4/30/16 Around the World in 80 Days, Best Picture, Best Cinematography - Color, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Best Writing - Screenplay, Adapted, 1956
Around the World in 80 Days was based on the novel by Jules Verne, originally written in 1873 and stars David Niven, Cantinflas, Robert Newton and Shirley MacLaine, and features cameos by dozens of stars, including Frank Sinatra, Buster Keaton, Noel Coward, Charles Boyer and Peter Lorre. Stylistically, thematically and with the cast of hundreds, it immediately reminded me of
The Great Race and
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World. There is a lot going on and so many people popping in and out, I just resolved myself to enjoy it and not get caught up in the details. David Niven plays Phileas Fogg, a wealthy eccentric who engages in a bet with the members of his club that he can make it around the world in eighty days. He sets off with his new valet, a resourceful man known as Passpartout (Cantinflas, who was very well known in Latin American comedic films), and is faced with travel obstacles at every turn. Of course, that is where all the fun is - how will they get out of the situation and who will be in those scenes? Niven is the perfect straight man, playing everything seriously and without any sense of irony, and Cantinflas adds a dash of comedy, physical as well as his interplay with Niven and others. Robert Newton plays Inspector Fix, Fogg's nemesis; Fogg is mistakenly accused of stealing 55,000 pounds from the Bank of England. Shirley MacLaine is Indian Princess Aouda, a young widow who is destined to end up on her husband's funeral pyre, until she is rescued by Fogg and Passepartout. There are things about the movie that are unapologetically British and may be unfamiliar, but I don't think that should turn you off; it's also three hours long, and that may make you reconsider, but I hope it doesn't. It's a beautiful film, using the Technicolor technique/method, and the venues are breathtaking; I've always been a fan of the hot air balloon scene. This is a good family film and a way to introduce geography and travel to young people. The movie won the Oscar for Best Film, beating out
The Ten Commandments, Giant, The King and I and
Friendly Persuasion; it was very good and certainly epic, but I have a soft spot for
The Ten Commandments, and I think it would have been tough to cast a vote among these massive films.
Around the World in 80 Days was probably a subliminal influence on me and my love for travel, and for the biggest trip I have ever taken, when I went around the world for seven weeks in 2006. I wrote a book, which is available on
Amazon.com as an e-book, called "
Oh, You're a Vegetable". I'm a terrible salesperson, but I'm funny and entertaining (so I've been told) and would be grateful if you would check out my book.And if I sell enough books, perhaps I can go on another trip.
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| A rare hard copy edition of the book |
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| Prague |
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| Istanbul |
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| Taj Mahal, India |
