The Mouse That Roared

Name: The Mouse That Roared
Genre: Comedy
Released: 17 Jul 1959
Rating: 6.30
Cast: Peter Sellers, Jean Seberg, William Hartnell, David Kossoff, Leo McKern

The Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides that the only way to get out of their economic woes is to declare war on the United States, lose and accept foreign aid. They send an invasion force (in chain mail, armed with bows and arrows) to New York and they arrive during a nuclear drill that has cleared the streets.

Year: 1959

Genre: Comedy

Studio: Highroad Productions, Open Road Films

Director: Jack Arnold

Cast: Peter Sellers, Jean Seberg, William Hartnell, David Kossoff, Leo McKern, MacDonald Parke

Crew: Jack Arnold (Director), Leonard Wibberley (Novel), Roger MacDougall (Screenplay), Edwin Astley (Original Music Composer), John Wilcox (Director of Photography), Raymond Poulton (Editor)

Runtime: 83 minutes

Release: Jul 17, 1959

IMDb: 6.30/10 by 120 users

Popularity: 1

Country: United Kingdom

Language: English

Budget: 0

Revenue: 0

Keyword : new york city, satire

Comment

CinemaSerf 2024, Jul 04

Peter Sellars plays just about everyone in this light-hearted comedy about a tiny European Grand Duchy that comes up with a cunning plan to address it's shocking balance of trade problems. It decides to invade the United States! Armed with little more than halbards, helmets and lances, they sail into New work harbour and take the place unopposed. What's going on? They fully expected to be arrested so that would allow Prime Minister "Rupert of Mountjoy" (Sellars) to present the case of his Sovereign "Gloriana" (Sellars) to stop a Californian vineyard from flooding the market with their own cheap plonk version of the only product "Grand Fenwick" has to offer the world - wine! Well, as it happens they arrive just as the local citizenry are taking part in a mandatory nuclear drill and so the place is deserted. The plucky "Tully" (yep you've guessed) alights on a plan to capitalise on their advantage by kidnapping the acclaimed scientist "Kokintz" (David Kossoff) who is developing his mighty "Q-bomb" and getting back home. Once there, the little country finds itself the centre of global attention the likes of which has never been seen; everyone is terrified of this ticking contraption and "Tully" is entirely besotted with the professor's disgruntled daughter "Helen" (Jean Seberg). Two solutions seem equally possible - either "Grand Fenwick" is going to be the wealthiest country in the world - or, well, there just won't be a world! Sellars does well here but it's Kossoff who generates the best laughs as the eccentric boffin and Austin Willis also delivers quite entertainingly, if briefly, as the entirely befuddled US Defense Secretary. It's not exactly laugh out loud, but it's sheer preposterousness takes quite an enjoyable ping at the whole principle of weapons of mass destruction, of the big guy stepping on the little one and is quite good fun.