Trail of the Pink Panther(1982)

In this entry in the Pink Panther series which serves as both a Pink Panther film and a tribute to series star Peter Sellars, the valuable Pink Panther diamond is once again stolen, and Inspector Clouseau is again assigned to recover the diamond (with footage of Sellars as Clouseau taken from previously filmed deleted scenes from other Pink Panther films).  Then, when a plane Clouseau is on is reported missing, reporter Marie Jouvet (Joanna Lumley) does a story on Clouseau’s disappearance, interviewing people who knew him closely, such as Chief Inspector Dreyfus, Sir Charles Litton, Lady Simone Litton, and Cato, Clouseau’s manservant (Herbert Lom, David Niven, Capucine, and Burt  Kwouk, respectively), who would also offer their memories of Clouseau (using footage from other Pink Panther movies).

And in the end, Marie Jouvet says at the end of her story about Clouseau that she refuses to believe that Clouseau is actually dead, and is out there, somewhere, waiting for the right time to return.  We then find Clouseau is still alive, enjoying the view of the sea, which is ruined when a seagull decides to take a dump on his shoulder.

The plotline about Clouseau’s disappearance and the theft of the Pink Panther diamond would be resolved in the next film, Curse of the Pink Panther, which was released 9 months later due to being filmed at the same time as Trail.

IMDB