.gif)
Around the World in Eighty Days (1956 film)
Encyclopedia
Around the World in 80 Days is a 1956 adventure film
produced by the Michael Todd Company and released by United Artists
. It was directed by Michael Anderson
. It was produced by Michael Todd
, with Kevin McClory
and William Cameron Menzies
as associate producers. The screenplay
was written by James Poe
, John Farrow
and S. J. Perelman
based on the classic novel of the same name by Jules Verne
. The music score was composed by Victor Young
, and the Todd-AO
70 mm
cinematography was by Lionel Lindon. The film won multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
The film's seven-minute-long animated title sequence
, shown at the end of the film, was created by award-winning designer Saul Bass
.
, who is smoking, and featuring footage of an early science fiction/fantasy film by Georges Méliès
, A Trip to the Moon (1902), which is based loosely on From the Earth to the Moon
by Jules Verne
. Included also is the launching of an unmanned rocket and footage of the earth receding.
Around 1872, an English gentleman Phileas Fogg (David Niven
) claims he can circumnavigate the world in eighty days. He makes a £
20,000 wager (equal to £ today) with several skeptical fellow members of the Reform Club
, that he can arrive back within 80 days before exactly 9:00 pm.
Together with his resourceful valet, Passepartout (Mario Moreno "Cantinflas"
), Fogg sets out on his journey from Paris
via a helium balloon. Meanwhile, suspicion grows that Fogg has stolen £55,000 (equal to £ today) from the Bank of England so Police Inspector Fix (Robert Newton
) is sent out by Scotland Yard to trail and arrest Fogg. Hopscotching around the globe, Fogg pauses in Spain
, where Passepartout engages in a comic bullfight. In India
, Fogg and Passepartout rescue young widow Princess Aouda (Shirley MacLaine
) from being forced into a funeral pyre with her late husband. The threesome visit Hong Kong
, Japan
, San Francisco, and the Wild West. Only hours short of winning his wager, Fogg is arrested upon returning to London, by the diligent yet misguided Inspector Fix.
At the jail, the humiliated Fix informs Fogg that the real culprit was caught in Brighton
. Though eventually exonerated of the charges, he has lost everything — except the love of the winsome Aouda. But salvation is at hand when Passepartout realizes the next morning that, by crossing the International Date Line
, they have gained a day. There is still time to reach the Reform Club and win the bet. To the surprise of all waiting at the club, Fogg arrives just before the clock's chime at 8:45 pm. Aouda and Passepartout then arrive. Noticing Fogg's whole travel party has arrived, and noting the fact that a woman and a Frenchman have entered the hallowed British gentlemen's precinct, the Reform Club announces the completion of the journey and The End of the British Empire.
and Mario Moreno "Cantinflas"
in the lead roles of Fogg and Passepartout. Fogg is the classic Victorian gentleman, well-dressed, well-spoken, and extremely punctual, whereas his servant Passepartout (who has an eye for the ladies) provides much of the comic relief as a "jack of all trades" for the film in contrast to his master's strict formality. Joining them are Shirley MacLaine
as Princess Aouda and Robert Newton
as the detective Fix, in his last role.
The role of Passepartout was greatly expanded from the novel to accommodate Cantinflas, the most famous Latin-American comedian at the time,{http://www.semana.com/cultura/palabra-pirueta/161809-3.aspx} and winds up the focus of the film. While Passepartout describes himself as a Parisian in the novel, this is unclear in the film—he has a French name, but speaks Spanish when he and his master arrive in Spain by balloon. In the Spanish version the name of his character was changed from the French Passepartout to the Spanish "Juan Picatoste". There is also a comic bullfighting sequence especially created for Cantinflas that is not in the novel. Indeed, when the film was released in non-English speaking nations, Cantinflas was billed as the lead. According to the guidebook describing the movie, this was done because of an obstacle Todd faced in casting Cantinflas, who had never before appeared in an American movie and had turned down countless offers to do so. Todd allowed Cantinflas to appear in the film as a Latin, "so," the actor said himself, "...to my audience in Latin America
, I'll still be Cantinflas."
Over 40 famous performers make cameo appearance
s, including Marlene Dietrich
, George Raft
, and Frank Sinatra
to name a few. The film was significant as the first of the so-called Hollywood "make work" films, employing dozens of faded film personalities. John Wayne
turned down Todd's offer for the role of the Colonel leading the Cavalry charge, a role filled in by Tim McCoy. Promotional material released at the time quoted a Screen Actors Guild representative looking at the shooting call sheet and crying: "Good heavens Todd, you've made extras out of all the stars in Hollywood!" . As of Evelyn Keyes death in 2008, Shirley Maclaine and Glynis Johns are the last surviving members of the entire cast.
, the 1956 film of George Orwell
's Nineteen Eighty-Four
and other classic films. Todd sold his interest in the Todd-AO
film format to help finance the film.
In the autobiographical book The Moon's a Balloon
, published in 1972, the actor David Niven discussed his meeting with Todd and the subsequent events that led to the film being produced. According to Niven, when Todd asked him if he would appear as Fogg, Niven enthusiastically replied, 'I'd do it for nothing!' He later admitted to being grateful that Todd did not hold him to his claim. He also described the first meeting between Todd and Robert Newton
(who suffered with drink problems) when the latter was offered the role of the Detective, Fix; Niven alleged that Newton was offered the part on condition that he did not drink any alcohol during the filming, and that his celebration following the completion of his role led to his untimely demise and that he he did not live to see the film released.
Filming took place in late 1955, from August 9 to December 20. The crew worked fast (75 actual days of filming), producing 680000 feet (207,264 m) of film, which was edited down to 25734 feet (7,843.7 m) of finished film. The picture cost just under $6 million to make, employing 112 locations in 13 countries and 140 sets. Todd said he and the crew visited every country portrayed in the picture, including England, France, India, Spain, Thailand and Japan. According to the Time magazine review of the film, the cast including extras totaled 68,894 people; it also featured 7,959 animals, "including four ostriches, six skunks, 15 elephants, 17 fighting bulls, 512 rhesus monkeys, 800 horses, 950 burros, 2,448 American buffalo, 3,800 Rocky Mountain sheep and a sacred cow that eats flowers on cue." The wardrobe department spent $410,000 to provide 74,685 costumes and 36,092 trinkets.
