Synopsis
A splashy mix of stars and scenery, Around the World in 80 Days was a spectacle in every sense of the word. Based on the Jules Verne novel, the film starred David Niven, Cantinflas, Robert Newton and Shirley MacLaine, but no fewer than 40 stars of stage and screen appeared in surprise cameos as Phileas Fogg and his valet Passepartout circumnavigated the late-19th-century globe.
In London, punctuality-obsessed Phileas Fogg (Niven) makes a 20,000-pound bet with the fellow members of his gentleman’s club: Fogg will circle the world in 80 days or less, a seemingly impossible feat. The club members think Fogg is a fool, but they have no qualms parting a fool from his money. Together with the reliable and multi-skilled Passepartout (Cantinflas), Fogg sets out on his journey.
The snags begin almost immediately, as Fogg misses a train and has to travel by balloon. The wild journey takes Fogg and Passepartout into a Spanish bullfight, through the jungles of India (where the two take on a third companion, the princess Aouda), to Hong Kong, San Francisco and the Wild West, with dangerous run-ins around every bend. Throughout, the globetrotters are dogged by the mysterious Mr. Fix, who believes Fogg may have secured his 20,000 pounds through less-than-legal means.
At every stop, viewers were treated not only to lush location scenery (shot in 70mm Todd-AO widescreen), but also to one double-take-inducing cameo after another. Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Peter Lorre, George Raft, Red Skelton, Joe E. Brown, Andy Devine, José Greco and dozens more popped up in the least expected places, while Edward R. Murrow himself provided the opening narration.
Even at nearly three hours, both kids and adults sat spellbound as one exotic location after another filled the screen. The Academy was duly impressed as well, awarding the film 5 Oscars, including Best Picture. Verne’s tale was later adapted into a single season Saturday morning cartoon and a handful of TV miniseries, but for most, the definitive version will always be this sweeping, star-studded epic.
Release History
1956 - Around the World in 80 Days
Sub Categories
live-action
action/adventure
Studio Michael Todd Company, United Artists
Cast
| Phileas Fogg | | David Niven
|
| Passepartout | | Cantinflas
|
| Mr. Fix | | Robert Newton
|
| Princess Aouda | | Shirley MacLaine
|
| Whist Partner | | Finlay Currie
|
| Ralph | | Robert Morley
|
| Reform Club Member | | Ronald Squire
|
| Reform Club Member | | Basil Sydney
|
| Hesketh-Baggott | | Noel Coward
|
| Foster | | John Gielgud
|
| Fallentin | | Trevor Howard
|
| Hinshaw | | Harcourt Williams
|
| Tourist | | Martine Carol
|
| Coachman | | Fernandel
|
| Monsieur Gasse | | Charles Boyer
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| Flirt | | Evelyn Keyes
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| Dancer | | José Greco
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| Bullfighter | | Luis Miguel Dominguín
|
| Achmed Abdullah | | Gilbert Roland
|
| Henchman | | Cesar Romero
|
| Consul | | Alan Mowbray
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| Sir Francis Gromarty | | Cedric Hardwicke
|
| Steward | | Melville Cooper
|
| Police Chief | | Reginald Denny
|
| Railway Official | | Ronald Colman
|
| Featured player | | Robert Cabal
|
| Clerk | | Charles Coburn
|
| Japanese Steward | | Peter Lorre
|
| Bouncer | | George Raft
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| Drunk | | Red Skelton
|
| Character | | Mike Mazurki
|
| Hostess | | Marlene Dietrich
|
| Col. Proctor Stamp | | John Carradine
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| Pianist | | Frank Sinatra
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| Conductor | | Buster Keaton
|
| Commander | | Tim McCoy
|
| Stationmaster | | Joe E. Brown
|
| First Mate | | Andy Devine
|
| Engineer | | Edmund Lowe
|
| Helmsman | | Victor McLaglen
|
| Captain Jack | | Oakie
