Around The World In 80 Days (1956)

Around The World In 80 Days - 1956

Our next film is 1956's "Around The World In 80 Days", starring David Niven.  The film follows the adventures of Phileas Fogg as he makes a bet that he can sail around the world in 80 days.  Will he make it or will he stand to lose 20,000 British pounds?

The film's huge supporting cast includes Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Newton, Charles Boyer, Joe E. Brown, John Carradine, Charles Coburn, Melville Cooper, Noel Coward, Marlene Dietrich, John Gielgud, Hermione Gingold, Cedric Hardwicke, Glynis Johns, Buster Keaton, Beatrice Lillie, Peter Lorre, John Mills, Robert Morley, Jack Oakie, George Raft, Cesar Romero, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Harcourt Williams, Philip Ahn, Ronald Colman, Finlay Currie, and Andy Devine.

Our film begins in London in 1872.  Spanish-born Passpartout goes to an employment office looking for work.

There seems to be an opening as a valet for an eccentric man named Phileas Fogg, who seems to like his morning toast at exactly eighty-three degrees Fahrenheit.

Passpartout gets the job.  It turns out Fogg is indeed eccentric.  When he's called in the morning, Passpartout has to ride up to Fogg's room in a dumbwaiter elevator.

Phileas Fogg tells Passpartout that they are leaving in ten minutes for a world tour, and he needs to pack his clothes.  Fogg has bet members of his club that he can circumnavigate the globe in eighty days for a £20,000 wager.

It turns out that Passpartout has quite the job ahead of him, as Fogg seems to be a very meticulous organizer.

Their first stop is Paris, where they try to work out the means to begin their journey.  They purchase a hot air balloon from "the second most celebrated balloonist in Europe."  "And who is the first?" asks Fogg.  "He is not available.  He was buried on Tuesday," comes the reply.

Their departure attracts quite a crowd.  Soon, however, Phileas and Passpartout are on their way.

They soar high above French cities and the countryside.  They see breathtaking views all around them.

Because part of their way was blocked in the French Alps, they must land in Spain.  Their arrival attracts quite a bit of attention.

In order to leave, Passpartout must partake in a bullfight.  Not knowing what he is doing, he eventually triumphs and the crowd is very enthusiastic.

As they go on their way, we learn that Phileas Fogg is suspected by the British police of stealing a large sum from the Bank of England.  Now, a policeman is trailing them, posing as a fellow traveler.

They make their way by ship to India.  On board, Phileas tells of his eating habits.  "Steward, my Thursday midday meal has always been and will always be hot soup, fried sole, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, baked potatoes, suet pudding, and treacle."

They arrive in India.  Passpartout eagerly explores the city on his own.  He barely makes it onto the train where Phileas is waiting for him.

Their train goes into the heart of India.  Passpartout eagerly looks at the scenery from the train windows.  Phileas doesn't seem to care about anything but conquering the miles.

While on the train they meet Sir Francis Cromarty, who tells them of the Thuggee cult and the Thug's followers of the goddess Kali.

When they reach the end of the train line, they must find an alternate means of transport through the jungle.  Phileas buys an elephant.  "One thousand pounds for an elephant?  It's outrageous!  You've been diddled!" exclaims Sir Francis.  "Undoubtedly," says Phileas, "but it's not often one needs an elephant in a hurry."

During the travels at night, they come across a funeral procession.  A local guide explains what is going on.  An Indian prince has died and is on his way to his cremation pyre.  His wife is going to be sacrificed against her will alongside him.

Phileas decides they must save the Princess.  After some quick thinking, they get those gathered spooked and they run away.  Passpartout brings the Princess to safety, and she joins their expedition.

After India, Phileas, Passpartout, and Princess Aouda travel through Siam.  (The barge shown above belonged to the King of Thailand.  He lent it to the filmmakers for use during the production.)

As they cruise along the coast by night, Phileas and Princess Aouda get to know one another better, and the Princess realizes she has feelings for Phileas.

In Hong Kong, the Princess tries to make Phileas see that she has feelings for him.  Unfortunately, he can't see anything but getting to London before the deadline expires.

