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| Phileas Fogg (David Niven) and his resourceful manservant Passepartout (Cantinflas) take off - literally - on their voyage. |
Release Date: Oct. 17, 1956. Running Time: 182 minutes. Screenplay: James Poe, John Farrow, S. J. Perelman. Producer: Michael Todd. Director: Michael Anderson.
THE PLOT:
It is 1872, and the Bank of England has been robbed. A discussion of the crime among members of the upper-class Reform Club turns to how large the world is... leading English gentleman Phileas Fogg (David Niven) to claim that in this modern age, a man could travel completely around the world in only 80 days. When his peers scoff, he resolves to prove his claim, betting his entire fortune he can leave that very night and be back in the club exactly 80 days hence.
Together with his resourceful manservant, Passepartout (Cantinflas), Fogg heads east: first to Spain, then France, and then India. They travel by ship, by train, on the back of an elephant, and even in a hot air balloon. Fogg manages to pull ahead of schedule, even after he makes a detour to rescue an Indian princess (Shirley MacLaine). As reports of his progress trickle in, the members of the Reform Club begin to face the grim prospect that they may lose their very expensive wager.
But the diligent Inspector Fix (Robert Newton) believes that Fogg's bet is just a cover, and that this respectable gentleman is actually behind the bank robbery. Fix resolves to delay Fogg long enough to secure a warrant for his arrest, and he is willing to resort to any means to do so!
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| Fogg is stunned when he's accused of bank robbery. |
DAVID NIVEN AS PHILEAS FOGG:
David Niven is perfectly cast in what he claimed was his all-time favorite role. Fogg is introduced as the personification of the stuffy English gentleman. He is utterly rigid. When Fogg interviews Passepartout, he crisply informs him that his timetable never varies and that he expects his breakfast at 8:24, adding: "I do not mean at 8:23 or at 8:25."
He remains rigid even during the voyage. He stakes out a position on deck and sits there at the same time each day, even during a furious storm. When the ship encounters unusually hot weather, the steward changes the meal to something lighter. Fogg insists that his lunch remains unchanged, declaring that his "Thursday mid-day meal" has always been the same and always will be.
His stubbornness also shows in positive ways. Most important is his perseverance. He went on this voyage fully expecting unexpected setbacks, and he refuses to be rattled by them. A train tunnel has collapsed? He purchases a hot air balloon to fly over the obstruction. A railway through the jungle stops ten miles short of his destination? He secures an elephant that he and his party ride the rest of the way. He's also consistently willing to delay his journey and risk the wager if people are in danger, which leads to him meeting Princess Aouda.
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| Passepartout rides his bicycle through the streets of Victorian London. |
CANTINFLAS AS PASSEPARTOUT:
The role of Fogg's manservant/sidekick has been greatly expanded from the novel to exploit the popularity of Mexican comedian Cantinflas, who was a legitimate superstar in the Spanish speaking world. No less than Charlie Chaplin labeled him "the greatest comedian alive," which is appropriate given how much his presence recalls Chaplin's own: ragged yet dignified, comical yet consistently resourceful.
At one point, Fogg describes Passepartout as a "jack of all trades," with previous jobs ranging from chimney sweep to acrobat. Passepartout solves many of the problems they encounter along the way. When Fogg is in need of transport from Spain to Marseilles, it's Passepartout who ends up securing it - by satisfying a wealthy sea captain (Gilbert Roland)'s desire to see him in a bullfight. It's a sequence that was added to draw on Cantinflas's own bullfighting experience, and he plays it with aplomb. He's wide-eyed in (comic) terror one moment, then gracefully dancing with the bull the next. The set piece itself goes on a bit long, but his physical performance is superb.
As the film goes on, we see him becoming ever more loyal to Fogg. He strongly approves when his master insists that they must rescue Princess Aouda from being murdered on her late husband's funeral pyre, and the actual rescue ends up falling to him. When Inspector Fix confides his suspicions that Fogg committed the bank robbery, Passepartout flatly refuses to believe it. Finally, when he sees Fogg and Aouda falling in love, he is as jubilant as if anticipating the nuptials of a favored relative.
