In 1946 Orson Welles decided to return to his Broadway roots and produce a dramatic version of the 1872 Jules Verne novel "Around The World In 80 Days". It was to be a big production - with a musical score by Cole Porter, and Mike Todd as producer. Welles, besides directing it, was playing the part of the Detective (in the musical he was "Dick Fix" = presumably called that because of the slang term for a detective). It was an extravaganza, and Welles had plenty of gags in it including one where he brought out a kitchen sink (i.e. "everything and the kitchen sink": get it?). The show had a big opening night - and sank in a couple of months. It also had no song of any worth by Porter, whose normal abilities were finally shown not to be limitless (a typical song in the show was "There goes Phileas Fogg" - hardly sounds interesting from a man who created "Night and Day" or "Begin the Beguine" or "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" or "Anything Goes"). Welles had to declare bankruptcy, and had tax problems for years (which explains why after 1949 he did much of his work in Europe). He also sold his interest in the musical to Todd.
That is why Michael Todd is given full credit for "Around The World In 80 Days" (the 1956 movie) rather than an angry Welles. He really had no leg to stand on in this case.
"Around The World In Eighty Days" is really the odd duck among the major novels of Verne. If you read it, except for the use of a "wind wagon" in the Western United States portion of the novel, there are no odd devices or inventions or methods of travel in the story. In fact, the best known image of the movie (David Niven and Cantaflas flying in a balloon over the Pyranees) is not from the novel - Verne's balloon novel was "Five Weeks In A Balloon" (and he came out against balloons in "Robur The Conqueror").
"Around The World" was Verne's fun novel about English stuffiness (he disliked the English), wherein the phlegmatic and punctual Phileas Fogg makes a bet of his whole fortune to prove that he can get around the world in under three months. As such, the novel enabled Verne to show how travel was not very broadening to Fogg (a perfect name for the hero) and yet fascinating to his French valet Jean Passepartout (pronounced "Pass - par - too"). It is Passepartout who examines all the foreign peoples and lands he and Fogg travel through. Fogg only shows spirit twice: in rescuing the Indian princess Aouda from being burned alive, and in getting into a duel with the obnoxious American Colonel Seth Proctor.
When he wrote the novel, Verne was aware of an actual "Fogg" - but an American one. The eccentric American millionaire, George Francis Train (great name for a traveler) traveled around the world, in 90 days in 1870. Train would be so impressed by his effect on Verne, he did a second world tour in 72 days. And in 1889 the American journalist Nelly Bly did it in 69 days (when she stopped off in Nantes to meet Verne, he asked her where Aouda was). Verne made fun of the story himself in 1893 when in another novel he had a German aristocrat try to beat Fogg's record, but so botches up his schedule that he ended up taking twice as long.
David Niven is good as Fogg in one of his "comeback" roles that led to his Oscar winner in "Separate Tables". Shirley Maclaine seems good as Aouda, but she really is not eastern enough (maybe Merle Oberon could have handled the role twenty years earlier). Cantaflas rarely did English speaking films, and it is this one that gives non-Spanish audiences an idea of his abilities as a comic performer (but his Mexican films are better). Robert Newton was in his final performance as Fix - and he is very good. He comes across as conniving but witless at the same time. However I find that Peter Ustinov's performance in the 1989 miniseries was funnier.
Then there are all those stars in cameo parts. A clever selling idea by Todd to ensure the public's attention in the film. As a result this is the only film where Ronald Colman and Frank Sinatra and Col. Tim McCoy and Red Skelton and Edmund Lowe all appear - though not necessarily together. As many of these stars of the 1930s - 1950s are no longer remembered too well, it is difficult to see if the cameo idea was such a hot one in the long term. But the film is still enjoyable, and should lead one back to reading the Verne original.
That is why Michael Todd is given full credit for "Around The World In 80 Days" (the 1956 movie) rather than an angry Welles. He really had no leg to stand on in this case.
"Around The World In Eighty Days" is really the odd duck among the major novels of Verne. If you read it, except for the use of a "wind wagon" in the Western United States portion of the novel, there are no odd devices or inventions or methods of travel in the story. In fact, the best known image of the movie (David Niven and Cantaflas flying in a balloon over the Pyranees) is not from the novel - Verne's balloon novel was "Five Weeks In A Balloon" (and he came out against balloons in "Robur The Conqueror").
"Around The World" was Verne's fun novel about English stuffiness (he disliked the English), wherein the phlegmatic and punctual Phileas Fogg makes a bet of his whole fortune to prove that he can get around the world in under three months. As such, the novel enabled Verne to show how travel was not very broadening to Fogg (a perfect name for the hero) and yet fascinating to his French valet Jean Passepartout (pronounced "Pass - par - too"). It is Passepartout who examines all the foreign peoples and lands he and Fogg travel through. Fogg only shows spirit twice: in rescuing the Indian princess Aouda from being burned alive, and in getting into a duel with the obnoxious American Colonel Seth Proctor.
When he wrote the novel, Verne was aware of an actual "Fogg" - but an American one. The eccentric American millionaire, George Francis Train (great name for a traveler) traveled around the world, in 90 days in 1870. Train would be so impressed by his effect on Verne, he did a second world tour in 72 days. And in 1889 the American journalist Nelly Bly did it in 69 days (when she stopped off in Nantes to meet Verne, he asked her where Aouda was). Verne made fun of the story himself in 1893 when in another novel he had a German aristocrat try to beat Fogg's record, but so botches up his schedule that he ended up taking twice as long.
David Niven is good as Fogg in one of his "comeback" roles that led to his Oscar winner in "Separate Tables". Shirley Maclaine seems good as Aouda, but she really is not eastern enough (maybe Merle Oberon could have handled the role twenty years earlier). Cantaflas rarely did English speaking films, and it is this one that gives non-Spanish audiences an idea of his abilities as a comic performer (but his Mexican films are better). Robert Newton was in his final performance as Fix - and he is very good. He comes across as conniving but witless at the same time. However I find that Peter Ustinov's performance in the 1989 miniseries was funnier.
Then there are all those stars in cameo parts. A clever selling idea by Todd to ensure the public's attention in the film. As a result this is the only film where Ronald Colman and Frank Sinatra and Col. Tim McCoy and Red Skelton and Edmund Lowe all appear - though not necessarily together. As many of these stars of the 1930s - 1950s are no longer remembered too well, it is difficult to see if the cameo idea was such a hot one in the long term. But the film is still enjoyable, and should lead one back to reading the Verne original.