The Mouse That Roared (1959)

This is one of those eye-catching titles that I'd seen many times before bothering to find out what they meant. The combination of Peter Sellers and a middling IMDb rating didn't seem promising for my laughs, but at least it was sure to be lighthearted.

A fictitious, tiny, backward European nation, the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, has put all its eggs in one basket by selling pinot to the U.S. When sales drop calamitously and no one takes protest letters seriously, the prime minister (Sellers) advises the duchess (Sellers in drag) to "go to war" and "lose," because the U.S. is uniquely generous to former enemies. They send 20 "troops" led by game warden Tully (Sellers still) to New York City with instructions to surrender at the first opportunity. But they arrive at an unusual scenario: Most New Yorkers are underground for an air raid drill, and the few who aren't include General Snippet (MacDonald Parke), eccentric physicist Dr. Kokintz (David Kossoff), his beautiful daughter Helen (Jean Seberg)...and Dr. Kokintz's way-too-insecure prototype of the world's most powerful bomb. Tully decides to pursue victory after all, to the dismay of superiors....

No surprise that the DVD includes a trailer for Dr. Strangelove. What we have here is part that and part The Producers, debuting years ahead of either. For good measure, the bomb is shaped like an American football, evoking a political metaphor. There's also a subplot of people mistaking the invaders for aliens because of their archaic uniforms. I know it was a paranoid era, but sheesh.

It's pretty rare that a British comedy finds more love overseas than in its native land. In this case, I think the themes just spoke more to American sentiments. And perhaps Brits weren't keen on seeing yet another breakaway nation.

Alas, one element was problematic then and is certainly no more appreciated now: Tully's overly aggressive courtship of Helen -- and her reception thereof. He forces a kiss at a rotten moment with no great buildup, yet the romantic music swells and she suddenly warms up to him. Audiences were later forgiving of this sort of thing with James Bond, but Tully doesn't have nearly the same persona. Indeed, it's hard to find anything admirable about him besides initiative. Foolish, clumsy wimps are endearing only when sweet.

The other somewhat controversial point is that Grand Fenwick's official and military moves, profitable or not, are hard to justify morally. At least the characters repeatedly make note of this. And it's not like justice consistently prevails in RL politics.

I'm content to let this be the last picture I see with Sellers in multiple roles. It's not his best, but neither is it his worst.