Some 10,000 extras were used in filming the bullfight scene in Spain, with Cantinflas as the matador; Cantinflas had previously done some bullfighting. They used all 6,500 residents of a small Spanish town called Chinchón
, 45 kilometres (28 mi) from Madrid
, but Todd decided there weren't enough spectators. So he found 3,500 more from nearby towns. He used 650 Indians for a fight on a train in the West. Many were indeed Indians, but some were Hollywood extras. All 650 had their skin color altered with dye. Todd used about 50 gal of orange-colored dye for those extras.
Todd sometimes used models of boats, ships and trains in the film, but he often decided that they didn't look realistic so he switched to the real thing where he could. The scene of a collapsing train bridge is partly without models. The overhead shot of a train crossing a bridge was full scale, but the bridge collapse was a large-scale miniature, verifiable by observing the slightly jerky motion of the rear passenger car as the train pulls away, as well as the slowed-down water droplets which are out of scale in the splashing river below. All the steamships shown in the first half are miniatures shot in an outdoor studio tank. The exception is the American ship shown at the intermission point, which is real. A tunnel was built for a train sequence out of paper mache. After the train filming was complete, the "tunnel" was pushed over into the gorge.
The scenes of the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean
by steamship took place off San Francisco and were shot on a specially built prop steamer, a converted barge mocked up to resemble a small ocean-going steamship, with mock paddles driven by the electric motor from an old streetcar. In his memoirs, Niven described the whole thing as being dangerously unstable (though stability improved as it was dismantled as though to feed it into its own furnaces as the plot required).
Many of the balloon scenes with Niven and Cantinflas were filmed using a 160 feet (48.8 m) crane. Even that height bothered Niven, who was afraid of heights. Tom Burges, who was shorter than Niven, was used as a stand-in for scenes where the balloon is seen from a distance. Many of the lots used in the film are now on the land occupied by Century City
, an office complex in the L.A. area.
One of the most famous sequences in the film, the flight by hot air balloon
, is not in the original Jules Verne novel. Because the film was made in Todd AO, the sequence was expressly created to show off the locations seen on the flight, as projected on the giant curved screen used for the process. A similar balloon flight can be found in an earlier Jules Verne novel, Five Weeks in a Balloon
, in which the protagonists explore Africa from a hot air balloon.
In his memoirs, Niven related that Todd completed filming whilst in considerable debt. The post-production work on the film was an exercise in holding off Todd's creditors long enough to produce a saleable movie, and the footage was worked upon under the supervision of Todd's creditors and returned to a secure vault each night, to be held, as it were in escrow
.
The film's release and subsequent success vindicated Todd's considerable abilities.
In Spanish and Latin American posters and programs of the movie, Cantinflas is featured over the other players since he was very popular there. There were two souvenir programs sold in theaters. For Roadshow screenings Todd-AO is mentioned, though for general release those pages are not contained in the book. The program was created by Todd's publicist, Art Cohn, who died in the plane crash with him. His biography, "The Nine Lives of Michael Todd" was published after their deaths which put a macabre spin on the title.
called the film a "sprawling conglomeration of refined English comedy, giant-screen travel panoramics and slam-bang Keystone
burlesque" and said Todd and the film's crew "commandeered the giant screen and stereophonic sound as though they were Olsen and Johnson
(remember them?) turned loose in a cosmic cutting-room, with a pipe organ
in one corner and all the movies ever made to toss around."
Time magazine called it "brassy, extravagant, long-winded and funny" and the "Polyphemus
of productions," saying "as a travelogue
, Around the World is at least as spectacular as anything Cinerama
has slapped together." Time highlighted the performance of "the famous Mexican comic, Cantinflas [who in] his first U.S. movie...gives delightful evidence that he may well be, as Charles Chaplin once said he was, "the world's greatest clown."
, of which it was awarded five, beating out critically and publicly praised films such as The Ten Commandments
, Giant, and The King and I
:
Although not nominated for best original song, the film's theme song "Around the World
" (music by Victor Young, words by Harold Adamson
), became very popular. It was a hit for Bing Crosby
in 1957, and was a staple of the easy-listening genre for many years: "Around the world I searched for you / I traveled on when hope was gone to keep a rendezvous ... No more will I go all around the world / For I have found my world in you."
attended by
18,000 people; Time magazine called the party a "spectacular flop" though Todd shrugged off the remark, saying "you can't say it was a little bust."
in two Todd-AO 70 mm versions, one for Todd-AO 70 mm release at 30 frames per second, and an alternate 70 mm version at 24 frames per second reduced to 35 mm for general release.
The original Todd-AO 70mm running time without the extra music was 179 minutes. However, after the Chicago showing Todd cut four minutes out of the Western sequence where Cantinflas is pursued by Indians. The 70mm print shown at The Rivoli theater in NYC was 175 minutes. However, the original 35mm Technicolor/anamorphic magnetic stereo and mono optical prints ran the complete 179 minutes with the chase scene intact. Although the leaders on the optical sound prints were labeled for Perspecta directional encoding, the prints do not contain the signal and were standard mono.
In 1968, additional cuts were made including removing most of the prologue with the changing aspect ratios. Only a brief few shots with Edward R. Murrow remained and the entire "Trip to the Moon" clips were cut. Since the opening shot of Murrow was 1.33 window boxed in the wide frame, they had to crop and blow up that shot for the 2.35 ratio which made it very grainy. The intermission was also cut for the 1968 re-release which included the freeze frame of the ship and fade in to the second half. The reels just
jump cut with an awkward sound gap between the first and second half. The chase scene was missing from this version too which reduced the running time to 167 minutes. However, some uncut 179 minute 35mm Technicolor prints were struck too which meant at least some theaters played the Roadshow version even though the vast majority showed the shorter cut. 35mm IB/Scope copies
of both versions exist from 1968. The 24 frames per second 70mm prints were also the 167 minute version in that year too. As a publicity stunt, Todd Jr. called the press when he removed a 70mm copy from a bank vault claiming it had been stored there since 1956 for safe keeping and was being shown at a theater again. It was absurd since an original 70mm would've faded to pink by 1968 and the copy they exhibited was the cut re-issue 167 minute version.
