Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

A Victorian Englishman bets that with the new steamships and railways he can circumnavigate the globe in eighty days.

Directors:

Michael Anderson, John Farrow (uncredited)

Writers:

James Poe (screenplay), John Farrow (screenplay)

Stars:

David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine

Won 5 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Niven	...	Phileas Fogg
Cantinflas	...	Passepartout
Shirley MacLaine	...	Princess Aouda
Robert Newton	...	Inspector Fix
Charles Boyer	...	Monsieur Gasse - Thomas Cook Paris Clerk
Joe E. Brown	...	Fort Kearney Station Master
Martine Carol	...	Girl in Paris Railroad Station
John Carradine	...	Col. Stamp Proctor - San Francisco Politico
Charles Coburn	...	Steamship Company Hong Kong Clerk
Ronald Colman	...	Great Indian Peninsular Railway Official
Melville Cooper	...	Mr. Talley - Steward R.M.S 'Mongolia'
Noël Coward	...	Roland Hesketh-Baggott - London Employment Agency Manager (as Noel Coward)
Finlay Currie	...	Andrew Stuart
Reginald Denny	...	Bombay Police Inspector
Andy Devine	...	First Mate of the 'S. S. Henrietta'

Storyline

When this movie is made in 1956, one could circumnavigate the globe in a little less than two days. When Jules Verne wrote the story "Around the World in Eighty Days" in 1872, he predicted that one day man could accomplish the task in eighty hours, but which most considered folly to do in eighty days in current times, that is except for people like Englishman Phileas Fogg, a regimented man who believed all it would take is exacting work, the skills he possesses. He just has to make sure a train's schedule meets the required sailing schedule which meets the required coach schedule and so on. As such, he takes up what ends up being the highly publicized twenty thousand pounds sterling wager from his fellow members at the London Reform Club to do so, losing the bet which would ruin him financially. Along for the ride is Fogg's new, loyal and devoted valet, the recently arrived Latin immigrant, Passepartout, who possesses unusual skills which could be major assets, but whose all consuming...

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Plot Keywords:

victorian era | based on novel | on the road | native american | india | 

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Taglines:

...and the whole world loves it!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

In French, Passepartout (or Passe-partout) means "passkey" or "all-purpose". Passepartout helps Fogg in numerous situations.

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Goofs

The locomotive used for the American train sequence is named the Jupiter, one of the locomotives at the Golden Spike ceremony. However it's a 2-8-2 freight engine with small drive wheels. The real Jupiter was a 4-4-0 passenger locomotive with large drivers. The locomotive in the movie is powerful but slow, and would never have been used to pull a passenger train on the prairie.

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Quotes

Saloon Hostess: Never be in a hurry. You'll miss the best parts in life.
Phileas Fogg: Madam, you don't understand. I'm looking for my man.
Saloon Hostess: So am I.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits. The film begins with 'Edward R. Murrow (I)' narrating a prologue showing the history of flight. Then, the actual story begins with no opening credits whatsoever.

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Alternate Versions

Some older TV prints of "Around The World in 80 Days" eliminate the prologue. The film was also often subject to indiscriminate cutting in the past for commercial TV broadcasts due to its length. Now that the full-length widescreen "roadshow" version has been restored for DVD, this version will hopefully be made available for future TV broadcasts.

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Connections

Referenced in Sunny Side Up (1994)

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Soundtracks

Yankee Doodle
(ca. 1755) (uncredited)
Traditional music of English origin
In the score during the voyage to America

User Reviews

Just not as exciting as reading the book

I read the book first and then saw the movie as an 11-year-old in 1957, in the theater in the original Todd-A-O format (ie., an alternative to Cinerama). Saw it again on TV last night as a geezer. In both instances, I though it was too long and boring. As a kid, I thought it was way too long between action sequences as featured in the book, to focus on extensive and incredibly long "travelog" scenes around the world. I guess the writers and director also thought it would be a "pull" to cram in as many cameos as they could of actors of the past and the then present. This also slowed down the plot in many instances. In the 1950s, most folks couldn't afford the high cost of foreign travel, and that might have been a reason for showing so many, and so long, just plain scenery scenes. But kids like me at the time probably couldn't care less. In the 2000's, adults interested in foreign travel have "been there, done that;" get on with the plot, please! And kids today still probably couldn't care less. In both instances, though, I thought the animated closing credits were fantastic! In 1957, before they started the movie, the theater manager came on stage and recommended that everyone stay for the closing credits. He was right!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish French

Release Date:

17 October 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Michael Todd's Around the World in 80 Days

Filming Locations:

Yokohama, Kanagawa, Honshu, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$42,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$42,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Michael Todd Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

167 min 167 min (35 mm) 183 min (with entr'acte and exit music) 135 min (video) 182 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Mag-optical) (35 mm prints) (1956) Mono (optical) (35 mm prints) (re-release prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) 4-Track Stereo (Perspecta Sound encoding) (35 mm magnetic prints) (1956)

Color:

Color (Eastman Color) Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1