Classic Movie Reviews #1: The Mouse That Roared
When I watch old movies, I find it impossible to appreciate them on the same level as they were appreciated when they were first released. For example, when I saw Citizen Kane for the first time, I knew from the beginning who Rosebud was through cultural osmosis. Imagine future generations watching the ending to The Sixth Sense and saying, "Duh, of course I saw that coming."
And so that's how it was when I watched The Mouse That Roared, a Cold War relic from 1959, directed by Jack Arnold. The film centers on the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a tiny country in the French Alps, faced with looming bankruptcy. The prime minister (played by Peter Sellers), convinces the Grand Duchess (also played by Sellers) that the key to solving their nation's problem is to declare war on the United States and promptly surrender. Thus, Grand Fenwick can reap the rewards of America's generous nation building, just as Germany benefited from the Marshall Plan. They send a group of about 20 archers, led by the country's bumbling military leader, Tully (Sellers again) to invade New York City.
Even though I was unfamiliar with the plot, I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen. Of course the tiny army was going to win the war by accident. Of course Tully was going to get the girl. (Oh, Jean Seberg, why did you wear your hair so short?) And of course there had to be a message about nuclear disarmament. Sure Sellers is entertaining playing three different people, but not quite as good as he would be playing three different people in Dr. Strangelove.
And yet, I really enjoyed this film. Sure, the film is very dated, and the political satire doesn't pack the punch it once had. For example, when a French border guard meets one of the "prisoners," he expounds on how much he loves the American people. (Gone are those days.) There are several cracks about Soviet Russia and Red China. The ever present "Q-bomb" seemed a bit much for me. (Peter Sellers with a doomsday device--where have I seen that before?) And I loved the group of foreign enemies playing the Monopoly style game of Dimplomacy. ("I bomb Pittsburgh." "I win Saudi Arabia!") Of course, all of this is part of the film's nostalgic charm. Hollywood won't make a political satire like this again.
My rating: four stars out of five.
And so that's how it was when I watched The Mouse That Roared, a Cold War relic from 1959, directed by Jack Arnold. The film centers on the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a tiny country in the French Alps, faced with looming bankruptcy. The prime minister (played by Peter Sellers), convinces the Grand Duchess (also played by Sellers) that the key to solving their nation's problem is to declare war on the United States and promptly surrender. Thus, Grand Fenwick can reap the rewards of America's generous nation building, just as Germany benefited from the Marshall Plan. They send a group of about 20 archers, led by the country's bumbling military leader, Tully (Sellers again) to invade New York City.
Even though I was unfamiliar with the plot, I had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen. Of course the tiny army was going to win the war by accident. Of course Tully was going to get the girl. (Oh, Jean Seberg, why did you wear your hair so short?) And of course there had to be a message about nuclear disarmament. Sure Sellers is entertaining playing three different people, but not quite as good as he would be playing three different people in Dr. Strangelove.
And yet, I really enjoyed this film. Sure, the film is very dated, and the political satire doesn't pack the punch it once had. For example, when a French border guard meets one of the "prisoners," he expounds on how much he loves the American people. (Gone are those days.) There are several cracks about Soviet Russia and Red China. The ever present "Q-bomb" seemed a bit much for me. (Peter Sellers with a doomsday device--where have I seen that before?) And I loved the group of foreign enemies playing the Monopoly style game of Dimplomacy. ("I bomb Pittsburgh." "I win Saudi Arabia!") Of course, all of this is part of the film's nostalgic charm. Hollywood won't make a political satire like this again.
My rating: four stars out of five.