Around 1976, after its last network television broadcast on CBS, UA lost control of the film to Elizabeth Taylor
, the widow of producer Michael Todd and who had inherited a portion of Todd's estate. In 1983, Warner Bros.
acquired the rights to the film from Taylor, and reissued the film theatrically in a re-edited 143-minute version (this version would subsequently air only once on Turner Classic Movies
, this was before any restoration on the movie was announced). In the years that followed, a pan-and-scan transfer of the alternate 24 frame/s version (presented at its full 183-minute length) was shown on cable television.
In 2004, WB issued a digitally restored version of the 24 frame/s incarnation on DVD, also at its full 183-minute length, but also including the original intermission, Entr'acte
, and exit music segments that were a part of the original 1956 theatrical release, and for the first time on home video at its original 2.2:1 aspect widescreen ratio.
This restored version was reconstructed from the best available elements of the 24 frame/s edition WB could find, and was subsequently shown on Turner Classic Movies
. The original elements from the 30 frame/s/70 mm Todd-AO version (as well as the original prints derived from these elements) still exist, albeit in faded condition due to the passage of time, but remain to be formally restored by WB. There is some missing footage in the India train ride where the image artificially fades in and out to compensate for the missing shots.
Warner's retained Andy Pratt Film Labs who in conjunction with Eastman Kodak developed a method to remove the cracked and fading to brown, clear lacquer from the original 65 mm Technicolor negative. Warners did nothing further to restore the negative. Due to costs of making a 70 mm release print even without magnetic striping, using DTS disk for audio, there are no immediate plans for any new prints. The 65 mm roadshow print negative was used for the DVD release. Had any 35 mm Anamorphic elements been used the aspect ratio would have been 2.35:1. Mike Todd had limited 35 mm anamorphic prints made with a non-standard compression ratio to provide a 2.21:1 viewing experience. These special 35 mm prints are called Cinestage, the same name of Mike Todd's showcase theatre in Chicago.
Best available prints of the 30 frame/s/70 mm version have recently been exhibited in revival movie houses worldwide. As of the present time, WB remains the film's rights holder.
The soundtrack to the film was released in vinyl and audio tape for home use. There have been two CD versions were released as well. A digital copy of the basic album on MCA in the 1980s and an expanded version with extra tracks on the Hit Parade Records label in Canada in 2007. There was also a model kit of the balloon, a board game, and Dell
comic book adaptation sold as merchandise. A Cantinflas puppet was also released as merchandise and, while unrelated directly to the movie, the puppet was dressed in a similar outfit so it could be considered as another movie tie-in.
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
produced by the Michael Todd Company and released by United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
. It was directed by Michael Anderson
Michael Anderson (director)
Michael Joseph Anderson, Sr. is an English film director, best known for directing The Dam Busters , Around the World in 80 Days and Logan's Run .-Early life:...
. It was produced by Michael Todd
Mike Todd
Michael Todd was an American theatre and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of Around the World in Eighty Days, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture...
, with Kevin McClory
Kevin McClory
Kevin O'Donovan McClory was an Irish screenwriter, producer, and director. McClory was best known for the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again, which was the result of a long legal battle between McClory and Ian Fleming over the writing credits and later the film rights to...
and William Cameron Menzies
William Cameron Menzies
William Cameron Menzies was an Academy Award-winning American film production designer and art director who also worked as a director, producer, and screenwriter during a career spanning five decades...
as associate producers. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was written by James Poe
James Poe
James Poe was an American film and television screenwriter. He is best known for his work on the movies Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Lilies of the Field, Around the World in 80 Days and They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.He also worked as a writer on the radio shows Escape and Suspense, writing the scripts...
, John Farrow
John Farrow
John Villiers Farrow, CBE was an Australian, later American, film director, producer and screenwriter. In 1957 he won the Academy Award for Best Writing / Best Screenplay for Around the World in Eighty Days and in 1942 he was nominated as Best Director for Wake Island.-Life and career:Farrow was...
and S. J. Perelman
S. J. Perelman
Sidney Joseph Perelman, almost always known as S. J. Perelman , was an American humorist, author, and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for The New Yorker...
based on the classic novel of the same name by Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
. The music score was composed by Victor Young
Victor Young
Victor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
, and the Todd-AO
Todd-AO
Todd-AO is a post-production company founded in 1953, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company operates three facilities in the Los Angeles area.-History:...
70 mm
70 mm film
70mm film is a wide high-resolution film gauge, with higher resolution than standard 35mm motion picture film format. As used in camera, the film is wide. For projection, the original 65mm film is printed on film. The additional 5mm are for magnetic strips holding four of the six tracks of sound...
cinematography was by Lionel Lindon. The film won multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
The film's seven-minute-long animated title sequence
Title sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
, shown at the end of the film, was created by award-winning designer Saul Bass
Saul Bass
Saul Bass was a Jewish-American graphic designer and filmmaker, best known for his design of motion picture title sequences....
.
Plot
The film begins with a special onscreen prologue introduced by broadcast journalist Edward R. MurrowEdward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
, who is smoking, and featuring footage of an early science fiction/fantasy film by Georges Méliès
Georges Méliès
Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects...
, A Trip to the Moon (1902), which is based loosely on From the Earth to the Moon
From the Earth to the Moon
From the Earth to the Moon is a humorous science fantasy novel by Jules Verne and is one of the earliest entries in that genre. It tells the story of the president of a post-American Civil War gun club in Baltimore, his rival, a Philadelphia maker of armor, and a Frenchman, who build an enormous...
by Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
. Included also is the launching of an unmanned rocket and footage of the earth receding.
Around 1872, an English gentleman Phileas Fogg (David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
) claims he can circumnavigate the world in eighty days. He makes a £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
20,000 wager (equal to £ today) with several skeptical fellow members of the Reform Club
Reform Club
The Reform Club is a gentlemen's club on the south side of Pall Mall, in central London. Originally for men only, it changed to include the admission of women in 1981. In 2011 the subscription for membership of the Reform Club as a full UK member is £1,344.00, with a one-off entrance fee of £875.00...
, that he can arrive back within 80 days before exactly 9:00 pm.
