The Mouse That Roared

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

 

The title of this farcical satire, The Mouse That Roared (1959), refers to the smallest nation in the world, the Duchy of Fenwick, located on the Swiss-French border, which is a technologically unevolved nation. It is oblivious to the current events that are occurring on the rest of the planet. It becomes, through a series of ridiculous events, the most powerful country, and the film uses the story to ridicule the arms race, the destructive tendencies of the large governments of the world, and in particular the foreign policies of the United States.

 

We know we are in for a crazy time when the Columbia Studio’s trademark, the woman holding a torch, is disturbed by a mouse under her dress, a metaphor for how the mighty can’t seem to handle the unexpected disruption of something that should not be a threat. The credits present opposing images and sounds, such as a small boat and then an ocean liner, and an animated rodent that surprises itself as it roars like a lion. These humorous contrasts stress the theme of how the mighty can somehow be unexpectedly vulnerable to something seemingly insignificant. The opening narration comically requires a magnifying glass to locate Fenwick, pointing out its supposed insignificance. It was a British colony, suggesting English imperialism, making it the only country in Europe that uses English (which also makes the movie accessible for American and United Kingdom audiences). It is a rustic, backward place, with old automobiles and residents using manual labor while wearing clothes that look like they came out of Medieval times. 

 The ruler is the Grand Duchess Gloriana XII (Peter Sellers, in one of his multi-character portrayals). She waves her hand like Queen Elizabeth II as she drives her antiquated car, possibly a jab at the outdated royal ruling class in England. There is also a parliament, as there is in Great Britain, and the Prime Minister is Count Rupert of Mountjoy (a sexual reference or haughty last name? Also, played by Sellers). The country's forest is supervised by Tully Bascomb (yes, Sellers again). He is an incompetent having been caught is his own trap as a staring fox remains free, ironic for a guy who is supposed to take care of the woods. This image adds to the reversal of what would be expected to happen. 

 

The Fenwick army consists of men in chainmail using longbows, an anachronism in the nuclear age, but also much less of a threat to others. Tully supervises the men, and when he uses a bow, the arrow splits the wood frame before it can even be launched. It’s a visual that Woody Allen might use later to show ineptitude. 

 

The country’s source of economic success is its wine, Pinot Grand Fenwick, and the inhabitants make it the old-fashioned way, of course, by stomping on grapes in large vats. The United States has been its primary buyer. But, then a California winemaker manufactured a knockoff of the beverage, called it unscrupulously “Pinot Grand Enwick,” and used the capitalist tools of “vast advertising” and discounted pricing, which ended Fenwick’s wine selling in America. So, the affluent United States has such power that it can make or break tiny sovereignties, driving them into economic crises.

 

Fenwick’s protests to the U. S. have been ignored, so Rupert says that the only way out is to declare war on the United States. But the plan is not to win, which is impossible, but to lose. He says, “There isn’t a more profitable undertaking for any country than to declare war on the United States and to be defeated … the Americans pour in food, machinery, clothing, technical aid, and lots and lots of money, “to the defeated country. He declares that shortly they will be “rehabilitated beyond our wildest dreams.” The film here satirizes the American desire for war followed by its wielding economic influence over its former enemies. Of course the policy, though overly expensive, is to win the defeated over so they can become future allies. Rupert suggests that Tully will lead their small band of twenty men, but the parliamentary opposition leader, David Bentner (Leo McKern) lists Tully’s multiple failings, such as “flat feet, sinus, migraine and claustrophobia” problems. He also is “nearsighted and dizzy in high places.” Not exactly encouraging as a leader. But, Rupert finds him fit enough to lead them to defeat, a low bar if any to reach. Bentner declares that, “War is reprehensible, barbaric, unforgivable and unthinkable. And I second the motion.” The movie is suggesting that it’s even worse to pursue a horrific course of action when one realizes its terrible consequences.

 

The document declaring war is sent through the country’s post office system with only a “special delivery stamp” added to ensure its arrival in the United States. This fact comically highlights that Fenwick doesn’t even have any diplomatic connections, so unsophisticated is its government. After turning over the document to the messenger, Rupert and Bentley drink a toast which is full of clichés and irrelevant famous lines, such as: “the die is cast;” “Our cause is just;” “To be or not to be;” “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”  It’s the kind of absurdist list that would show up in a Marx Brothers routine or an Eugene Ionesco play, both of which make fun of how language can become illogical and nonsensical by inept communicators. The final words of the toast are, “To our glorious defeat,” another ironic joining of supposedly irreconcilable terms. 