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| Revivalist | | Beatrice Lillie
|
| Carriage Driver | | John Mills
|
| Companion | | Glynis Johns
|
| Sporting Lady | | Hermione Gingold
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| Narrator | | Edward R. Murrow
|
| Club Member | | A.E. Matthews
|
| Featured player | | Richard Aherne
|
| Featured player | | Ronald Adam
|
| Featured player | | Philip Ahn
|
| Featured player | | Walter Fitzgerald
|
| Featured player | | Roy Aversa
|
| Featured player | | Frank Royde
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| Featured player | | Frank Baker
|
| Featured player | | Alex Ball
|
| Featured player | | John Benson
|
| Featured player | | Leon Bouvard
|
| Featured player | | Donald Brown
|
| Featured player | | Ollie Brown
|
| Featured player | | Theona Bryant
|
| Featured player | | J.W. Burr
|
| Featured player | | Al Cavens
|
| Featured player | | Fred Cavens
|
| Featured player | | Hung Choy Shih
|
| Featured player | | Neil Collins
|
| Featured player | | Cecil Combs
|
| Featured player | | Louis Cortina
|
| Featured player | | Ashley Cowan
|
| Featured player | | Roy Darmour
|
| Featured player | | Maria Delgado
|
| Featured player | | Amapola Del Vando
|
| Featured player | | Leslie Denison
|
| Featured player | | Clint Dorrington
|
| Featured player | | Ed Edmonson
|
| Featured player | | Carli Elinor
|
| Featured player | | Duke Fishman
|
| Featured player | | Frances Fong
|
| Featured player | | Raoul Freeman
|
| Featured player | | Tommy Fujiwara
|
| Featured player | | Joseph Garcio
|
| Featured player | | Harry Gilette
|
| Featured player | | Joseph Glick
|
| Featured player | | Arthur Gould-Porter
|
| Featured player | | Bernie Gozier (as Bernard Gozier)
|
| Featured player | | Ralph Grosh
|
| Featured player | | Chuck Hamilton
|
| Featured player | | Mahgoub Hanaf
|
| Featured player | | Doc Harnett
|
| Featured player | | Chester Hayes
|
| Featured player | | Tex Holden
|
| Featured player | | David B. Hughes
|
| Featured player | | Joanne Jones
|
| Featured player | | Paul King
|
| Featured player | | Walter Kingsford
|
| Featured player | | Ben Knight
|
| Featured player | | Freddie Letuli
|
| Featured player | | Weaver Levy
|
| Featured player | | Richard Loo
|
| Featured player | | Manuel López
|
| Featured player | | Joan Lora
|
| Featured player | | Keye Luke
|
| Featured player | | Robert McNulty
|
| Engineer | | Casey MacGregor
|
| Featured player | | D. Ellsworth Manning
|
| Featured player | | Dewey Manning
|
| Featured player | | Harry Mayo
|
| Featured player | | Lorion Miller
|
| Featured player | | Maria Monay
|
| Featured player | | Jack Mulhall
|
| Featured player | | Bob Okazaki
|
| Featured player | | Manuel París
|
| Featured player | | James Porter
|
| Featured player | | Satini Pualoa
|
| Featured player | | Amando Rodriguez
|
| Featured player | | George Russell
|
| Featured player | | Jim Salisbury
|
| Featured player | | Bhogwan Singh
|
| Featured player | | Alvin Slaight
|
| Featured player | | Fred O. Sommers
|
| Featured player | | Owen Kyoon Song
|
| Featured player | | Ward Thompson
|
| Featured player | | Philip Van Zandt
|
| Featured player | | Frank Vessels Jr.
|
| Featured player | | Al Walton
|
| Featured player | | Dick Wessel
|
| Featured player | | Robert Whitney
|
| Featured player | | Kathryn Wilson
|
| Featured player | | Thomas Quon Woo
|
| Featured player | | R. Brodie
|
| Featured player | | Patrick Cargill
|
| Featured player | | Campbell Cotts
|
| Featured player | | Felix Felton
|
| Featured player | | Cameron Hall
|
| Featured player | | Maria Hanson
|
| Featured player | | Roddy Hughes
|
| Featured player | | Frederick Leister
|
| Featured player | | N. Macowen
|
| Featured player | | Bill Shine
|
| Featured player | | Janet Sterke
|
| Featured player | | Michael Trubshawe
|
| Featured player | | Richard Wattis
|
| Featured player | | Sohi Shannon |
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