7.0/10
6,829
69 user 24 critic

Die Maus, die brüllte (1959)

The Mouse That Roared (original title)
Trailer
2:30 | Trailer

On Disc

at Amazon

An impoverished backward nation declares a war on the United States of America, hoping to lose, but things don't go according to plan.

Director:

Writers:

(screenplay) (as Roger Macdougall), (screenplay) | 1 more credit »
Reviews
Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Comedy | Romance | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

A tiny country persuades the Americans and Soviets that they're starting a space program, when they really just want some money for new plumbing.

Director: Richard Lester
Stars: Margaret Rutherford, Ron Moody, Bernard Cribbins
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

A naive aristocrat in search of a career becomes caught up in the struggles between his profit-minded uncle and an aggressive labour union.

Director: John Boulting
Stars: Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

A former British colony in dire need of economic aid tries to play the British against the Soviets in an attempt to secure economic aid from either side in return for political loyalty.

Directors: Roy Boulting, Jeffrey Dell
Stars: Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Luciana Paluzzi
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A minister is accidentally appointed to a snobbish parish.

Directors: John Boulting, Roy Boulting
Stars: Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker, Isabel Jeans
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Dodger Lane (Peter Sellers) has planned the perfect robbery while in prison. He intends to break out of prison, steal a fortune in diamonds, and break back into prison before anyone notices... See full summary »

Director: Robert Day
Stars: Peter Sellers, David Lodge, Bernard Cribbins
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

Angela Barrows, an accomplished business analyst from the US, attempts to contemporize the late MacPherson's tweed manufacture, shaking the very foundation of a men-only company.

Director: Charles Crichton
Stars: Peter Sellers, Robert Morley, Constance Cummings
Comedy | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

A thirty-something square falls in love with a hippie and decides to "drop out" himself.

Director: Hy Averback
Stars: Peter Sellers, Jo Van Fleet, Leigh Taylor-Young
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.8/10 X  

A young American girl at a French boarding school develops a crush on an egotistical sculptor living next door. One night, driving in a drunken stupor, he runs over and kills a man, and she witnesses it.

Directors: Fabien Collin, François Moreuil
Stars: Jean Seberg, Christian Marquand, Françoise Prévost
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

A very British comedy about a blackmailer and his victims.

Director: Mario Zampi
Stars: Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Peggy Mount
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

Abandoned by her lover Philippe, Michèle, a Parisian fashion designer, tries to kill herself. She is saved by her doctor and Ann, a young American nurse, who takes up residence in Michèle's apartment to keep an eye on her patient.

Director: Jean Valère
Stars: Jean Seberg, Maurice Ronet, Micheline Presle
Hoffman (1970)
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

A businessman blackmails his attractive young secretary into spending a weekend with him. Though he's a creep throughout, he gradually emerges as a sympathetic character.

Director: Alvin Rakoff
Stars: Peter Sellers, Sinéad Cusack, Ruth Dunning
Mr. Topaze (1961)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

Mr. Topaze ('Peter Sellers') is an unassuming school teacher in an unassuming small French town who is honest to a fault. He is fired when he refuses to give a passing grade to a bad ... See full summary »

Director: Peter Sellers
Stars: Peter Sellers, Nadia Gray, Herbert Lom
Edit

Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
...
Helen Kokintz
...
Will Buckley
...
...
MacDonald Parke ...
General Snippet (as Macdonald Parke)
Austin Willis ...
United States Secretary of Defense
...
Roger
Monte Landis ...
Cobbley (as Monty Landis)
Alan Gifford ...
Air Raid Warden
...
BBC Announcer
Harold Kasket ...
Pedro
Edit

Storyline

The Duchy of Grand Fenwick, the smallest country in the world, is nestled in the French Alps. Being as isolated as it is, its life is a throwback to olden days. It is a happy, peace-loving country. Its economy solely rests on export of its only wine, Pinot Grand Fenwick, to the US. When a California vintner starts producing and selling a knock-off of the Pinot Grand Fenwick at a lower price, the Grand Fenwick economy goes into a crisis situation, the country on the brink of bankruptcy. Three protests to the US go largely unanswered. Grand Fenwick's Prime Minister, Rupert of Mountjoy, believes the solution is to declare war on the US, and promptly lose the war in less than a day with no casualties on either side, after which the US, which it has historically done, will provide vast financial aide to rebuild the country. Grand Fenwick's monarch, the Grand Duchess Gloriana XII, ultimately supports this concept. The plan is to send an official declaration of war to the US, have a small ... Written by Huggo

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

The Hilarious Story of How the Duchy of Grand Fenwick Waged War on the U.S. - and Won See more »

Genres:

Comedy

Certificate:

12 | See all certifications »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

9 October 1959 (West Germany)  »

Also Known As:

El rugido del ratón  »

Box Office

Budget:

$450,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Westrex Recording System)

Color:

(Eastman Color)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Grand Fenwick is ruled by Duchess Gloriana XII, said to be still in mourning for her consort "Count Leopold of Bosnia Herzegovina". The country of Bosnia and Herzegovina had not existed as an independent nation since 1918, and at the time of filming in 1959 was absorbed within the Republic of Yugoslavia, then under Communist rule. It is likely many people who saw the film thought "Bosnia Herzegovina" was as fictitious as Grand Fenwick. But Bosnia and Herzegovina was reconstituted as an independent sovereign nation after the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992, 33 years after the film's release. See more »

Goofs

When the General is left alone with the bomb in the speeding car, a rope is clearly visible trailing behind the car as it begins the descent. See more »

Quotes

Tulley Bascombe: There isn't a more profitable undertaking for any country than to declare war on the United States and to be defeated.
See more »

Crazy Credits

The Columbia lady (played by a live actress) runs out of the logo when a mouse enters the scene. Her torch, and its electric cord, are left behind hanging from the ceiling. The scene runs in reverse in the end credits. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Call the Midwife - Ruf des Lebens: Episode #3.2 (2014) See more »

Soundtracks

Caisson Song
(1907) (uncredited)
(also called "The Caissons Go Rolling Along")
Written by Edmund L. Gruber
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
I guess that the threat of nuclear annihilation always made for some great comedy with Peter Sellers in multiple roles!
27 September 2005 | by (Portland, Oregon, USA) – See all my reviews

Any film buff remembers Peter Sellers playing three roles in the Cold War comedy "Dr. Strangelove". Well, "The Mouse That Roared" was a sort of prequel to that.

A tiny, backwards nation on France's Mediterranean coast has no way of moving forward economically. So, the queen and prime minister (both played by Sellers) make a decision: the country will declare war on the United States, lose, and collect foreign aid. There's just one problem: when they arrive in New York, there's no one around - the threat of nuclear annihilation has driven everyone into hiding. The army decides that this calls for drastic measures - with hilarious results.

Some people might say: "If you've seen one zany comedy, you've seen 'em all." Be that as it may, you've still gotta see "TMTR". It's just so funny. And one scene that's likely to open any teenage boy's eyes is when Peter Sellers walks into Jean Seberg's room and she's...well, I won't spoil it for you, but I will assert that it seems like it would have been risqué for 1959. Classic.


18 of 20 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Columbia Girl dave-gilblom
Favourite Sellers Film Olga_baikova
The 1958 World Series nelson95
Sequel shanmary
It lost me when.... frightwig71
Uncredited Actress... Furb
Discuss Die Maus, die brüllte (1959) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?