Together with his resourceful valet, Passepartout (Mario Moreno "Cantinflas"
Cantinflas
Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes , was a Mexican comic film actor, producer, and screenwriter known professionally as Cantinflas. He often portrayed impoverished campesinos or a peasant of pelado origin...
), Fogg sets out on his journey from Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
via a helium balloon. Meanwhile, suspicion grows that Fogg has stolen £55,000 (equal to £ today) from the Bank of England so Police Inspector Fix (Robert Newton
Robert Newton
Robert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
) is sent out by Scotland Yard to trail and arrest Fogg. Hopscotching around the globe, Fogg pauses in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, where Passepartout engages in a comic bullfight. In India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Fogg and Passepartout rescue young widow Princess Aouda (Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
) from being forced into a funeral pyre with her late husband. The threesome visit Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, San Francisco, and the Wild West. Only hours short of winning his wager, Fogg is arrested upon returning to London, by the diligent yet misguided Inspector Fix.
At the jail, the humiliated Fix informs Fogg that the real culprit was caught in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. Though eventually exonerated of the charges, he has lost everything — except the love of the winsome Aouda. But salvation is at hand when Passepartout realizes the next morning that, by crossing the International Date Line
International Date Line
The International Date Line is a generally north-south imaginary line on the surface of the Earth, passing through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that designates the place where each calendar day begins...
, they have gained a day. There is still time to reach the Reform Club and win the bet. To the surprise of all waiting at the club, Fogg arrives just before the clock's chime at 8:45 pm. Aouda and Passepartout then arrive. Noticing Fogg's whole travel party has arrived, and noting the fact that a woman and a Frenchman have entered the hallowed British gentlemen's precinct, the Reform Club announces the completion of the journey and The End of the British Empire.
Cast
The movie boasts a huge cast, with David NivenDavid Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
and Mario Moreno "Cantinflas"
Cantinflas
Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes , was a Mexican comic film actor, producer, and screenwriter known professionally as Cantinflas. He often portrayed impoverished campesinos or a peasant of pelado origin...
in the lead roles of Fogg and Passepartout. Fogg is the classic Victorian gentleman, well-dressed, well-spoken, and extremely punctual, whereas his servant Passepartout (who has an eye for the ladies) provides much of the comic relief as a "jack of all trades" for the film in contrast to his master's strict formality. Joining them are Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
as Princess Aouda and Robert Newton
Robert Newton
Robert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
as the detective Fix, in his last role.
The role of Passepartout was greatly expanded from the novel to accommodate Cantinflas, the most famous Latin-American comedian at the time,{http://www.semana.com/cultura/palabra-pirueta/161809-3.aspx} and winds up the focus of the film. While Passepartout describes himself as a Parisian in the novel, this is unclear in the film—he has a French name, but speaks Spanish when he and his master arrive in Spain by balloon. In the Spanish version the name of his character was changed from the French Passepartout to the Spanish "Juan Picatoste". There is also a comic bullfighting sequence especially created for Cantinflas that is not in the novel. Indeed, when the film was released in non-English speaking nations, Cantinflas was billed as the lead. According to the guidebook describing the movie, this was done because of an obstacle Todd faced in casting Cantinflas, who had never before appeared in an American movie and had turned down countless offers to do so. Todd allowed Cantinflas to appear in the film as a Latin, "so," the actor said himself, "...to my audience in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, I'll still be Cantinflas."
Over 40 famous performers make cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s, including Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, George Raft
George Raft
George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
, and Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
to name a few. The film was significant as the first of the so-called Hollywood "make work" films, employing dozens of faded film personalities. John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
turned down Todd's offer for the role of the Colonel leading the Cavalry charge, a role filled in by Tim McCoy. Promotional material released at the time quoted a Screen Actors Guild representative looking at the shooting call sheet and crying: "Good heavens Todd, you've made extras out of all the stars in Hollywood!" . As of Evelyn Keyes death in 2008, Shirley Maclaine and Glynis Johns are the last surviving members of the entire cast.
Complete credited cast
(excluded are numerous extras)- David NivenDavid NivenJames David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
- Phileas Fogg - Mario Moreno "Cantinflas"CantinflasFortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes , was a Mexican comic film actor, producer, and screenwriter known professionally as Cantinflas. He often portrayed impoverished campesinos or a peasant of pelado origin...
- Passepartout - Shirley MacLaineShirley MacLaineShirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
- Princess Aouda - Robert NewtonRobert NewtonRobert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
- Mr. Fix
Cameo appearances
- Charles BoyerCharles BoyerCharles Boyer was a French actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found success in movies during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised romantic dramas,...
- Monsieur Gasse, balloonist - Joe E. BrownJoe E. Brown (comedian)Joseph Evans Brown was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his amiable screen persona, comic timing, and enormous smile. In 1902 at the age of nine, he joined a troupe of circus tumblers known as the Five Marvelous Ashtons which toured the country on both the circus and vaudeville...
- Station Master, rural Nebraska - Martine CarolMartine Carol-Biography:Born Marie-Louise Jeanne Nicolle Mourer in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, , she studied acting under René Simon , making her stage debut in 1940 and her first motion picture in 1943. One of the most beautiful women in film, she was frequently cast as an elegant blonde seductress...
- Tourist, Paris - John CarradineJohn CarradineJohn Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
- Col. Proctor Stamp, San Francisco - Charles CoburnCharles CoburnCharles Douville Coburn was an American film and theater actor.-Biography:Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scots-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman and Moses Douville Coburn. Growing up in Savannah, he started out doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs,...
- Clerk, Hong Kong - Ronald ColmanRonald ColmanRonald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
- Railway Official, India - Melville CooperMelville CooperGeorge Melville Cooper , best known as Melville Cooper, was a British stage, film and television actor. Among his roles are the cowardly Sheriff of Nottingham in The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn, and Mr...
- Steward - Robert Cabal - Elephant Driver-Guide
- Noël CowardNoël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
- Hesketh-Baggott - Finlay CurrieFinlay CurrieFinlay Jefferson Currie was a Scottish actor of stage, screen and television.Currie was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1878. His acting career began on the stage. He and his wife Maude Courtney did a song and dance act in the US in the 1890s. He made his first film in 1931...
- Whist Partner - Reginald DennyReginald Denny (actor)Reginald Denny was an English stage, film, and television actor. He was once an amateur boxing champion of Great Britain.-Acting career:...
