Around the World in 80 Days
A splashy mix of stars and scenery, Around the World in 80 Days
was a spectacle in every sense of the word. Based on the Jules Verne
novel, the film starred David Niven, Cantinflas, Robert Newton and
Shirley MacLaine, but no fewer than 40 stars of stage and screen
appeared in surprise cameos as Phileas Fogg and his valet Passepartout
circumnavigated the late-19th-century globe.
In London, punctuality-obsessed Phileas Fogg (Niven) makes a
20,000-pound bet with the fellow members of his gentleman’s club: Fogg
will circle the world in 80 days or less, a seemingly impossible feat.
The club members think Fogg is a fool, but they have no qualms parting
a fool from his money. Together with the reliable and multi-skilled
Passepartout (Cantinflas), Fogg sets out on his journey.
The snags begin almost immediately, as Fogg misses a train and has
to travel by balloon. The wild journey takes Fogg and Passepartout into
a Spanish bullfight, through the jungles of India (where the two take
on a third companion, the princess Aouda), to Hong Kong, San Francisco
and the Wild West, with dangerous run-ins around every bend.
Throughout, the globetrotters are dogged by the mysterious Mr. Fix, who
believes Fogg may have secured his 20,000 pounds through
less-than-legal means.
At every stop, viewers were treated not only to lush location
scenery (shot in 70mm Todd-AO widescreen), but also to one
double-take-inducing cameo after another. Frank Sinatra, Marlene
Dietrich, Peter Lorre, George Raft, Red Skelton, Joe E. Brown, Andy
Devine, José Greco and dozens more popped up in the least expected
places, while Edward R. Murrow himself provided the opening narration.
Even at nearly three hours, both kids and adults sat spellbound as
one exotic location after another filled the screen. The Academy was
duly impressed as well, awarding the film 5 Oscars, including Best
Picture. Verne’s tale was later adapted into a single season Saturday
morning cartoon and a handful of TV miniseries, but for most, the
definitive version will always be this sweeping, star-studded epic.
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