The Mouse That Roared

"They're taking over the country in an invasion of laughs!"

1959 1h 23m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 149

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“They're taking over the country in an invasion of laughs!”

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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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jack Arnold
Writers: Roger MacDougall, Stanley Mann
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

67 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Duchy of Grand Fenwick Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Jack Arnold, shot by John Wilcox. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Edwin Astley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Raymond Poulton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Peter Sellers and Jean Seberg and William Hartnell carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jack Arnold directs. John Wilcox behind the camera. Edwin Astley scores. Raymond Poulton cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
267 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Part of the "Duchy of Grand Fenwick Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Jack Arnold, shot by John Wilcox. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Edwin Astley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Raymond Poulton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Peter Sellers and Jean Seberg and William Hartnell carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "They're taking over the country in an invasion of laughs!".
10IMDB entry: tt0053084 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: John Wilcox
Original score: Edwin Astley
Editing: Raymond Poulton
Makeup / hair: Stuart Freeborn
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Mouse That Roared (1959)

Part of

Duchy of Grand Fenwick Collection

The Mouse That Roared & The Mouse on the Moon

Also by

Jack Arnold

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-07-03
★ 7/10
Peter Sellars plays just about everyone in this light-hearted comedy about a tiny European Grand Duchy that comes up with a cunning plan to address it's shocking balance of trade problems. It decides to invade the United States! Armed with little more than halbards, helmets and lances, they sail into New work harbour and take the place unopposed. What's going on? They fully expected to be arrested so that would allow Prime Minister "Rupert of Mountjoy" (Sellars) to present the case of his Sovereign "Gloriana" (Sellars) to stop a Californian vineyard from flooding the market with their own cheap plonk version of the only product "Grand Fenwick" has to offer the world - wine! Well, as it happens they arrive just as the local citizenry are taking part in a mandatory nuclear drill and so the place is deserted. The plucky "Tully" (yep you've guessed) alights on a plan to capitalise on their advantage by kidnapping the acclaimed scientist "Kokintz" (David Kossoff) who is developing his mighty "Q-bomb" and getting back home. Once there, the little country finds itself the centre of global attention the likes of which has never been seen; everyone is terrified of this ticking contraption and "Tully" is entirely besotted with the professor's disgruntled daughter "Helen" (Jean Seberg). Two solutions seem equally possible - either "Grand Fenwick" is going to be the wealthiest country in the world - or, well, there just won't be a world! Sellars does well here but it's Kossoff who generates the best laughs as the eccentric boffin and Austin Willis also delivers quite entertainingly, if briefly, as the entirely befuddled US Defense Secretary. It's not exactly laugh out loud, but it's sheer preposterousness takes quite an enjoyable ping at the whole principle of weapons of mass destruction, of the big guy stepping on the little one and is quite good fun.

Production companies