 

Tully has no desire to leave his forest for a war. Added to his list of ills is that he gets seasick on ocean journeys. But Rupert and Bentley insist. Tully speaks with his lieutenant, Bill Buckley (William Hartnell) who is to go on the journey to the U. S. with him. (Not sure if this is another bit of satire, but he has the same name as noted political conservative William F. Buckley, Jr). Tully says he will appeal to patriotism to get volunteers. Men say they love their country but if asked to enlist, they resoundingly say, “No!” The implication could be that people will give lip service to their country as long as there is no sacrifice. Or, individuals may on the surface be supportive of their nation, but realize governments are not anywhere worth dying for. However, Buckley resorts to brute commands showing how easily the timid can be intimidated, and they get their twenty volunteers.

 

The receipt of the Declaration of War is rightfully considered a joke in Washington D. C. (yes, it does get delivered there. That special delivery stamp must have done the trick). The absurdity of the enterprise is stressed by the military contingent needing to flag down a bus to get them to a small boat in Marseilles in order to sail to New York City. The soldiers woefully drill onboard as Tully is consistently seasick. These guys would lose to pacifists.

 

Meanwhile, as Stephen Colbert would say, the United States is ready to have an expansive air raid drill over the entire east coast of the country, closing the ports and evacuating the cities. This alert is received on the QE II as it sails close to the United States. The captain (Stuart Saunders) and the second officer (Ken Stanley) believe the exercise is to prepare for the development of the “Q-bomb,” which is supposed to make “the H-bomb look like a firecracker.” Apparently the further down in the alphabet an explosive device gets its letter, the more deadly it is. However, the two say no bomb will “replace the English Navy.” It's a satiric shot at the smugness of the English mentality that clings to a feeling of superiority even though there is no longer a British Empire. 

 

The Fenwick boat approaches the QE II, and the captain tells them to turn around since New York’s not open to sea craft. The QE II is greeted with a barrage of arrows. It’s like that old cliché that represents futility as throwing spitballs at a battleship. The Fenwick crew continues to New York City, finding it empty. One soldier says he saw the Empire State Building first, so he gets to keep it. It’s a joke about how some get caught up in the idea of conquest, no matter how impossible the odds are. 

 

Buckley is impatient to get captured so they can achieve their unorthodox goal. Buckley hears Tully squeaking and determines by raising Tully’s arm that his mail became rusty in the rain. It brings to mind the Tin Man from the wizard of Oz, and it fits since they have found themselves, like Dorothy and her companions, in a strange land like Emerald City, which is what New York City could represent here. The rusty sound could also imply how out-of-date their weaponry is. This out-of-touch feel continues when one man steps on some gum and calls it “germ warfare,” although they question how there could be “sticky germs.” 

 

The soldiers look into the subway and see several people making the best of their seclusion. Buckley finds a newspaper and tells Tully and the others about the air raid drill and the preparation for the arrival soon of the awesome Q-bomb. At the New York Institute of Physics we get a look at the explosive. As IMDb notes, the device is in the shape of a football, which coincides with calling the launch codes under the U. S. President’s control the “nuclear football.” Professor Alfred Kokintz (David Kossof) and his daughter, Helen (Jean Seberg) work on the bomb at the Institute. How does Kokintz secure the warning alert on the bomb? With a bobby pin from Helen’s hair. So high-tech and reassuring. There is obviously a satiric thrust at scientists that create such monstrosities without making sure that adequate protections are present. Kokintz says he must “remove the detonator. It’s sensitive.” Unfortunately no adequate fail-safes have been installed to reduce its propensity to explode. Just lightly touching it produces an annoying crackling sound like a scared animal. 

 

An American decontamination man sees the Fenwick men in their shiny armor and it is so alien-looking, he assumes there has been an invasion of Martians. Now, these decontamination guys are wearing full-body hazmat suits, so which ones really look like they are from outer space? The Fenwick soldiers think the Americans are from another planet, at least until they start taking off their outfits. Both sides lean toward paranoia when confronted with something different, and the word of an alien invasion among those in the fallout shelters spreads to the point where the supposed number of extraterrestrials balloons into the thousands. 

