Any film buff remembers Peter Sellers playing three roles in the Cold War comedy "Dr. Strangelove". Well, "The Mouse That Roared" was a sort of prequel to that.
A tiny, backwards nation on France's Mediterranean coast has no way of moving forward economically. So, the queen and prime minister (both played by Sellers) make a decision: the country will declare war on the United States, lose, and collect foreign aid. There's just one problem: when they arrive in New York, there's no one around - the threat of nuclear annihilation has driven everyone into hiding. The army decides that this calls for drastic measures - with hilarious results.
Some people might say: "If you've seen one zany comedy, you've seen 'em all." Be that as it may, you've still gotta see "TMTR". It's just so funny. And one scene that's likely to open any teenage boy's eyes is when Peter Sellers walks into Jean Seberg's room and she's...well, I won't spoil it for you, but I will assert that it seems like it would have been risqué for 1959. Classic.
The Mouse That Roared
1959
Action / Comedy
The Mouse That Roared
1959
Action / Comedy
Plot summary
The Duchy of Grand Fenwick, the smallest country in the world, is nestled in the French Alps. Being as isolated as it is, its life is a throwback to olden days. It is a happy, peace-loving country. Its economy solely rests on export of its only wine, Pinot Grand Fenwick, to the US. When a California vintner starts producing and selling a knock-off of the Pinot Grand Fenwick at a lower price, the Grand Fenwick economy goes into a crisis situation, the country on the brink of bankruptcy. Three protests to the US go largely unanswered. Grand Fenwick's Prime Minister, Rupert of Mountjoy, believes the solution is to declare war on the US, and promptly lose the war in less than a day with no casualties on either side, after which the US, which it has historically done, will provide vast financial aide to rebuild the country. Grand Fenwick's monarch, the Grand Duchess Gloriana XII, ultimately supports this concept. The plan is to send an official declaration of war to the US, have a small army of approximately twenty sail from Marseilles to New York City, and the army immediately surrendering when they can't enter the US without visas anyway. Although seen as a hapless man, the person to lead the mission is Tully Bascombe, who inherited the roles of Grand Fenwick's head forest ranger, head field marshal and grand constable of the armed forces, which still uses longbows and arrows as their weapon. The Prime Minister and Duchess believe that even Tully cannot screw up losing the war. But things do not go according to plan, due largely to the US official receiving the declaration believing it to be a gag, and events happening in New York City the day the army arrives leading to the army having no one to surrender to. Things take a further turn when Tully believes that they can actually win the war by kidnapping Doctor Alfred Kokintz and his q-bomb - which is exponentially more deadly than the h-bomb - which he is developing for the US. This move by Tully leads to an all-out global crisis. In the process, they need to also kidnap Kokintz's daughter, Helen Kokintz, with who Tully falls in love, but who sees in Tully solely a criminal. Even the greatest diplomatic minds may not be able to figure a way out of this crisis, especially with Tully on the scene.
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I guess that the threat of nuclear annihilation always made for some great comedy with Peter Sellers in multiple roles!
When one role isn't enough
THE MOUSE THAT ROARED is your stock Peter Sellers comedy of the era, featuring the star in numerous roles (apparently in a tribute to Alec Guinness in KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS). I have to say that I'm not a big fan of Sellers and I find his overstated style of acting quite dated; he always seemed to play it mannered, larger-than-life, and quite irritating. It's a pity, as the political storyline is a decent one, following the misfortunes of a small, made-up country as the declare war on America, hoping to lose and subsequently benefit from that country's foreign aid scheme. Of course, things don't go exactly according to plan. The story is well paced and the political satire is spot on, and the supporting cast can't be faulted (with the exception of the wooden Jean Seberg). But something didn't quite 'gel' with me on this one, and I have to say that I didn't find it particularly funny.
Fenwick, the guarantor of peace in our times
The Mouse That Roared is a delightful combination of Jonathan Swift like satire and Marx Brothers like anarchy. You can see traces of Gulliver's Travels and Duck Soup in this very funny film that was the first real starring roles for Peter Sellers.
The tiny Duchy of Fenwick founded by a British lord is buried deep somewhere in the Swiss Alps and it's the only spot in the geography of Switzerland where English is the primary language. Nothing much has changed since the 14th century there. In fact a lot of the natives look very much like Peter Sellers because Sir Roger Fenwick more than George Washington who by all accounts shot blanks was truly the father of his country. In fact if genetic science is true a whole lot of inbreeding should have made the populace look like the Deliverance cast.
Instead several look like Peter Sellers and Sellers does an incredible job playing the Grand Duchess, the Prime Minister, and the Field Marshal of Fenwick. Sellers is magnificent in all three roles and all three roles are distinct characters, he's not just doing variations on himself.
Fenwick has a one crop economy, its special blended wine and some California outfit like Gallo is putting out an ersatz imitation and the economy is going to tank. The solution declare war on the USA and apply for the foreign aid that they missed after World War II when so many countries got it from Uncle Sam.
Field Marshal Sellers puts together a Fenwick Army of about two dozen or so and they take a French freighter from Marseilles and invade America. They are armed with the latest state of the art weaponry and uniforms from the 14th century, longbows and chain mail armor. And through a wild combination of circumstances they capture the ultimate weapon the Q Bomb and its inventor David Kossoff and his daughter Jean Seberg and take it back to Fenwick where Fenwick assumes status of a superpower.
I have to make mention of William Hartnell who spent more times in the British barracks as a tough sergeant major that he should have qualified for veteran's benefits. He takes that same character he perfected and transforms it to medieval times. Hartnell is good, he has to be because Field Marshal Sellers isn't exactly the most military of men.
I do so love the recreation of the Duchy of Fenwick, the makers of this film actually anticipated some kind of Renaissance Fair that later caught on and have become so popular.
With satire that holds up so well today, The Mouse That Roared can be seen and enjoyed for centuries into the future.