it would be interesting to see Arkin with the opportunity to work with the character a few more times.

Alan Arkin is a bit ill-fitted but funny enough as Clouseau. He possesses the correct amount of energy and his body maneuvers and postures are spot on. He calls attention to himself more than Sellers through gestures, etc. but for the most part this is a fairly apt portrayal of Inspector Clouseau. Arkin possesses a button-up regularity which finds him more pent up than Sellers. He’s not as casual in his miscalculations and the result is a character who seems not to have the freedom of movement that defines the earlier versions.

Overall, this film lacks the choreography of the first two films and isn’t as immediately lunatic although Arkin does manage to upset the common order enough with his idiotic posturings. Arkin has a rought time of it stepping into the shoes of a comedic genius but he’s still impressive enough to at least ease the pressure of those tired old comparisons if but for a short while. The film offers up some nice, moderately amusing gags and Delia Boccardo is certainly easy on the eyes which is a necessity in these films. Ultimately, it isn’t quite up to par with the previous films but it’s a notch above some of the later work. It’s charming after a fashion and the characters are all sound and believable. There is less grace and style but Arkin keeps the momentum going throughout.