Around the World in 80 Days Movie

Razzle-dazzle showman Michael Todd hocked everything he had to make this spectacular presentation of Jules Verne's 1872 novel Around the World in 80 Days, the second film to be lensed in the wide-screen Todd-AO production. Nearly as fascinating as the finished product are the many in-production anecdotes concerning Todd's efforts to pull the wool over the eyes of local authorities in order to cadge the film's round-the-world location shots--not to mention the wheeling and dealing to convince over forty top celebrities to appear in cameo roles. David Niven heads the huge cast as ultra-precise, supremely punctual Phileas Fogg, who places a 20,000-pound wager with several fellow members of London Reform Club, insisting that he can go around the world in eighty days (this, remember, is 1872). Together with his resourceful valet Passepartout (Cantinflas), Fogg sets out on his world-girdling journey from Paris via balloon. Meanwhile, suspicion grows that Fogg has stolen his 20,000 pounds from Bank of England. Diligent Inspector Fix (Robert Newton) is sent out by the bank's president (Robert Morley) to bring Fogg to justice. Hopscotching around the globe, Fogg pauses in Spain, where Passepartout engages in a comic bullfight (a specialty of Cantinflas). In India, Fogg and Passepartout rescue young widow Princess Aouda (Shirley MacLaine, in her third film) from being forced into committing suicide so that she may join her late husband. The threesome visit Hong Kong, Japan, San Francisco, and the Wild West. Only hours short of winning his wager, Fogg is arrested by the diligent Inspector Fixx. Though exonerated of the bank robbery charges, he has lost everything--except the love of the winsome Aouda. But salvation is at hand when Passepartout discovers that, by crossing the International Date Line, there's still time to reach the Reform Club. Will they make it? See for yourself. Among the film's 46 guest stars, the most memorable include Marlene Dietrich, Charles Boyer, Jose Greco, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lorre, Red Skelton, Buster Keaton, John Mills, and Beatrice Lillie. All were paid in barter--Ronald Colman did his brief bit for a new car. Newscaster Edward R. Murrow provides opening narration, and there's a tantalizing clip from Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon (1902). Offering a little something for everyone, Around the World in 80 Days is nothing less than an extravaganza, and it won 5 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Cinematography.

Around the World in 80 Days is all spectacle and little else, a frenetic travelogue filled with copious star cameos and exciting set pieces, all courtesy of producer Mike Todd, who risked his personal fortune to bring the film to the screen. The film was released the year before Sputnik would revolutionize world communications, and audiences flocked to the box office to experience its exotic locales, all shot on locations around the world. David Niven was well-cast as the excessively punctual Phileas Fogg, but many of the best scenes are stolen by his sidekick, Passepartout (Mexican superstar Cantinflas). Todd ruled the production with an iron hand, firing director John Farrow on the first day of shooting and attempting to deny him writing credit. Farrow took his complaint to the Writers Guild, who, while powerless to restore him to the set, did at least get him a shared screenplay credit. Todd, seeking the last word, took out ads in industry publications thanking deceased source-novel author Jules Verne for "giving me absolutely no trouble on billing or credits." Always appreciative of good showmanship, AMPAS honored Around the World in 80 Days with five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.