Around the World in 80 Days

In 1956, bigger was better. The winner of the Best Picture Oscar, Around the World in 80 Days, was a shade over three hours long, and it wasn't even the longest film of the five nominees, as The Ten Commandments and Giant were even longer. In retrospective, a great injustice was done as many critics would acknowledge that the best film of that year was John Ford's The Searchers, which wasn't even nominated.

Based on the novel by Jules Verne, Around the World in 80 Days was produced by Mike Todd, an entrepreneur and showman who was mounting his first film production. He made quite a splash, not only making a film that would require thousands of actors, on-location filming around the world, and winning the Oscar, but also marrying Elizabeth Taylor, who accompanied him at the awards weighed down with jewels (including a tiara). Sadly, it would be the only film Todd would ever produce, as just before the Academy Awards for the following year he would die in a plane crash.

The director was also a first-timer, Michael Anderson, but he seems to be playing traffic cop here more than anything else, as there are numerous second units. The film is really more of a travelogue, a chance to show off the new style of CinemaScope developed by Todd, called Todd AO.

The story, what there is of it, concerns Phileas Fogg, a London gentleman who makes a wager with the men at his club that he can circumnavigate the globe in 80 days. Fogg's upper-crust Britishness and fetishistic punctuality are the comic spirit of the piece (one of the screenwriters was absurdist S.J. Perelman). Once he has made the bet he and his new valet, Passepartout, embark on the journey. They travel by balloon across Europe, through the jungles of India (where they rescue an Indian princess from a funeral pyre) and across the Pacific. They encounter wild Indians on the American plains. All the while they are being dogged by a British detective, who suspects that Fogg has robbed the Bank of England. Frequently Fogg seems to have hit an obstacle that will prevent him from beating the deadline, but the conflict is usually resolved in just a few moments.

All of this could have told in under two hours, but the times being what they were, when film was competing with television, that wouldn't do. Instead we get long scenes of spectacle. There are numerous shots of scenery going by, either from the balloon, trains, or ships. There is a long bullfighting scene in Spain. Passepartout was played by the Mexican comedian Catinflas, who had bullfighting experience. This is also the film that gave us the term "cameo" performance, as Todd enlisted dozens of famous stars to appear for just a moment or two, and instead of being an insult, they lined up to do it. Here's just a sample: Marlene Dietrich, Frank Sinatra, Ronald Colman, Red Skelton, Noel Coward, Buster Keaton, and Peter Lorre.

Fogg was played by David Niven, who is perfect as the time-conscious gentleman. Watching him go through difficult circumstances while always perfectly dressed and groomed is the main pleasure of this otherwise very dull film. Catinflas was a huge star in the Latin world (during the introduction TCM's Robert Osborne tells us that at the time he was the richest actor in the world) and displays Chaplinesque qualities. A very young Shirley MacLaine is the Indian princess who tags along after she is rescued, but she has little to do other than be very attractive window dressing.