 

Tully thinks they are going to an arsenal but the soldiers get lost and coincidentally arrive at the physics institute. Tully remembers from the newspaper article that Kokintz is working there. He and his men enter the building while General Snippet (MacDonald Parke), a name that sounds like he’s going to perform a circumcision, calls the Secretary of Defense (Austin Willis) about the report of an invasion from Mars. One may recognize the hysteria of unreasoning, conspiracy-minded people as they react to unfounded rumors here, as they did with Orson Welles’s radio program based on the novel War of the Worlds.

 

Tully wants to take Kokintz hostage along with the Q-bomb to have more leverage in bargaining with the Americans. The ease with which Sully and his men acquire such a powerful weapon points to the danger of having such weapons in existence. When Helen raises a bottle as a weapon, her father, the maker of the most destructive device in history, ironically tells her, “no violence,” which shows his lack of insight into the ramifications of what he has created. 

 

 A military jeep containing Snippet and New York City policemen drives by and the archers stop it with their arrows. It’s a repeat of the attack on the ocean liner. The suggestion here is that despite all of the highly evolved machinery and technology, something simple can derail everything, and, thus, safety is just an illusion in times of modern warfare. Sully captures the Americans as Snippet is in denial about what is happening. Sully tells the boat captain that they won the war, given that they have the Q-bomb, and there is now a Fenwick flag flying at the U. S. Customs building at the dock. 

 

Back in Fenwick, Rupert, Bentner, and other officials are preparing for an American occupation by planning to be hospitable toward their conquerors to facilitate the aid they will receive. They will offer the visiting soldiers discounted wine, for instance, plan on getting malted milk machines, and plenty of hot dogs. Rupert says that non-fraternization should only last two days, and then he wants the young foreign soldiers to feel that Fenwick is “a home away from home.” So, he is suggesting making Fenwick females available for socializing. Why should being defeated preclude entertainment? They have the American flag flying and a band playing American songs, like “Frankie and Johnny.”

 

The precariousness of the Q-bomb is accentuated as one of the soldiers cradles the explosive like an ominous demon-child in a raging sea storm. Kokintz wants Helen to seduce Tully into letting her father dismantle the bomb, but the pathetic Tully’s seasickness spoils this attempt. 

 

The Grand Duchess, Rupert, and the other citizens are unhappily astounded to learn from Tully that they have won the war and have the world’s most destructive weapon in their possession. Kokintz warns Rupert and those present that the bomb could destroy most of Europe unless he disarms it. The Grand Duchess seems unable to sort things out and orders that the bomb be secured in a dungeon. But she is most hospitable toward Kokintz and Helen, getting them a room next to her and ensuring they have fruit juice for breakfast. This contrasting of the dangerous with the frivolous adds to the film’s humor. The Grand Duchess is oblivious to the modern world as she tells Snippet, who brings up the contents of the Geneva Convention, that she can accompany his reading of the document on the harpsichord. She later thinks the current U. S. President is Calvin Coolidge.

 

Snippet is rigid in his military way of thinking and assumes that he must fight to be treated well. He refuses to go anywhere without the basic standards guaranteed to prisoners of war. He doesn’t even look to see that the Duchess offers opulent surroundings with plentiful food and drink served by beautiful women. The policemen partake of this generosity, while Snippet sits in a damp cell eating basic fare while the theme music from The Bridge on the River Kwai plays in the background to satirize the general’s macho insistence on being treated as a suffering captive. 

 

In response to tiny Fenwick having the Q-bomb, Britain and France try to cozy up to the new superpower. Russia, however, uses the news to prop itself up and deploy propaganda by saying they invented the bomb earlier but were too peace-loving to use it, and they then condemn the capitalist countries for being aggressors. Tiny, powerless Taiwan, which has been surpassed by mainland China as the dominant nation there, says it will do what it can to help Fenwick fight the U. S. This humorous request shows how another tiny, mousy nation wants to “roar.” The top news out of the United States is the results of a World Series game, which implies that Americans are more interested in sports than the safety of the world. 

