The Mouse That Roared (film)
[4] It stars Peter Sellers in three roles: Duchess Gloriana XII; Count Rupert Mountjoy, the Prime Minister; and Tully Bascomb, the military leader; and co-stars Jean Seberg.The contingent of 20 soldiers, in medieval chain mail uniform, travel across the Atlantic on a small merchant ship, arriving in New York Harbor during an air-raid drill that leaves the city deserted and undefended.[14] A studio reproduction of the ocean liner’s bridge, plus a brief scene with actors posing as captain and first mate reacting to the fusillade, combined with the footage of the Queen Elizabeth, emerges as an organic element of the comedy rather than improvisation.[16] Peter Sellers, who was popular in Great Britain as a comedian and drummer, but largely unknown in the United States, was selected to perform three of the leading characters in the film: Duchess Gloriana XII, Prime Minister Count Rupert Mountjoy and Tully Bascombe.The comic alteration of the logo material technically constituted a violation of their trademark, although it was a studio release by the legal owner, Columbia Pictures Corporation.[3] Director Jack Arnold reports that the American premier, debuting at New York’s Trans-Lux and Loew’s 84th St. theatres, received overwhelming audience approval.This is mainly because the script ... distributes its ironic, malicious, slightly gruesome humour with such vigour and naive impartiality that the film is certain, for at least part of the time, to be greatly enjoyed."[22] The New York Times in its October 27, 1959 edition called the picture “a rambunctious satiric comedy.”:[23] We’ve got to hand it to Roger MacDougall and Stanley Mann, who wrote the script; to Jack Arnold who directed, and to all the people who play in this lively jape.They whip up a lot of cheerful nonsense that makes fun of the awesome instruments of war and does so in terms of social burlesque and sheer Mack Sennett farce.[29] Biographer and film critic Dana M. Reemes describes Arnold’s development of the proposed “half-hour color comedy series”:[30] The production was a fairly elaborate affair, including the creation of the fictional Grand Duchy of Fenwick, its costumed inhabitants, a U.N.Assembly set, and animated titles by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...at a time when American television comedy generally avoided serious satire, Arnold hoped the series might break new ground by tackling controversial subjects in the various episodes.