Around the World in 80 Days

Rating

Director

Michael Anderson

Screenplay

James Poe, John Farrow, S.J. Perelman (Novel: Jules Verne)

Length

183 min.

Starring

David Niven, Cantinflas, Finlay Currie, Robert Morley, Ronald Squire, Basil Sydney, Noel Coward, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, Harcourt Williams, Martine Carol, Fernandel, Charles Boyer, Evelyn Keyes, Jos Greco, Luis Domingun, Gilbert Roland, Cesar Romero, Alan Mowbray, Robert Newton, Cedric Hardwicke, Melville Cooper, Reginald Denny, Ronald Colman, Robert Cabal, Shirley MacLaine, Charles Coburn, Peter Lorre, George Raft, Red Skelton, Marlene Dietrich, John Carradine, Frank Sinatra, Buster Keaton, Tim McCoy, Joe E. Brown, Andy Devine, Edmund Lowe, Victor McLaglen, Jack Oakie, Beatrice Lillie, John Mills, Glynis Johns, Hermione Gingold, Edward R. Murrow

MPAA Rating

Approved

Review

It remains one of the largest casts in film history. Around the World in 80 Days was showman Michael Todd’s only big screen venture and it was a huge success.

Based on the classic novel by futurist Jules Verne, Around the World in 80 Days stars David Niven as the chronically punctual Phileas Fogg. Fogg’s wealthy and apparently a bit strange. With dozens of clocks in his house, we find that Fogg has to replace his manservant because of the strenuousness of his timetable.

Looking for a job, the manservant Passepartout (Cantinflas) is sent to replace the previous servant not knowing what he’ll be in for. After a discussion ensues at the Reform Club, Fogg wagers that he can make it around the world in just 80 days. He then embarks on an arduous journey across four continents to attempt to achieve victory.

80 Days wouldn’t be much of an adventure if things didn’t get in the way for Fogg. An avalanche blocks his initial choice of transportation and he must fly by hot air balloon to the south of France to take a boat to Turkey to catch his connecting train. The line through India he chooses to take has not been finished, so he must ride an elephant across the subcontinent. Then, he’s delayed leaving India when Passepartout get drunk and passes out on the slow boat to China. While traveling from San Francisco to New York, the train is besieged by natives. And that’s not even half the turmoil that occurs.

Niven has always played the straight man well. His energy and deadpan delivery make his intellectual a more interesting character than most actors could have pulled off. Spanish comic Cantinflas does suitably well as the sometimes-klutzy acrobat whose background antics help keep their trip on track.

Todd, desperate to have all of the great faces of Hollywood appear in his picture, albeit in brief roles, wasn’t meeting with much success until he crafted the term cameo for their benefit. Some of the legendary names that graced the screen for him included John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, Charles Boyer, Cesar Romero, Ronald Colman, Peter Lorre, Red Skelton, Marlene Dietrich, Frank Sinatra, Buster Keaton, Victor McLaglen, Jack Oakie and Beatrice Lillie. He even managed to coax Edward R. Murrow into providing the narration over the film’s rather unusual introduction.

All said, Around the World in 80 Days is little more than a glossy adventure film with a pair of decent performances and an array of stars. The film also served as a demonstration of Todd’s new one-camera wide screen process he’d call Todd-AO. Not fifteen minutes go by without a gratuitous visceral depiction of the technique. Long processions of people marched in multiple scenes from one side of the screen to the other. Instead of being for narrative necessity, they were used as examples only.

Though the images are beautiful, the slight rounding at the corners served as a reminder of its technological infancy. The process became a success thanks to Todd’s grandiose production and, also thanks to its Academy Award for Best Picture, Around the World in 80 Days now serves as a benchmark in filmmaking.

Setting aside the film’s technical artistry, Around the World in 80 Days is little more than a popcorn flick. There are plenty of dull moments and, after awhile, Cantinflas’ shtick becomes irritating. There are more entertaining pictures out there but this one is certainly worth the three hours.

Review Written

November 6, 2006