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| Unlikely foursome: Fogg, Princess Aouda (Shirley MacLaine), Passepartout, and Inspector Fix (Robert Newton). |
OTHER CHARACTERS:
Princess Aouda: Shirley MacLaine's Indian princess is easily the weakest link among the four main roles. The character is paper-thin. After her rescue, she immediately falls in love with Fogg because... well, he's the lead and the movie needs its romance. MacLaine would later state that she had been miscast. In my opinion, she's the only reason the character works at all. She's a winning presence, making the most of small gestures and facial expressions, and she has reasonable chemistry with David Niven despite the age difference. Without her, I don't think Aouda would even register.
Inspector Fix: Robert Newton's Fix seems to think of himself as a great detective, while everyone else can see that he's actually a buffoon. His attempts to be inconspicuous while spying on Fogg just make him stand out all the more, whether he's trying to hide himself behind a potted plant or covering his face with a bright red bandana. He regularly gets seasick; during one such bout, Fogg seems to revel in tormenting him by offering him fresh fish. Newton pitches his performance just right. Fix is a ridiculous character, but he takes himself utterly seriously - which makes him all the funnier. A wonderful, scene-stealing performance, making it all the sadder that it was Newton's last.
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| Inspector Fix tries, and utterly fails, to be inconspicuous while spying on Fogg. |
AMIABLE COMPANY - BUT NOT A BEST PICTURE:
Around the World in 80 Days is a fine film to watch. The cast is likable, with all four main actors playing well off each other. It maintains an appealingly light tone. It's often funny and charming, and it's amiable company even during its many slow stretches.
It absolutely did not deserve to win Best Picture. 1956's releases included John Ford's The Searchers (which wasn't even nominated!) and Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, the latter of which was just as big a spectacle and was even more popular than Around the World in 80 Days. I can't help but suspect that DeMille's relatively recent (undeserved) Oscar win for The Greatest Show on Earth cost him the award that he actually should have received.
The story does get off to a strong start. We learn of the bank robbery. Then Passepartout is introduced via an extended piece that shows him navigating the London streets on an outsized bicycle, setting him up as a comical and eccentric figure in his own right. When he applies for a job, we overhear Fogg's previous manservant (John Gielgud) complaining about his former master, establishing Fogg's rigidity and precision. Then a chat by Reform Club members about the robbery leads to discussion of how the world is shrinking, which in turn leads to Fogg's wager. With efficiency that Fogg himself might admire, both the characters and situation are set up, with the twin plots of the robbery and the wager tying into each other nicely.
After that, however, there just... isn't that much. Fix gets introduced around the sixty-minute mark, voicing his suspicions of Fogg. But that plotline doesn't really develop. Even after he reveals himself to Passepartout, nothing changes. Fix just keeps trailing after the others, and they keep tolerating him. Even when the inspector's interference results in Passepartout being temporarily separated from the group, there are no repercussions. All that results is a set piece with Passepartout joining a Japanese circus and a cameo by Peter Lorre. If the whole ten minutes was cut, no one would know that anything was missing.
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| Frank Sinatra plays the piano. And turns so that the audience can say, "Hey, that's Frank Sinatra!" |
"MAKING EXTRAS OUT OF ALL THE STARS IN HOLLYWOOD!"
The movie was noted for its huge cast of big name cameo appearances. The ones that work best are those that feel like proper parts of the story. John Gielgud's griping about Fogg helps inform our initial impression of the unlikely adventurer; Charles Boyer sells Fogg the hot air balloon that is the center of the first big set piece; Cedric Hardwicke is a British general who is amusingly useless during the rescue of Princess Adoua; and Buster Keaton entertains as the long-suffering train conductor in the western section. Even without the celebrity names, these characters would have likely still been featured.
In other cases, the movie seems to stop dead to fit in cameos. The most egregious example comes after the party arrives in America. Fogg and Passepartout enter a San Francisco saloon. Several minutes are then burned off showcasing: Marlene Dietrich, George Raft, Red Skelton, John Carradine, and Frank Sinatra. If the entire sequence was removed, nothing would actually be lost - but hey, look at the stars!
In fairness, I'm writing from the perspective of 2023. In 1956, audiences had great fun just picking out the familiar faces. It is, however, one of the aspects of the movie that hasn't aged quite so well.
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| Fogg and Aouda fall in love. |
OTHER MUSINGS:
The widescreen, Technicolor photography is beautiful, particularly the second unit location work. It may be a bit obvious to modern eyes when the movie cuts from, say, David Niven and Cantinflas looking out a window on a train set to second unit footage shot from a train moving through exotic locales. Still, the matches between studio and location are sufficient that even mentally clocking that doesn't take me out of the movie, and I suspect it was invisible to most contemporary viewers.
