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Rating: 
Summary: "It's not that kind of privvy council, your majesty."
Review: A superior sequel to "The Mouse That Roared" where Prime Minister Bobo (a manic and hilarious Ron Moody)cons both Russia and the USA into sending Grand Fenwick space research funds and equipment that he can recycle into a plumbing system for the castle. Then the scientist from the first movie actually heads for the moon in a Jules Vern-ish Victorian space ship using the Grand Fenwick wine crop as rocket fuel. Lester and Shenson made this film right before they teamed for HARD DAYS NIGHT and the dry British wit is very apparent. Margaret Rutherford even says a line that John Lennon would say in HDN.
Rating:
Summary: "It's not that kind of privvy council, your majesty."
Review: A superior sequel to "The Mouse That Roared" where Prime Minister Bobo (a manic and hilarious Ron Moody)cons both Russia and the USA into sending Grand Fenwick space research funds and equipment that he can recycle into a plumbing system for the castle. Then the scientist from the first movie actually heads for the moon in a Jules Vern-ish Victorian space ship using the Grand Fenwick wine crop as rocket fuel. Lester and Shenson made this film right before they teamed for HARD DAYS NIGHT and the dry British wit is very apparent. Margaret Rutherford even says a line that John Lennon would say in HDN.
Rating: 
Summary: cute, funny,... but where's MARGARET RUTHERFORD??
Review: First off, I must say that while I am a fan (albeit, not a huge one) of "The Mouse that Roared," I bought this movie SPECIFICALLY for Margaret Rutherford. I figured that with her name FIRST in the cast list, that she MUST be the star of this picture. That couldn't be further from the truth. I would guess that her screen time, literally, is about 3 minutes, with perhaps about 5 lines. What a disappointment. I discovered the great Dame Rutherford in the four Miss Marple films from the '60s (Murder, She Said, Murder at the Gallop, Murder Most Foul, and Murder Ahoy [my personal favorite]), and couldn't wait to see a film from the same time period as the Miss marple series.And while the movie was cute, and it certainly had its moments (Terry-thomas is ALWAYS great), my poor little heart was broken to find Margaret Rutherford in only a few scenes. AND, don't you HATE it when the trailer has scenes in it that are NOT in the movie? MORE scenes of Margaret that must have been cut! So, if you're a HUGE fan of "The Mouse that Roared", you'll love this film. MGM went all out with their transfer. The colors look fantastic. But if you're buying this because you're a fan of Miss Rutherford as I did, you'll probably be more than a bit disappointed. Why don't you buy "Blythe Spirit" instead? She is absolutely PERFECT in THAT movie.
Rating:
Summary: Not as Good as the Original
Review: Fitfully funny satire about the space race but it is not as amusing as "The Mouse That Roared." Sorely lacking here is the presence of Peter Sellers. It's interesting to watch political satire of it's time but the space race does not have the resonance today that the arms race did.
Rating:
Summary: Even funnier than "The Mouse That Roared"
Review: I bought this movie based on reviews I read here on Amazon.com and wasn't disappointed. I watched "The Mouse That Roared" first and thought it was funny, but in my opinion this movie is even better. Magaret Rutherford is great as the clueless Grand Duchess, I wish there was more of her in the movie. Ron Moody does a great job as the prime minister who is hung up on getting running hot water for his bathtub at any cost. There was a small take off on Dr. Strangelove that I liked. Two ex-German scientists one for the US and one for the USSR give their boss a Nazi salute before catching themselves. I had some good laughs throughout the movie. If you liked "The Mouse That Roared" I'm sure you'll like this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Even funnier than "The Mouse That Roared"
Review: I bought this movie based on reviews I read here on Amazon.com and wasn't disappointed. I watched "The Mouse That Roared" first and thought it was funny, but in my opinion this movie is even better. Magaret Rutherford is great as the clueless Grand Duchess, I wish there was more of her in the movie. Ron Moody does a great job as the prime minister who is hung up on getting running hot water for his bathtub at any cost. There was a small take off on Dr. Strangelove that I liked. Two ex-German scientists one for the US and one for the USSR give their boss a Nazi salute before catching themselves. I had some good laughs throughout the movie. If you liked "The Mouse That Roared" I'm sure you'll like this movie.
Rating:
Summary: A delightful satire of the Cold War
Review: One of my favorite comedies from back when I was a kid (and they used to show old films like this on broadcast TV...) One of those rare instances in which a sequel to a cult film is still fun enough to make it on its own merits, despite losing the original lead actor. This is the followup to the kooky Peter Sellers classic, "The Mouse That Roared," returning us to Duchy of Grand Fenwick, an eccentric European backwater that makes Lichtenstein seem like the Ottoman Empire. Sellers is gone, but the farce remains, as the Grand Fenwickians inadvertently enter the Cold War space race, with the US, USSR and UK all falling over themselves to try and either control or subvert the tiny country's absurdly rickety space program. There are fine character bits, with Ron Moody and Margaret Rutherford starring, respectively, as Grand Fenwick's prime minister and queen, but what makes this film an enduring classic is how deftly it satirizes the already-farcical propaganda wars between America and the Soviet Union (that Great Britain really factored in as a "player" in the Kennedy-era Cold War is a quaint, Bond-ian affectation...) A genuinely funny film that stands on its own dramatically, but which is also a priceless snapshot of the times it was made in. Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A delightful satire of the Cold War
Review: One of my favorite comedies from back when I was a kid (and they used to show old films like this on broadcast TV...) One of those rare instances in which a sequel to a cult film is still fun enough to make it on its own merits, despite losing the original lead actor. This is the followup to the kooky Peter Sellers classic, "The Mouse That Roared," returning us to Duchy of Grand Fenwick, an eccentric European backwater that makes Lichtenstein seem like the Ottoman Empire. Sellers is gone, but the farce remains, as the Grand Fenwickians inadvertently enter the Cold War space race, with the US, USSR and UK all falling over themselves to try and either control or subvert the tiny country's absurdly rickety space program. There are fine character bits, with Ron Moody and Margaret Rutherford starring, respectively, as Grand Fenwick's prime minister and queen, but what makes this film an enduring classic is how deftly it satirizes the already-farcical propaganda wars between America and the Soviet Union (that Great Britain really factored in as a "player" in the Kennedy-era Cold War is a quaint, Bond-ian affectation...) A genuinely funny film that stands on its own dramatically, but which is also a priceless snapshot of the times it was made in. Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Don't let the title fool you!
Review: This is one great movie. I take it as a spoof of the former Great British Empire, now reduced to a "Duchy" compared to it's Uncle, Sam. Dame Margaret Rutherford is wonderful as the befuddled "Duchess" who really has no clue as to whats going on. Now, what does that remind you of, hmmmm? And to boot, it has Terry Thomas. Fans of British humour will love it. It is a "niche" movie, of course, but what a niche!! Buy it!!
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