- Police Chief, Bombay - Andy DevineAndy DevineAndrew Vabre "Andy" Devine was an American character actor and comic cowboy sidekick known for his distinctive raspy voice.-Early life:...
- First Mate, S.S. Henrietta - Marlene DietrichMarlene DietrichMarlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
- Hostess, Barbary Coast Saloon - Luis Miguel DominguínLuis Miguel González LucasLuis Miguel González Lucas was a famous bullfighter from Spain, better known as Luis Miguel Dominguín. His father was the legendary Domingo Dominguín; he adopted his father's name to gain popularity....
- Bullfighter - FernandelFernandelFernand Joseph Désiré Contandin , better known as Fernandel, was a French actor and singer. Born in Marseille, France, he was a comedy star who first gained popularity in French vaudeville, operettas, and music-hall revues...
- Coachman, Paris - Walter FitzgeraldWalter FitzgeraldWalter Fitzgerald was an English character actor.Born Walter Fitzgerald Bond in Keyham, Devon. Married 1st Rosalie Constance Grey in 1924.1s .2nd Angela Kirk in 1938. 3 sons 1 daughter....
- Club Member - John GielgudJohn GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
- Mr Foster, the Butler - Hermione GingoldHermione GingoldHermione Gingold was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric persona, an image enhanced by her sharp nose and chin, as well as her deepening voice, a result of vocal nodes which her mother reportedly encouraged her not to remove. She starred on stage, on radio, in films, on...
- Sportin' Lady - José GrecoJosé GrecoJose Greco was a flamenco dancer and choreographer.He was born in Montorio nei Frentani, Italy of Italian parents. He was raised in New York City from the time he was 10 years old. He began dancing in Brooklyn with his sister Norina at a young age.He made his professional dancing debut in 1937 at...
- Dancer - Sir Cedric Hardwicke - General Sir Francis Gromarty, India
- Trevor HowardTrevor HowardTrevor Howard , born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith, was an English film, stage and television actor.-Early life:...
- Falletin - Glynis JohnsGlynis JohnsGlynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
- Companion - Buster KeatonBuster KeatonJoseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
- Conductor
- Evelyn KeyesEvelyn KeyesEvelyn Louise Keyes was an American film actress. She is best-known for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.-Early life:...
- Flirt - Beatrice LillieBeatrice LillieBeatrice Gladys "Bea" Lillie was an actress and comedic performer. Following her 1920 marriage to Sir Robert Peel in England, she was known in private life as Lady Peel.-Early career:...
- Revivalist, London - Peter LorrePeter LorrePeter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
- Steward, S.S. Carnatic - Edmund LoweEdmund LoweEdmund Dantes Lowe was an American actor. His formative experience began in vaudeville and silent film. He was born in San Jose, California.-Film career:...
- Engineer, S.S. Henrietta - A.E. Matthews - Club Member
- Mike MazurkiMike MazurkiMike Mazurki was an Austrian-born American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in over 100 movies. His towering 6' 5" presence and intimidating face usually got him roles playing tough guys, thugs, strong men, and gangsters.Mazurki was born as Mikhail Mazurkevych in Tarnopol, Galicia,...
- Character (in Hong Kong bar) - Col. Tim McCoyTim McCoyCol. Tim McCoy was an American actor, military officer, and expert on American Indian life and customs.-Early years:...
- Colonel, U.S. Cavalry - Victor McLaglenVictor McLaglenVictor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen was an English boxer and World War I veteran who became a successful film actor.Towards the end of his life he was naturalised as a U.S. citizen.-Early life:...
- Helmsman, S.S. Henrietta - John MillsJohn MillsSir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
- Cabby in London - Robert MorleyRobert MorleyRobert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment...
- Ralph (Reform club) - Alan MowbrayAlan MowbrayAlan Mowbray MM, , was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood.Born Alfred Ernest Allen in London, England, he served with distinction the British Army in World War I, being awarded the Military Medal for bravery...
- Consul - Edward R. MurrowEdward R. MurrowEdward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
- Narrator, prologue - Jack OakieJack OakieJack Oakie was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television.-Early life:...
- Captain of S.S. Henrietta - George RaftGeorge RaftGeorge Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
- Bouncer at Barbary Coast Saloon - Gilbert RolandGilbert RolandGilbert Roland was a Mexican-born American film actor.He was born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and originally intended to become a bullfighter like his father. When the family moved to the United States, however, he became interested in acting when he was...
- Achmed Abdullah - Cesar RomeroCesar RomeroCesar Julio Romero, Jr. was an American film and television actor who was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years...
- Henchman - Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
- Barbary Coast Saloon Pianist - Red SkeltonRed SkeltonRichard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
- Drunk, Barbary Coast saloon - Ronald SquireRonald SquireRonald Squire was an English character actor.Born in Tiverton, Devon, England, he spent his early acting career in Liverpool repertory theatre in light comedy roles, before moving on to films...
- Club Member - Basil SydneyBasil SydneyBasil Sydney was an English actor who made over fifty screen appearances, most memorably as Claudius in Laurence Olivier's 1948 film of Hamlet. He also appeared in classic films like Treasure Island , Ivanhoe and Around the World in Eighty Days , but the focus of his career was the legitimate...
- Club Member - Richard WattisRichard WattisRichard Cameron Wattis , was an English character actor.He attended King Edward's School, Birmingham and Bromsgrove School, after which he worked for the family electrical engineering firm before becoming a professional actor. After his debut with Croydon Repertory Theatre he made many stage...
- Insp. Hunter - Harcourt WilliamsHarcourt WilliamsHarcourt Williams was an English character actor.-Selected filmography:* Henry V * Brighton Rock * Hamlet * No Room at the Inn * The Lost People...
- Hinshaw
Production
Around the World in 80 Days was produced by Michael Todd, a Broadway showman who had never before produced a movie. The director he hired, Michael Anderson, had directed the highly acclaimed British war movie The Dam BustersThe Dam Busters (film)
The Dam Busters is a 1955 British Second World War war film starring Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd and directed by Michael Anderson. The film recreates the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams in Germany with Wallis's...
