The Mouse That Roared (1959)

A minuscule European country of no importance finds itself bankrupt when the U.S. stops buying their only export: wine. The Prime Minister (Peter Sellers) devises a plan where their country will declare war on the U.S. and lose and thus be eligible for U.S. funds to rebuild their economy. But things don't go quite as planned when they win the war! Based on the novel by Leonard Wibberley and directed by Jack Arnold (CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON). This political satire is mildly amusing but its one joke premise quickly runs out of steam. Curiously, while not especially popular in England, the film was an art house hit in America and spawned a sequel, THE MOUSE ON THE MOON. Sellers gets an opportunity to show his talent for mimicry. In addition to the Prime Minister, he plays the country's Grand Duchess and the mild mannered game warden hero. It could have been a sharp and biting satire but instead, it's on the sweet and gentle side. With Jean Seberg in the ingenue role, Leo McKern, David Kossoff and William Hartnell.