The Mouse That Roared (1959)

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

Roger MacDougall (screenplay) &
Stanley Mann (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

November 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | War

Tagline:

The Hilarious 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, but things don't go according to plan.

Plot Keywords:

Cold War | Duchy Of Grand Fenwick | Scientist | Invasion | Satire

Cast

Peter Sellers	...	Grand Duchess Gloriana XII / Prime Minister Count Rupert of Mountjoy / Tully Bascombe
Jean Seberg	...	Helen Kokintz
William Hartnell	...	Will Buckley
David Kossoff	...	Doctor Alfred Kokintz
Leo McKern	...	Benter
MacDonald Parke	...	General Snippet
Austin Willis	...	United States Secretary of Defense
Timothy Bateson	...	Roger
Monte Landis	...	Cobbley (as Monty Landis)
Alan Gifford
Colin Gordon	...	BBC Announcer
Harold Kasket	...	Pedro
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wally Brown	...	Air Raid Warden in Physics Lab (uncredited)
Jacques Cey	...	Ticket Collector (uncredited)
Charles Clay	...	British Ambassador (uncredited)
Henry De Bray	...	French Ambassador (uncredited)
Guy Deghy	...	Soviet Ambassador (uncredited)
Bill Edwards	...	Army Captain (uncredited)
Richard Gatehouse	...	Mulligan (uncredited)
George Margo	...	O'Hara (uncredited)
Lionel Murton	...	American General at the Pentagon (uncredited)
Bill Nagy	...	U.S. Policeman (uncredited)
Robert O'Neill	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Stuart Saunders	...	Cunard Captain (uncredited)
Ken Stanley	...	Cunard Second Officer (uncredited)
Mavis Villiers	...	Telephone Operator (uncredited)

Directed by
Jack Arnold

Writing credits
Roger MacDougall		(screenplay) &
Stanley Mann		(screenplay)
Leonard Wibberley		(from the novel by)

Produced by
Jon Penington	....	associate producer
Walter Shenson	....	producer

Original Music by
Edwin Astley		(music composed by)

Cinematography by
John Wilcox		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Raymond Poulton

Art Direction by
Geoffrey Drake

Costume Design by
Anthony Mendleson

Makeup Department
Stuart Freeborn	....	makeup artist
Joyce James	....	hairdresser

Production Management
Leon Becker	....	production supervisor
James H. Ware	....	production manager (as James Ware)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Philip Shipway	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Red Law	....	sound
Richard Marden	....	sound editor
George Stephenson	....	sound

Special Effects by
Gerald Endler	....	mechanical effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Jack Cooper	....	stunts (uncredited)
Nosher Powell	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Austin Dempster	....	camera operator
John Winbolt	....	cameraman: second unit

Music Department
Edwin Astley	....	conductor

Other crew
Maurice Binder	....	title designer
Pamela Davies	....	continuity
Carl Foreman	....	presenter

Production Companies

• Highroad Productions (as A Highroad Picture)
• Open Road Films (II) (copyright owners)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1959) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1983) (USA) (video)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Video Ltd. (1986) (UK) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Eastman Color by Pathé)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-8 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #19205) | West Germany:12 | Sweden:Btl | Iceland:L | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Highroad Productions

Trivia:

The AFI online Catalog reports the showing of this film, "The Mouse That Roared (1959)," to diplomats in Geneva, Switzerland on 23 May 1959. There was no mention of the circumstances of the showing.

Goofs:

Continuity: The narrator tells us that the mock version of Grand Fenwick's wine drove the real wine out of the U.S. market in 1959. A news announcer later reports the score of the last game of the 1958 World Series.

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:

Frankie and Johnny

I guess that the threat of nuclear annihilation always made for some great comedy with Peter Sellers in multiple roles!

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.