Trail of the Pink Panther series regulars include Herbert Lom as Chief Inspector Dreyfus, Graham Stark as Hercule LaJoy (last seen in the 1964 Pink Panther film "A Shot in the Dark"), Burt Kwouk as Clouseau's faithful man servant Cato and André Maranne as Sgt. François Chevalier. "Trail" featured the animated opening and closing credits, animated by Marvel Productions and written and directed by Art Leonardi. 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'
Inspector Clouseau Christie. In his earliest appearances, Clouseau is slightly less inept and exaggerated; but in his first appearance he believes himself a skilled violinist, but plays out of tune, and often appears clumsy at his moments of highest dignity. Jacques Clouseau makes his first appearance as the Inspector in the 1963 film "The Pink Panther", which was released in the United States in March 1964. In this movie, the main focus was on David Niven's role as Sir Charles Lytton, the infamous jewel thief nicknamed "the Phantom", and his plan to steal the Pink Panther diamond; while the Clouseau character plays