Around the World in 80 Days (1954)
Starring:David Niven, Mario Moreno, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Newton
Running time:183 minutes
Producer:Kevin McClory, William Menzies, Michael Todd
Director:Michael Andersen
This 1956 film is based on the Jules Verne novel entitled “Around the World in 80 Days”.The movie had an extremely large cast and also has the honor of winning five Academy Awards and was nominated for three others.This film boasts
cameos from many famous stars of the time, including, Marlene Dietrich, John Carradine, Reginald Denny, Trevor Howard, Buster Keaton, Peter Lorre, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton and Edward R. Murrow, just to name a few.
The story, part of Jules Verne “Extraordinary Voyages” series, tells the story of eccentric gentleman, Phileas Fogg (played by David Niven) who enters a wager.The wager is simply that Fogg is to circumnavigate the world in 80 days.His skeptical friends in the “Reform Club” take the wager, which totals 20,000 British Pounds.
Fogg, along with his sidekick Passepartout (played by Mario Moreno) then set out in a balloon and travel to France from Britain.There they proceed to circumnavigate the globe.Along the way, they have a series of adventures in Africa, India and just about anywhere they go. This film follows Fogg and his companions all the way until they return to England and win the wager.
This film does a good job of depicting Fogg as the eccentric traveler and keeps the story generally in line with Jules Verne’s classic novel.
Although this story is dated, it is an excellent depiction of Jules Verne work.This movie gets three stars