The next stop is Yokohama, where Phileas and the Princess are separated for a time from Passpartout.  They eventually find him.  He inadvertently joined a theater group.

With the police still hot on their trail, the group arrives in San Francisco, and they are quite shocked at what they see going on there.  To them, it's an entirely different universe.

In San Francisco, the group meets quite a selection of colorful characters.  (I will take this opportunity to say that this film originated the term "cameo".  There are countless stars, some without speaking roles, who had a brief part in this film.  Two such stars are Marlene Dietrich and Frank Sinatra.)

Following San Francisco, the group (still followed by the police) must travel across America through the Wild West.  Once again, Phileas seems uninterested in the scenery.

This is probably their most perilous part of the journey.  They have to endure a very dangerous bridge, which collapses after the train crosses it, and a shoot-out on board the train makes things very exciting.  Delays also hold them up.  They have to wait for a herd of buffalo to cross the train tracks, and they must also smoke a peace pipe with a Native American tribe.

They must ultimately cross the Atlantic in a craft that hardly seems up to the challenge.

When he finally arrives home, Phileas is arrested by the police.  He's let go, but he thinks he's too late to win the wager.  Defeated, he finds he has nothing left but the love of Princess Aouda.  He takes her in his arms and they embrace.  Passpartout looks at the newspaper and discovers that it is actually a day earlier than they thought, due to their crossing of the International Date Line.

Phileas hurries to the club so he can be in time to win his wager.  He gets stopped, though, by a group of revivalists.  "Don't do it, sir.  Don't do it.  Don't give in to the Prince of Darkness," says the leader.  "Madam, I haven't the faintest intention of giving in to the Prince," says Phileas as he breaks away in a hurry.

In the end, he does get to the club just in the nick of time, to the astonishment of his fellow club members.  After he wins the wager, something startles the members of the club, including Phileas.

It's the arrival of Princess Aouda, who is looking for Phileas.  He goes to her and tells her she has to leave because no woman has ever set foot in the precincts of the club.  If a woman did enter, it would probably spell the end of the British Empire.  They smile as they leave and one member announces, "this is the end."

Cast rundown:

   David Niven....................................Phileas Fogg

   Cantinflas.........................................Passpartout

   Shirley MacLaine.............................Princess Aouda

   Robert Newton................................Inspector Fix

   Charles Boyer..................................Monsieur Gasse

   Joe E. Brown...................................Station Master

   John Carradine................................Col. Stamp Proctor

   Charles Coburn................................Hong Kong Clerk

   Melville Cooper.................................Mr. Talley

   Noel Coward....................................Roland Hesketh-Baggott

   Marlene Dietrich...............................Saloon Owner

   John Gielgud....................................Foster

   Hermione Gingold.............................Sporting Lady

   Cedric Hardwicke..............................Sir Francis Cromarty

   Glynis Johns.....................................Lady's Companion

   Buster Keaton...................................Train Conductor

   Beatrice Lillie....................................London Revivalist

   Peter Lorre.......................................Japanese Steward

   John Mills.........................................London Carriage Driver

   Robert Morley...................................Ralph

   Jack Oakie.......................................Captain of Henrietta

   George Raft.....................................Saloon Bouncer

   Cesar Romero..................................Abdullah's Henchman

   Frank Sinatra...................................Saloon Pianist

   Red Skelton.....................................Drunk In Saloon

   Harcourt Williams.............................Hinshaw

   Philip Ahn........................................Hong Kong Citizen

   Ronald Colman.................................Official

   Finlay Currie.....................................Andrew Stuart

   Andy Devine.....................................First Mate of Henrietta

And that's all for Around The World In 80 Days.  This film won the 1956 Academy Award for Best Picture, and it's easy to see why.  I love the different scenes of the places that Fogg and Passpartout visited.  And how could you go wrong with over 40 stars playing bit roles?  David Niven, himself, said that Phileas Fogg was his favorite role to play.  As of 2020, Shirley MacLaine and Glynis Johns are the only surviving members of the cast.

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