, the 1956 film of George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's Nineteen Eighty-Four
1984 (1956 film)
1984 is a 1956 film based on the novel of the same name by George Orwell. This is the first cinema rendition of the story, directed by Michael Anderson, and starring Edmond O'Brien, Donald Pleasence, Jan Sterling, and Michael Redgrave...
and other classic films. Todd sold his interest in the Todd-AO
Todd-AO
Todd-AO is a post-production company founded in 1953, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company operates three facilities in the Los Angeles area.-History:...
film format to help finance the film.
In the autobiographical book The Moon's a Balloon
The Moon's a Balloon
The Moon's a Balloon is a memoir by British actor David Niven , published in 1972. It details his early life. There have been several editions and many translations of the book over the years....
, published in 1972, the actor David Niven discussed his meeting with Todd and the subsequent events that led to the film being produced. According to Niven, when Todd asked him if he would appear as Fogg, Niven enthusiastically replied, 'I'd do it for nothing!' He later admitted to being grateful that Todd did not hold him to his claim. He also described the first meeting between Todd and Robert Newton
Robert Newton
Robert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
(who suffered with drink problems) when the latter was offered the role of the Detective, Fix; Niven alleged that Newton was offered the part on condition that he did not drink any alcohol during the filming, and that his celebration following the completion of his role led to his untimely demise and that he he did not live to see the film released.
Filming took place in late 1955, from August 9 to December 20. The crew worked fast (75 actual days of filming), producing 680000 feet (207,264 m) of film, which was edited down to 25734 feet (7,843.7 m) of finished film. The picture cost just under $6 million to make, employing 112 locations in 13 countries and 140 sets. Todd said he and the crew visited every country portrayed in the picture, including England, France, India, Spain, Thailand and Japan. According to the Time magazine review of the film, the cast including extras totaled 68,894 people; it also featured 7,959 animals, "including four ostriches, six skunks, 15 elephants, 17 fighting bulls, 512 rhesus monkeys, 800 horses, 950 burros, 2,448 American buffalo, 3,800 Rocky Mountain sheep and a sacred cow that eats flowers on cue." The wardrobe department spent $410,000 to provide 74,685 costumes and 36,092 trinkets.
Chinchón
Chinchón is a Spanish town 50 km southeast of Madrid. It is part of the Comarca de Las Vegas.-Overview:The Plaza Mayor is roughly circular, surrounded by 15th-17th century galleried houses and cafés and is used as a temporary bullring. The church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción was built in...
, 45 kilometres (28 mi) from Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, but Todd decided there weren't enough spectators. So he found 3,500 more from nearby towns. He used 650 Indians for a fight on a train in the West. Many were indeed Indians, but some were Hollywood extras. All 650 had their skin color altered with dye. Todd used about 50 gal of orange-colored dye for those extras.
Todd sometimes used models of boats, ships and trains in the film, but he often decided that they didn't look realistic so he switched to the real thing where he could. The scene of a collapsing train bridge is partly without models. The overhead shot of a train crossing a bridge was full scale, but the bridge collapse was a large-scale miniature, verifiable by observing the slightly jerky motion of the rear passenger car as the train pulls away, as well as the slowed-down water droplets which are out of scale in the splashing river below. All the steamships shown in the first half are miniatures shot in an outdoor studio tank. The exception is the American ship shown at the intermission point, which is real. A tunnel was built for a train sequence out of paper mache. After the train filming was complete, the "tunnel" was pushed over into the gorge.
The scenes of the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
by steamship took place off San Francisco and were shot on a specially built prop steamer, a converted barge mocked up to resemble a small ocean-going steamship, with mock paddles driven by the electric motor from an old streetcar. In his memoirs, Niven described the whole thing as being dangerously unstable (though stability improved as it was dismantled as though to feed it into its own furnaces as the plot required).
Many of the balloon scenes with Niven and Cantinflas were filmed using a 160 feet (48.8 m) crane. Even that height bothered Niven, who was afraid of heights. Tom Burges, who was shorter than Niven, was used as a stand-in for scenes where the balloon is seen from a distance. Many of the lots used in the film are now on the land occupied by Century City
Century City, Los Angeles, California
Century City is a 176-acre commercial and residential district on the Westside of the city of Los Angeles. It is bounded by Westwood on the west, Rancho Park on the southwest, Cheviot Hills and Beverlywood on the southeast, and the city of Beverly Hills on the northeast...
, an office complex in the L.A. area.
One of the most famous sequences in the film, the flight by hot air balloon
Hot air balloon
The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
, is not in the original Jules Verne novel. Because the film was made in Todd AO, the sequence was expressly created to show off the locations seen on the flight, as projected on the giant curved screen used for the process. A similar balloon flight can be found in an earlier Jules Verne novel, Five Weeks in a Balloon
Five Weeks in a Balloon
Five Weeks in a Balloon, or, Journeys and Discoveries in Africa by Three Englishmen is an adventure novel by Jules Verne.It is the first Verne novel in which he perfected the "ingredients" of his later work, skillfully mixing a plot full of adventure and twists that hold the reader's interest with...
, in which the protagonists explore Africa from a hot air balloon.
In his memoirs, Niven related that Todd completed filming whilst in considerable debt. The post-production work on the film was an exercise in holding off Todd's creditors long enough to produce a saleable movie, and the footage was worked upon under the supervision of Todd's creditors and returned to a secure vault each night, to be held, as it were in escrow
Escrow
An escrow is:* an arrangement made under contractual provisions between transacting parties, whereby an independent trusted third party receives and disburses money and/or documents for the transacting parties, with the timing of such disbursement by the third party dependent on the fulfillment of...
.
The film's release and subsequent success vindicated Todd's considerable abilities.
Release
The film premiered on October 17, 1956 at the Rivoli theater in New York City. By the time of Todd's accidental death 18 months later, it had grossed $33 million.In Spanish and Latin American posters and programs of the movie, Cantinflas is featured over the other players since he was very popular there. There were two souvenir programs sold in theaters. For Roadshow screenings Todd-AO is mentioned, though for general release those pages are not contained in the book. The program was created by Todd's publicist, Art Cohn, who died in the plane crash with him. His biography, "The Nine Lives of Michael Todd" was published after their deaths which put a macabre spin on the title.
