Product Details

• Actors: Peter Sellers, Jean Seberg, William Hartnell, David Kossoff, Leo McKern
• Directors: Jack Arnold
• Writers: Leonard Wibberley, Roger MacDougall, Stanley Mann
• Producers: Jon Penington, Walter Shenson
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English, French
• Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click .
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: July 8, 2003
• Run Time: 83 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00009MEKJ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,973 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Mouse That Roared" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Peter Sellers, Jean Seberg. Sellers plays three roles in this elaborate satire about the Duchy of Grand Fenwick who tries to steer his tiny country clear of bankruptcy by declaring war on the U.S. 1959/color/83 min/NR/widescreen.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "How did the war go?" "I think we've won." July 14, 2005

By M. Hart

Format:DVD

In 1959, a hilarious Cold War-inspired film entitled "The Mouse that Roared" was produced about a fictional tiny country named "The Duchy of Grand Fenwick". Grand Fenwick is no ordinary country. First, it's the smallest country in the world (about 15 square miles). Second, it's the only English-speaking country in continental Europe (located in the French Alps). Third, it's primary source of revenue is its wine; which was quite popular in the United States until a Californian winery started to bottle a cheaper wine with a similar name to the Grand Fenwick wine. Several letters of protest had been sent to the U.S., but no response had ever been received, except from the U.S. Department of Agriculture about growing grapes. To prevent bankruptcy, Prime Minister Count Rupert Mountjoy (Peter Sellers, 1925-1980) makes an unusual suggestion to the Grand Fenwick Parliament: declare war on the United States, then immediately surrender so that the U.S. will provide bountiful amounts of monetary aid. Grand Duchess Gloriana XII (also played by Peter Sellers) doesn't initially like the idea of going to war, but she acquiesces and the Prime Minister Mountjoy calls upon the Grand Fendwick military Field Marshal, Tully Bascombe (again, played by Peter Sellers), to lead Grand Fendwick's 20 (or so) man army (wearing chain mail from the Middle Ages) to invade the U.S. in New York City, where they can surrender to U.S. immigration authorities. Grand Fendwick's Declaration of War is perceived initially as a prank in the U.S., which is more interested in the development of a new super bomb (dubbed the Q-bomb) by the well-known scientist Professor Alfred Kokintz (David Kossoff, 1919-2005), who is also in New York City. Due to the potential destructiveness of the Q-bomb, New York City is evacuated. So, when the Grand Fenwick army arrives, there is no one around for them to surrender to. Instead, they proceed into the emptied city and are misconstrued by some evacuation officials as being extraterrestrials because of their chain mail. When Tully happens across a newspaper, he realizes that they are not far from where Professor Kokintz is developing the Q-bomb and decides that surrender isn't necessarily the only available option. What follows is a complete shock to the entire world.

Even after 46 years, "The Mouse that Roared" is still a hilarious and very entertaining film, and Peter Sellers did a superb job of portraying three very different characters. Overall, I rate "The Mouse that Roared" with 5 out of 5 stars. Other memorable characters include Professor Kokintz's daughter Helen (Jean Seberg, 1938-1979), General Snippet (MacDonald Parke, 1891-1960), Will Buckley (William Hartnell, 1908-1975, who is better known for being the very first "Doctor Who" on the long-running BBC sci-fi TV series of the same name), Benter (Leo McKern, 1920-2002) and the United States Secretary of Defense (Austin Willis, 1917-2004).

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful Cold War satire October 23, 2005

By Michael J. Mazza HALL OF FAME

Format:DVD

"The Mouse That Roared," directed by Jack Arnold, is an entertaining satire about the fictional Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a tiny European monarchy which may remind viewers of such real countries as Liechtenstein or Monaco. With his country facing bankruptcy, the prime minister of Grand Fenwick announces his clever plan to declare war on the United States of America; his intent is to lose the absurdly uneven contest and reap the benefits of post-war American aid. But things don't go quite as expected.

"Mouse" opens with a whimsical animated title sequence that effectively sets the tone for the rest of the picture. This is followed by a funny faux-documentary sequence about the fictional duchy, and then by the actual story. The film is a splendid showcase for the great Peter Sellers, who plays three characters, all citizens of Grand Fenwick: the scheming prime minister, the venerable duchess, and the mild-mannered commander of the duchy's pitiable army. Sellers is absolutely brilliant; he creates three wonderfully distinct characters, and it's especially fun to see the scenes where these characters interact with each other. His performance(s) alone make the film a classic in my reckoning.

I found "Mouse" to be an enchanting and enjoyable film, full of absurd images and amusing lines. The marvelous sets, costumes, and props are full of wonderful details that make the film a delight for the eye from start to finish. And despite its comic tone, the film touches on some very serious issues that remain timely. I think of "Mouse" as a gentler cousin to the classic "Dr. Strangelove," another military satire that stars Peter Sellers in three different roles; together I think the films would make a great double feature.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good typical British comedy August 11, 2006

By Mike M. Malesevich

Format:DVD

I first saw this film more than twenty+ years ago, and having seen it now again, I am reminded how good comedy can be. This movie does not contain obscene language, nudity, animation or sophmoric humour. It was refreshing to see an 'intelligent' comedy. Granted there were some slapstick elements, but overall, I would rate this movie 'head and shoulders' above most comedy films currently produced.