Around the World in 80 Days

Directed by Michael Anderson Written by James Poe (screenplay), John Farrow (screenplay), S.J. Perelman (screenplay), and Jules Verne (novel). Starring David Niven (Phileas Fogg), Cantinflas (Passepartout), and Finlay Currie (Andrew Stewart).

Bottom line: Around The World in 80 Days is rather long but colorful. I could see it playing in the background of a little party.

2/4

Around the World in 80 Days is the 1956 adaptation of the Jules Verne novel of the same name. We follow the eccentric, particular, and peculiar Victorian gentleman, Phileas Fogg. By particular, I mean, he orders that his breakfast be served at 8:37, not 8:36 or 8:38, and that his toast be precisely 87 degrees. As with most gentlemen around that time he has a valet to help him with his day to day tasks but because he is so difficult he's gone through half a dozen in five months. His latest valet is an earnest, Spanish acrobat named Passepartout. Now, the journey begins when Fogg bets his fellow Reform Club members that he can go around the world in 80 days. Hence the name. They visit places like Madrid, Pakistan, Tailand, Japan and it was filmed on location in many of these places.

At 167 minutes, this is a long movie and it feels like it. When the group is in Madrid, Passepartout takes part in a really lengthy bull fight. Being from 1956, before I saw it I anticipated a musical. That would explain the length, I thought. That's one of those things about musicals around that time. There is always a song followed by an extended dancing sequence. Not that there is anything wrong with dancing but, you know, after a while, let's just keep the movie going. But Around the World in 80 days is not a musical. Instead of dancing sequences, they have parades which are used to showcase a given culture. This is something interesting about this movie too. It provides an opportunity for the 1950's audience to see cultures around the world. There are lots of very relaxing shots with the camera mounted on the front of a train as it passes through the landscape.

Now, this is 1956 after all, and being 1956 you have the problematic racism and sexism that you'd expect. For example, when the group goes through the jungle somewhere in India, they come across a group of cannibals who are sacrificing an Indian Princess, played by the ever so Indian Shirley McClaine. When the groups goes through America, they encountered a group of the Souix or as the movie calls them "violent red skins." It was one of those movies that I just had to say "it was a different time."

Something that struck me as odd was the massive number of cameos. If you look at the wikipedia page for this movie there is a whole section devoted to just the cameos. Frank Sinatra for example is a piano player in a Wild West saloon. He's on screen for maybe a second and has no lines. He just turns around and smiles. I only recognized a couple of people but I'm sure it would be fun if I knew more of them.

The acting overall is good. I liked David Niven as Fogg. He is persnickety but at the same time endearing. Passepartout is a really nice character too. He's like a Spanish acrobatic Charlie Chaplin. The whole tone of this movie is that of a lighthearted adventure.

Would I recommend Around the World in 80 days? Because it is colorful and long, I can see it projected on a wall to be a backdrop for a party. I once went to a club where Rapmania the Roots of Rap was projected over the bar. Rapmania is a hip hop concert from the mid-nineties. While it was projected on the wall, current music was being played over the speakers. Nobody was really watching the movie unless they were using as a break from conversation or if they were sitting at the bar. It served as a sort of visual stimulation. On it's own though, because it is rather racist and sexist and very long, I wouldn't really recommend it.