It's a sign of how the film has aged that the traveling sequences and set pieces all feel as if they go on about twice as long as they should. This wouldn't have been the case in 1956, when audiences would have soaked in the sights. Today, however, the middle portion of the movie feels extremely slow and sometimes aimless.
The story snaps back into focus in the final stretch. The last thirty minutes, showing Fogg's trip across the Atlantic and his arrival in England, is a delight. Fogg has become steadily more human across the running time. There's a sense of him rejecting his former stolidness when he burns up his top hat and gentleman's cane for the sake of a bit more speed. When he returns to his house, Princess Aouda shows disappointment in his home, dubbing it "joyless" - and from his reaction, he seems to agree with her.
The movie ends particularly well. The final lines are delivered, respectively, by Shirley MacLaine, David Niven, and Robert Morley, and the timing of the lines is perfectly judged. This is followed by a then-unprecedented six minute title sequence. As Victor Young's splendid score plays, Fogg's journey is retold in animated form. It's funny and stylish and is a perfect way to close out this imperfect but generally enjoyable motion picture.
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| Passepartout ends up in a bullfighting ring in a scene that draws on Cantinflas's own experience. |
REMAKES AND RETELLINGS:
There have been many film and television versions of Around the World in 80 Days. Some of the more notable ones include...
1919 silent version: The first film version of Jules Verne's novel, a German movie starring Conrad Veidt as Phineas Fogg (not a typo). Presumed lost, a print was reportedly found at the EYE Film Institue in the Netherlands in 2021.
1972 animated series: 16-episode cartoon version that recasts Fogg's wager as an attempt to win the hand of his lover, Belinda Maze. In this version, "Mr. Fix" is not an inspector, but a saboteur whose attempts to interfere with Fogg create much of the conflict. Oh, and Fogg and Passepartout travel with a pet monkey.
1989 NBC miniseries: A mammoth television production starring Pierce Brosnan as Fogg, Eric Idle as Passepartout, Julia Nickson as Princess Aouda, and Peter Ustinov as Inspector Fix. Like the 1956 movie, it offers up a wealth of cameos, including: Christopher Lee, Patrick MacNee, Lee Remick, Darren McGavin, and Roddy McDowall... Oh, and Robert Morley and John Mills, both of whom appeared in the 1956 version. I recall quite liking this adaptation, though it's been so long since I've seen it that I have no idea if it holds up.
2004 Disney version: This one swaps the main roles, with Jackie Chan's Passepartout as the hero and Steve Coogan's Phileas Fogg as the sidekick. I have not seen it; but it's a Jackie Chan star vehicle, so expect an emphasis on martial arts and comedy, likely at the same time. The film was unsuccessful at the box office, and reviews were even less kind to it than audiences.
2021 television version: David Tennant plays Phileas Fogg, with Ibrahim Koma as Passepartout. Since Koma is black and it aired in 2021, the usual suspects pounced on this "woke" race swap... despite Passepartout previously having been played by a Mexican, an Asian, and a Brit doing a funny accent! If any role should be immune to "race swap" criticisms, then Passepartout is it. In any event, it proved successful with viewers and was renewed for a second series, despite the actual story being concluded.
Oh, and a special mention should go to Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin, a BBC travel show with Palin recreating Fogg's route. It was so successful that it led to further travel series and specials with Palin (minus the Jules Verne connection).
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| Passepartout races to catch the train, with a little help from Fogg's cane. |
OVERALL:
1956's Around the World in 80 Days is a spectacle that shows its age. The set pieces and travel sequences now seem overlong, sometimes ludicrously so, and the story more or less vanishes for large stretches at a time.
There's still plenty to enjoy. It founders in the middle, but the first thirty minutes and last thirty minutes are quite good. It also features an extremely likable main cast. David Niven and Cantinflas are consistently delightful, Shirley MacLaine does what she can with an underwritten part, and Robert Newton steals scenes with abandon. It also benefits throughout from a terrific music score.
On the whole, it's worth a watch. But it has more than a few slow stretches, and even at its best it feels insubstantial. Given some of the heavy hitters released in 1956, there is no way that it deserved Best Picture.
Overall Rating: 6/10.
Best Motion Picture - 1955: Marty
Best Motion Picture - 1957: The Bridge on the River Kwai
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