ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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More surprises from the modest little European country called the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, that "mouse that roared" four years earlier. Again faced with economic problems, the little country's only profitable export is an inferior wine that turns out to be a superior rocket fuel.

David Kossoff plays the comic scientist again, piloting a wine-powered rocket to the Moon and beating the much-embarrassed bigger nations. Peter Sellers is absent from this one, but the cast is still excellent. It includes Terry Thomas, Margaret Rutherford, and Ron Moody. Directed by Richard Lester ("Superman II", "The Three Musketeers").
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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I thought this sequel to The Mouse that Roared would be a bit better than it was, but I was disappointed. And the trailers aren't as good as the ones for the first film either.

For example . . .


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[MetroPolly]

I've only seen this once, but it's a cute harmless little movie. Naturally, it can't compare with the original, but it holds its own, IMO.

[Custer]

Those were the days when movie sequels tended to go downhill, just exploiting the buzz from the original, with smaller budgets and a less starry cast. And now, instead, the studios work on "franchises" that build on the previous success and tend to have bigger budgets, and are expected to make even more cash.

Doing this movie without Peter Sellers seems strange, as he had three leading roles in the original. But the idea for a sequel came from the books, since Leonard Wibberley had written them... he wrote five "Mouse" books in all. Looking at Wikipedia, I see he wrote a "prequel" to The Mouse That Roared, Beware of the Mouse, then the sequels The Mouse on the Moon, The Mouse on Wall Street, and The Mouse That Saved The West.

[Bud Brewster]

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Happy 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

One of the American Astronauts was played by Commander Straker himself, Ed Bishop.

David.

[Bogmeister]

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This was the follow-up to The Mouse That Roared (59), returning us to the latest problems of the tiny (3x5 miles plus some acres) European nation of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, headed by the Grand Duchess Gloriana XIII (Margaret Rutherford), who is elderly and usually clueless about whatever situation she's in.

Their prime export is wine, but suddenly this wine proves to be too combustible, initiating an economic crisis. The tiny country's sneaky prime minister (Ron Moody) concocts a plan to get a loan from the USA for space research (outer space).

Surprisingly, the money is approved, because at this time the U.S. politicians needed to make a grand friendly diplomatic gesture to show all the nations that they were not selfish with their space program — this was the time of the Space Race.

The prime minister doesn't intend to use this money for some space program, but for more practical needs like plumbing —especially hot water. To save face, the Soviets send an obsolete rocket — though it looks good and is quite big.

The prime minister's son (Bernard Cribbins), just returned from an education in England, and he's idealistic enough to think that a trip to the moon is doable. He hopes to be the astronaut for the trip. He teams with the local genius professor (David Kossoff) to make this trip a reality.

Terry-Thomas plays a British spy who sneaks in to find out what is going on. The prime minister comes up with a further swindle — a rocket launch that will go badly, thereby gaining more sympathy (and money) for his country. But implausibly, the trip to the moon is not so outlandish a thought.

This was a more subdued comedy from Richard Lester, before he indulged in frenetic imagery. But he does throw in the occasional sight gag to remind us of the absurdity in the situation.

The key comic moment is in the final act, when the rocket slowly but surely flies into the air, to the disbelief of the visiting dignitaries who felt sure that the whole thing was a hoax.

The prime minister is also surprised. In theory, the mouse will beat both America and the USSR to the moon — but because the Fenwick rocket moves so slowly (3 weeks to get there using a new power source), the race is on!

BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10

Trivia to the Moon: In a small role as one of the American Astronauts at the end is Ed Bishop, best known as the lead in the UFO series (1970-71)

_____________ Mouse on the Moon - Ed Bishop


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____ Ron Grainer - The Mouse on the Moon Soundtrack


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BoG
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