Inspector Clouseau of the character. The film also introduces two of the series regular characters: his superior, Commissioner Dreyfus (Herbert Lom), who is driven mad by Clouseau's blundering of the investigation; and his long-suffering Chinese man servant, Cato (Burt Kwouk), who is expected to improve Clouseau's martial arts skills by attacking him at random. Sellers stepped away from playing the character following this movie, but returned in "The Return of the Pink Panther" (1975) and its sequels. When the character returned for the film "Inspector Clouseau" (1968), he was portrayed by American actor Alan Arkin; Edwards was not involved in this production.
The Pink Panther Niven and Capucine reprise their original roles from the first Pink Panther film. "Trail" was a critical and commercial failure. Inspector Clouseau and the Pink Panther diamond, both of which had gone missing in "Trail," are pursued by a bungling American detective, Sgt. Clifton Sleigh (Ted Wass). Clouseau returns, after having plastic surgery to disguise his identity, in a cameo played by Roger Moore (who is credited as Turk Thrust II). Although intended to spawn a new series of misadventures for Sergeant Sleigh, the film's dismal box-office performance and critical drubbing led to a decade-long hiatus of the series. Blake