THE MOUSE THAT ROARED (1959) ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢
D: Jack Arnold
Peter Sellers, Jean Seberg, William Hartnell,
David Kossoff, Leo McKern, Austin Willis
The tiny and impoverished Duchy of Grand Fenwick declares war on the United States and sends over an invasion force of 20 men wearing chain mail and armed with bows and arrows, the idea being that they'll lose the war and then cash in on American foreign aid. Inexplicably, they win, and come into the possession of an experimental bomb that could wipe out half the planet. A loony, low-key satire on the nuclear arms race, a prototype of "Dr. Strangelove" (but more warm-hearted), with Peter Sellers, coincidentally, in three roles. Maybe it's just me, but watch the scene in the conference room at the Pentagon, and see if one of the generals at the table doesn't remind you a little of Jimmy Stewart.