 

The irrationality of the whole affair is stressed in scenes in the United States and in Fenwick. There are many countries which are pledging military support for Fenwick against the U. S. Each wants to retain the Q-bomb supposedly to protect it but they really want to use it to intimidate the rest of the world. One of the United States military men illogically says America can pledge more military support for Fenwick than other nations. The Secretary of Defense ridiculously must remind him that we can’t send aid to the enemy. The Secretary says the President is sending him to make peace with Fenwick through surrender to prevent an explosive holocaust. 

 

In Fenwick, Rupert says that only an idiot could foul up his plan, and “an idiot did,” as he refers to Tully. The Duchess disagrees with Rupert that they should return the Q-bomb because he is worried about its danger. The Duchess says the world powers will just invent the x, y and “zed” bombs, so the danger is continuous. The movie suggests that her analysis of the arms race among nations appears to be an accurate one. Rupert and others resign leaving Tully in charge as the Prime Minister. 

 

Rupert and Benter approach Helen and promise their aid in helping her leave with the Q-bomb. Meanwhile, Tully ponders the explosive as it looks like an egg sitting on a nest of straw, waiting to give birth to destruction and chaos. He tries to be friends with Helen, a sort of symbolic joining of the two warring factions. Tully kisses Helen, and she calls him “thief,” but he is actually stealing her heart. However, Rupert and Benter whisk her away with Snippet and the Q-bomb, which is sounding agitated. They don’t know where Kokintz is. The professor happens to be stuck with the Duchess who is playing the harpsichord. Tully witnesses his “girl” and his “bomb” scurrying off.

 

The film then inserts an image of an atomic bomb detonating. The narrator reassures the audience that it is not the end of the story, but since such devastation could occur at any moment, the filmmakers wanted to prepare us for the possibility. It is a darkly humorous ploy, and it not only reminds us that we may be seeing possible catastrophe in the movie, but that same nuclear horror can be unleashed in real life, too, at any moment. 

 

The representatives from the various dominant countries attempting to find favor with Fenwick play “diplomacy” monopoly. The fate of the world is depicted as just a game to those nations jockeying for power. While playing the board game, the Russian says he gets to bomb Philadelphia, and others get to take over other countries. A joke or real life?

 

Tully runs after the escaping car taking Helen. While in pursuit, he again gets his foot caught in a trap in the forest he was supposed to manage. The car carrying Snippet, Helen, and the cops breaks down temporarily, and must be pushed. Snippet is alone in the vehicle as it takes off. He runs into a haystack and the Q-bomb gets even louder. In a sort of Keystone Cops routine, the policemen and others toss the bomb around like a football, showing that the fate of the world is literally up in the air not only here, but in real life. Tully is the last to get hold of the Q-bomb and it appears he places it just over a sort of a white-painted goal line, enhancing the football metaphor, and how lives are being played with. Despite the increasing racket made by the Q-bomb, there is no detonation. 

 

The next shot is that of Rupert and Benter crushing grapes in a vat as punishment for their careless actions. Tully asks that the peace treaty make Fenwick the sole provider of the wine brand they were prosperous at producing. He asks for a million dollars for the country. The Secretary of Defense insists it must be a billion, suggesting that the smaller amount undermines the exalted reputation of the United States, which knows how to throw money around in huge amounts to flaunt its affluence. Also, Tully and Helen are to be married, a joining of the two countries in an affectionate bond.

 

Tully says the Q-bomb will stay in Fenwick. He argues that the large countries of the world have been so negligent in protecting the world that it’s time for a sort of league of little nations to give it a try and supervise disarmament of the powerful sovereign states. Tully says that if the large nations don’t agree, Fenwick will set off the bomb. The Secretary says that will destroy Fenwick, too. But, the Duchess argues that the large countries will most likely cause a nuclear catastrophe, and Fenwick would be wiped out anyway, so why delay the inevitable agony? 

 

As Kokintz checks the bomb after its rough ride, he sneezes and drops it. It does not explode. Kokintz declares the bomb a dud. But Tully says it will be a secret shared by the professor, Helen, and Tully supposedly so that they can wield enough power to bring about disarmament. After they leave the room, a white mouse crawls out of the Q-bomb, and the device makes some noise. Is the mouse representative of Fenwick and how there has been too much power placed in the hands of powerful people that created a threat to us all? The words after “the End’ question if that is so. The implication is that there may be a disastrous detonation in our future which could really cause “The End” of humankind.

The next film is A Beautiful Mind.