Reception
Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
called the film a "sprawling conglomeration of refined English comedy, giant-screen travel panoramics and slam-bang Keystone
Keystone Kops
The Keystone Kops were incompetent fictional policemen, featured in silent film comedies in the early 20th century. The movies were produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917. The idea came from Hank Mann who also played police chief Tehiezel in the first film...
burlesque" and said Todd and the film's crew "commandeered the giant screen and stereophonic sound as though they were Olsen and Johnson
Olsen and Johnson
John Sigvard "Ole" Olsen and Harold Ogden "Chic" Johnson were zany American comedians of vaudeville, radio, the Broadway stage, motion pictures and television. Their shows were noted for their crazy blackout gags and orchestrated mayhem...
(remember them?) turned loose in a cosmic cutting-room, with a pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
in one corner and all the movies ever made to toss around."
Time magazine called it "brassy, extravagant, long-winded and funny" and the "Polyphemus
Polyphemus
Polyphemus is the gigantic one-eyed son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes. His name means "much spoken of" or "famous". Polyphemus plays a pivotal role in Homer's Odyssey.-In Homer's Odyssey:...
of productions," saying "as a travelogue
Travelogue (films)
Travelogue films, a form of virtual tourism or travel documentary, have been providing information and entertainment about distant parts of the world since the late 19th century.-History:...
, Around the World is at least as spectacular as anything Cinerama
Cinerama
Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...
has slapped together." Time highlighted the performance of "the famous Mexican comic, Cantinflas [who in] his first U.S. movie...gives delightful evidence that he may well be, as Charles Chaplin once said he was, "the world's greatest clown."
Awards and other recognition
Todd claimed that the film got 70 to 80 awards, including five Academy awards.Academy Awards
The movie was nominated for eight OscarsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, of which it was awarded five, beating out critically and publicly praised films such as The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (1956 film)
The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic film that dramatized the biblical story of the Exodus, in which the Hebrew-born Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince, becomes the deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. The film, released by Paramount Pictures in VistaVision on October 5, 1956, was directed by...
, Giant, and The King and I
The King and I (1956 film)
The King and I is a 1956 musical film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Walter Lang and produced by Charles Brackett and Darryl F. Zanuck. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is based on the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical The King and I, based in turn on the book Anna and the King...
:
- Won: Best PictureAcademy Award for Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
- Michael Todd, producer - Won: Best Cinematography, ColorAcademy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
- Lionel Lindon - Won: Best Film EditingAcademy Award for Film EditingThe Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
- Gene Ruggiero and Paul Weatherwax - Won: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy PictureAcademy Award for Original Music ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
- Victor YoungVictor YoungVictor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:... - Won: Best Writing, Best Screenplay, AdaptedAcademy Award for Writing Adapted ScreenplayThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
- John FarrowJohn FarrowJohn Villiers Farrow, CBE was an Australian, later American, film director, producer and screenwriter. In 1957 he won the Academy Award for Best Writing / Best Screenplay for Around the World in Eighty Days and in 1942 he was nominated as Best Director for Wake Island.-Life and career:Farrow was...
, S. J. PerelmanS. J. PerelmanSidney Joseph Perelman, almost always known as S. J. Perelman , was an American humorist, author, and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for The New Yorker...
, and James PoeJames PoeJames Poe was an American film and television screenwriter. He is best known for his work on the movies Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Lilies of the Field, Around the World in 80 Days and They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.He also worked as a writer on the radio shows Escape and Suspense, writing the scripts... - Nominee: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, ColorAcademy Award for Best Art DirectionThe Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
- Ken AdamKen AdamSir Kenneth Adam, OBE, born Klaus Hugo Adam , is a motion picture production designer most famous for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s.-Childhood in Germany:...
, Ross DowdRoss DowdRoss Dowd was an American set decorator. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:Dowd was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Art Direction:...
, and James W. SullivanJames W. SullivanJames W. Sullivan was an American art director. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film Around the World in 80 Days.-Selected filmography:... - Nominee: Best Costume Design, ColorAcademy Award for Costume DesignThe Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film costume design....
- Miles White - Nominee: Best DirectorAcademy Award for DirectingThe Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
- Michael AndersonMichael Anderson (director)Michael Joseph Anderson, Sr. is an English film director, best known for directing The Dam Busters , Around the World in 80 Days and Logan's Run .-Early life:...
Although not nominated for best original song, the film's theme song "Around the World
Around the World (1956 song)
"Around the World" was the theme tune from the 1956 movie Around the World in 80 Days It never actually featured with the lyrics in the Around the World in Eighty Days film, but it is the vocal version which has by far become the better known...
" (music by Victor Young, words by Harold Adamson
Harold Adamson
For the Toronto Police Chief see Harold Adamson Harold Adamson was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s.- Biography :...
), became very popular. It was a hit for Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
in 1957, and was a staple of the easy-listening genre for many years: "Around the world I searched for you / I traveled on when hope was gone to keep a rendezvous ... No more will I go all around the world / For I have found my world in you."
Golden Globes
The movie was also nominated for three Golden Globes, of which it was awarded two:- Won: Best Dramatic Motion PictureGolden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - DramaThis page lists the winners and nominees for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, since its institution in 1951. The organizer, Hollywood Foreign Press Association , is an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications...
- Michael Todd, producer - Won: Best Motion Actor in a Comedy/Musical FilmGolden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyThe Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
- Mario Moreno "Cantinflas"CantinflasFortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes , was a Mexican comic film actor, producer, and screenwriter known professionally as Cantinflas. He often portrayed impoverished campesinos or a peasant of pelado origin... - Nominee: Best DirectorGolden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion PictureThis page lists the winners of and nominees for the Golden Globe Award for Best Director. Since its inception in 1943, it has been presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, an organization composed of journalists who cover the United States film industry for publications based...
- Michael AndersonMichael Anderson (director)Michael Joseph Anderson, Sr. is an English film director, best known for directing The Dam Busters , Around the World in 80 Days and Logan's Run .-Early life:...
