The Mouse That Roared

The Mouse That Roared. 1959 Columbia Pictures.
Starring: Peter Sellers, Jean Seberg, William Hartnell, David Kossoff, Leo McKern
Director: Jack Arnold
Amazon.com listing (currently unavailable).

Evidentally, this mouse is so frightening that it frightened Columbia's torch lady off of her pedestal.

A small European duchy called Grand Fenwick relies solely on wine manufacturing to sustain its economy. When an American company starts marketing its own homemade brand of the fabled Grand Fenwick wine, this threatens to bankrupt the tiny republic. Prime Minister Count Mountjoy (Sellers) has a brilliant idea: declare war on the United States, a plan which Grand Duchess Gloriana (Sellers again) is hesitant to sign off on. Mountjoy explains that his plan is to lose to the U.S., then rely on American foreign aid to escape bankruptcy. Military officer Tully Bascombe (Sellers once more) leads his small Grand Fenwick army, dressed in Holy Grail-esque armor and armed with crossbows as they board a boat and set sail for America.

Bascombe and his men land in New York City at a rare time: when literally everyone is off the streets due to a scheduled air raid drill. Manhattan is deserted, and Grand Fenwick's men are mistaken for Martians by those who do see them. Bascombe meets Professor Alfred Kokintz (Kossoff) and his inevitable love interest, Helen Kokintz (Seberg). Professor Kokintz is making a doomsday device called the "Q-Bomb", which could quite literally destroy the entire world, and after Bascombe finds this out, he quickly captures the Kokintzs as well as the bomb, and brings them back to Grand Fenwick.

Yes, Grand Fenwick has won. Precisely what they weren't supposed to do. Their victory may be short-lived, as all of the world's powers are making their way to the tiny republic wanting to claim that Q-Bomb for themselves.

This movie was based on Leonard Wibberley's comic novel of the same name, with as always, a few creative liberties taken during the book's adaptation to the screen. Highly recommended political satire, and the sequel, The Mouse on the Moon, will be reviewed later tonight. Fair warning, though: no Peter Sellers in the next movie.