The Mouse That Roared

1959

Action / Comedy

7
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 74% · 21 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 74% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.9/10 10 10081 10.1K

new york city satire eastmancolor

Plot summary

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.

Director

Jack Arnold Photo
Jack Arnold

Top cast

Leo McKern Photo
Leo McKern as Benter
Monte Landis Photo
Monte Landis as Cobbley
Timothy Bateson Photo
Timothy Bateson as Roger
Eve Eden Photo
Eve Eden as Spectator
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
762.28 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 23 min
Seeds 4
1.38 GB
1920*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 23 min
Seeds 13

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ma-cortes 7 / 10

A tiny Duchy decides to wage war on the United States , lose and accept a generous aid

Peter Sellers show with his particular talent playing three different and funny roles. Fun film with amusing screenplay by Roger MacDougall & Stanley Mann , from the novel by Leonard Wibberley , being well directed by Jack Arnold . The Hilarious Story of How the Duchy of Grand Fenwick , a tiny European nation devises a foolproof method of filling its depleted treasury as declaring war on the U.S. and winning , but collects reparations from generous Americans . An impoverished backward nation declares a war on the United States of America, hoping to lose, but things don't go according to plan . They send an invasion army to New York commanded by Tully Bascombe (Peter Sellers commander of their medieval force) which arrives during a nuclear drill that has abandoned the streets . In the megalopolis they discover a scientist , Professor Alfred Kokintz (David Kossoff), with a special ultimate weapon that can destroy the Earth and they capture him along with his daughter (Jean Seberg). This is a funny and entertaining comedy with Peter Sellers as a real showman playing various characters . As Sellers acting as the scheming Prime Minister of Grand Fenwick, as the scheming Grand Duchess and as Tully Bascombe, commander of their medieval army . Sellers made this film in part as a means of emulating his intimate actor , Alec Guinness, by playing multiple roles in ¨Kind Hearts and Coronets¨ . Picture is a vehicle Peter Sellers , he's an authentic comic and real farceur . It's a pretty amusing farce with the master comic Sellers who displays efficiently his abilities. If you like Sellers's crazy interpretation ,you will most definitely enjoy this one . Colorful cinematography by John Wilcox , filmed in studios and on location as Marseilles and New York harbor sequences were filmed in Southampton, UK , the presence of the Queen Elizabeth ocean liner there was a lucky coincidence. The New York invasion sequence was filmed in Manhattan on a Sunday morning, accounting for the city's empty streets and good sets by production designer Geoffrey Drake . Atmospheric musical score by by Edwin Astley , among the musical quotations used in the film were excerpts from Felix Mendelssohn's "Hebrides Overture", "Rule Britannia", "A Life on the Ocean Waves", "Frankie and Johnnie", and a number of American marches . It is followed by a sequel ¨The mouse on the moon¨. This well-edited motion picture is compellingly directed by Jack Arnold in his best foray into the comedy genre. He reigns supreme as one of the greatest filmmakers of 50s science , achieving an important cult popularity with classics as "The Creature from the Black Lagoon," and its follow-up titled "Revenge of the Creature" that was a nice sequel . "Tarantula" was likewise a lot of amusement and of course "The Incredible Shrinking Man" attained his greatest enduring cult popularity , it's a thought-provoking and impressive classic that's lost none of its power throughout the years . Arnold's final two genre entries were the interesting "Monster on the Campus" and the outlandish "The Space Children¨ . In addition to his film work, Arnold also directed episodes of such TV shows .
Reviewed by runamokprods 7 / 10

Sweet, good natured political satire, with a farcical tone.

Sort of "Dr. Strangelove" without the deep, dark edge. Peter Sellers, brilliant as always - plays three roles (including a Duchess) as the smallest country in the world decides to declare war on the US, because a California company is imitating the prize wine of Grand Fenwick. Their express intent of losing the war instantly, and then get rebuilding funds from the US, as the Germans and Japanese did after WWII. But through a series of slightly creaky co-incidences, the Duchy of Grand Fenwick ends up winning, not losing. A genial and funny film, with some witty things to say about global politics, but also just a touch dopey at times.
Reviewed by arte-verme 6 / 10

An enjoyable,delightful comedy

This movie is about war.War in its funniest forms. Peter Sellers takes on three roles;Grand Duchess Gloriana X, Prime Minister Count Rupert of Mountjoy and Tully Bascombe.Each character is unique in its own way and none is despicable. Set in a world where nothing makes sense and lightly attached to reality,a small 15th century country declares war on the United States hoping to lose.This rather easy plan is thwarted when the country's naive field marshal wins the war. It's not quite a masterpiece,but if you're a fan of British comedy lead by its finest Peter Sellers,this movie is a great way to spend your evening and have a couple of laughs.
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