The Mouse That Roared (1959)

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

Roger MacDougall (writer)
Stanley Mann (writer)

Release Date:

26 October 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The Hilarous Story of How the Duchy of Grand Fenwick Waged War on the U.S. - and Won

Plot:

An impoverished backward nation declares a war on the United States of America, hoping to lose.

Plot Keywords:

Cold War | Duchy Of Grand Fenwick | Invasion | Satire | Imaginary Kingdom

Cast

Peter Sellers	...	Grand Duchess Gloriana XII / Prime Minister Count Rupert Mountjoy / Tully Bascombe
Jean Seberg	...	Helen Kokintz
William Hartnell	...	Will Buckley
David Kossoff	...	Professor Alfred Kokintz
Leo McKern	...	Benter
MacDonald Parke	...	General Snippet
Austin Willis	...	United States Secretary of Defense
Timothy Bateson	...	Roger
Monte Landis	...	Cobbley
Alan Gifford
Colin Gordon	...	BBC Announcer
Harold Kasket	...	Pedro

Also Known As:

The Day New York Was Invaded (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-8 | UK:U | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Open Road

Trivia:

Peter Sellers made this film in part as a means of emulating his hero, Alec Guinness, by playing multiple roles in one movie.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the Queen Elizabeth encounters the ship carrying the Grand Fenwick troops returning from New York, the ship's officer calls "ship off the port bow." In the next shot, the troop ship is shown off the Queen Elizabeth's starboard bow.

Quotes:

General Snippet: I warn you, madam - I know the entire Geneva Convention by heart!
Grand Duchess Gloriana: Oh, how nice! You must recite it for me some evening; I play the harpsichord.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Romeo and Juliet Love Theme

Light, charming

Yes, the "joke" is rather a truism: declare war on the US, lose and then collect the massive foreign aid we always send... Peter Sellers has fun in his several roles, along with a cast of strong supporting actors. The standard "pretty blonde" is Jean Seberg -- who seems not to know what she's doing in this role: comedy was not the lady's strongpoint.

Yet there is something very gentle and charming that moves this film along. I suppose that little something could very well be that the "bottom line" for the tiny country was world peace... Not a bad concept.

Worth watching.