El ratón en la luna

Few people are even aware that "Richard Lester" (as he was then billed) made this sequel to 'The Mouse That Roared" (his first film in colour) between his two pop quickies 'It's Trad, Dad!' and 'A Hard Day's Night'.

Scripted with his usual good-natured cynicism by Michael Pertwee, there are shafts of genial satire, like the description of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick in the opening narration as "the smallest and least progressive country in the entire world" and the use in the space race of former Nazis by both the Russians and Uncle Sam.

David Kossoff returns from the original; while the three roles played in the original by Peter Sellers are here split between Margaret Rutherford (who gets top billing), Ron Moody and Bernard Cribbins; with June Ritchie a fetching young beatnik.

It's hard for it not to pale in comparison to its predecessor, "The Mouse That Roared," but "The Mouse on the Moon" is still an amiable enough comedy that it overcomes its own slightness and miniscule budget. The plot -- which concerns the Duchy of Grand Fenwick petitioning the United States for a loan so that it can develop a space program (which is really a cover for the prime minister's insatiable desire for indoor plumbing) -- is amusing and gives director Richard Lester and screenwriter Michael Pertwee plenty of opportunities to draw parallels between the Americans and the Russians as they scramble to beat the tiny country to the moon.

Instead of Peter Sellers in three roles, we have Margaret Rutherford taking over one (as the dotty grand duchess) and Ron Moody taking over another (as the ruthless prime minister). Both are funny enough, but they're no substitute for the real thing. Joining them are a young Bernard Cribbens as Moody's son Vincent, who wants nothing more than to be an astronaut, David Kossoff (one of four actors returning from "The Mouse That Roared") as the ever resourceful Professor Kokintz, and Terry-Thomas as a thoroughly inept British spy. Also watch for John Bluthal in his first of many films for Lester as Von Noldol, the enthusiastic German scientist working for the U.S.

For Richard Lester fans, this is a must-see. After all, this is the film that got him the job directing a certain film starring four lads from Liverpool...

The competition between the Russians and the Americans is still very much in play in 2020 Given that the Mouse on the Moon does not feel dated with the 2 superpowers trying to out do each other with a foreign aid to a tiny country.. Lots of laughs with a great cast . Margaret Rutherford is one of a kind. She played the daft old lady to perfection. Ron Moody is solid as the bumbling leader and a special nod to the actor playing the scientist as well. And don't forget to feed the bobolinks.

Follow-up to 1959's MOUSE THAT ROARED is also based on a Leonard Wibberly novel is mildly amusing in spots. Peter Sellers is gone and the Queen is now played by Margaret Rutherford. This time Grand Fenwick is out to bamboozle both the Soviets and the USA by playing them off against each other over the space race.

Directed by Richard Lester (HARD DAY'S NIGHT), it takes a while before it truly gets off the....er...ground. Once in space it gets funnier. You have German scientists in both the U. S. and USSR giving the Heil Hitler! Salute a full 7 months before Sellers did so in DR. STRANGELOVE. Space trash is already an issue: "Wherever civilization goes, garbage is sure to follow!". On the moon a cosmonaut sneaks off to start constructing something leading to this speculation: "(he's) Building a wall!" It's all silly fun, but, it's not surprising that this was the end of the Mouse series on screen. (there were three other novels)

The two "Mouse" films benefitted greatly from the wonderfully funny source novels by terribly under-appreciated Irish author Leonard Wibberley. Although the second film suffers in comparison because of the loss of star Peter Sellers, the performances by Ron Moody as Count Mountjoy and Dame Margaret Rutherford are still quite effective. It must be pointed out that some of the higher bits of satire of Wibberley's novel have gone missing from the film. In the novel, the Duchess (a 23-year-old married to Chief Forester Tully Bascomb) asks Count Mountjoy (she has called him "Bobo" since infancy) for an Imperial Russian sable fur coat. Mountjoy, desiring to update the Grand Fenwick castle's 14th century plumbing, gets a decree passed asking for a loan from the United States for $50,000 for the coat. Being the sly fox that he is, he also asks for $5 million to enter the SPACE PROGRAM! Of course, Mountjoy has every intension of buying the Duchess her coat and using the rest on the plumbing (and also for road improvements, as there are no paved roads in the country). The USA realizes that it's a ruse of some sort, but sees it as an excellent PR opportunity and decides to give them $50 million instead! The rest of the plot is pretty much directly translated into the film. Too bad Wibberley's remaining books in the series ("The Mouse on Wall Street," "The Mouse That Saved the West," and "Beware the Mouse!") were never filmed.