Other awards
- The film received the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best PictureNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best PictureThe New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Picture is an award given by the New York Film Critics Circle, honoring the finest achievements in filmmaking.-1930s:-1940s:-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
and Best Screenplay award for S. J. Perelman. - The film won the Writers Guild of AmericaWriters Guild of AmericaThe Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
Best Written American Comedy award for James Poe, John Farrow and S. J. Perelman. - The film was screened at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival1957 Cannes Film Festival-Jury:*André Maurois *Jean Cocteau *Maurice Genevoix *Georges Huisman *Maurice Lehmann *Marcel Pagnol *Michael Powell *Jules Romains...
, but was not entered into the main competition.
Anniversary celebration
On the first anniversary of the film's release, Todd threw a party at the Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
attended by
18,000 people; Time magazine called the party a "spectacular flop" though Todd shrugged off the remark, saying "you can't say it was a little bust."
Distribution and ownership
The film was originally distributed by United ArtistsUnited Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
in two Todd-AO 70 mm versions, one for Todd-AO 70 mm release at 30 frames per second, and an alternate 70 mm version at 24 frames per second reduced to 35 mm for general release.
The original Todd-AO 70mm running time without the extra music was 179 minutes. However, after the Chicago showing Todd cut four minutes out of the Western sequence where Cantinflas is pursued by Indians. The 70mm print shown at The Rivoli theater in NYC was 175 minutes. However, the original 35mm Technicolor/anamorphic magnetic stereo and mono optical prints ran the complete 179 minutes with the chase scene intact. Although the leaders on the optical sound prints were labeled for Perspecta directional encoding, the prints do not contain the signal and were standard mono.
In 1968, additional cuts were made including removing most of the prologue with the changing aspect ratios. Only a brief few shots with Edward R. Murrow remained and the entire "Trip to the Moon" clips were cut. Since the opening shot of Murrow was 1.33 window boxed in the wide frame, they had to crop and blow up that shot for the 2.35 ratio which made it very grainy. The intermission was also cut for the 1968 re-release which included the freeze frame of the ship and fade in to the second half. The reels just
jump cut with an awkward sound gap between the first and second half. The chase scene was missing from this version too which reduced the running time to 167 minutes. However, some uncut 179 minute 35mm Technicolor prints were struck too which meant at least some theaters played the Roadshow version even though the vast majority showed the shorter cut. 35mm IB/Scope copies
of both versions exist from 1968. The 24 frames per second 70mm prints were also the 167 minute version in that year too. As a publicity stunt, Todd Jr. called the press when he removed a 70mm copy from a bank vault claiming it had been stored there since 1956 for safe keeping and was being shown at a theater again. It was absurd since an original 70mm would've faded to pink by 1968 and the copy they exhibited was the cut re-issue 167 minute version.
Around 1976, after its last network television broadcast on CBS, UA lost control of the film to Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, the widow of producer Michael Todd and who had inherited a portion of Todd's estate. In 1983, Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
acquired the rights to the film from Taylor, and reissued the film theatrically in a re-edited 143-minute version (this version would subsequently air only once on Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
, this was before any restoration on the movie was announced). In the years that followed, a pan-and-scan transfer of the alternate 24 frame/s version (presented at its full 183-minute length) was shown on cable television.
In 2004, WB issued a digitally restored version of the 24 frame/s incarnation on DVD, also at its full 183-minute length, but also including the original intermission, Entr'acte
Entr'acte
' is French for "between the acts" . It can mean a pause between two parts of a stage production, synonymous to an intermission, but it more often indicates a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production...
, and exit music segments that were a part of the original 1956 theatrical release, and for the first time on home video at its original 2.2:1 aspect widescreen ratio.
This restored version was reconstructed from the best available elements of the 24 frame/s edition WB could find, and was subsequently shown on Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
. The original elements from the 30 frame/s/70 mm Todd-AO version (as well as the original prints derived from these elements) still exist, albeit in faded condition due to the passage of time, but remain to be formally restored by WB. There is some missing footage in the India train ride where the image artificially fades in and out to compensate for the missing shots.
Warner's retained Andy Pratt Film Labs who in conjunction with Eastman Kodak developed a method to remove the cracked and fading to brown, clear lacquer from the original 65 mm Technicolor negative. Warners did nothing further to restore the negative. Due to costs of making a 70 mm release print even without magnetic striping, using DTS disk for audio, there are no immediate plans for any new prints. The 65 mm roadshow print negative was used for the DVD release. Had any 35 mm Anamorphic elements been used the aspect ratio would have been 2.35:1. Mike Todd had limited 35 mm anamorphic prints made with a non-standard compression ratio to provide a 2.21:1 viewing experience. These special 35 mm prints are called Cinestage, the same name of Mike Todd's showcase theatre in Chicago.
Best available prints of the 30 frame/s/70 mm version have recently been exhibited in revival movie houses worldwide. As of the present time, WB remains the film's rights holder.
Soundtrack and DVD releases
The DVDs for Around the World... include four hours of supplemental material, in addition to the (apparently restored) three-hour wide-screen color film. Also included on one of the disks is a documentary film, about 50 minutes long, about Mike Todd.The soundtrack to the film was released in vinyl and audio tape for home use. There have been two CD versions were released as well. A digital copy of the basic album on MCA in the 1980s and an expanded version with extra tracks on the Hit Parade Records label in Canada in 2007. There was also a model kit of the balloon, a board game, and Dell
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
comic book adaptation sold as merchandise. A Cantinflas puppet was also released as merchandise and, while unrelated directly to the movie, the puppet was dressed in a similar outfit so it could be considered as another movie tie-in.
See also
- Around the World in 80 DaysAround the World in 80 Days (2004 film)Around the World in 80 Days is a 2004 American comedy adventure film based on Jules Verne's novel of the same name. It stars Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan and Cécile de France. The film is set in 19th-century Britain and centers on Phileas Fogg , here reimagined as an eccentric inventor, and his...
(2004 film) - Around the World in Eighty DaysAround the World in Eighty DaysAround the World in Eighty Days is a classic adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in 1873. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on a £20,000 wager set by his friends at the...
(book) - Sati (practice)Sati (practice)For other uses, see Sati .Satī was a religious funeral practice among some Indian communities in which a recently widowed woman either voluntarily or by use of force and coercion would have immolated herself on her husband’s funeral pyre...
- The Great RaceThe Great RaceThe Great Race is a 1965 slapstick comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood, directed by Blake Edwards, written by Blake Edwards and Arthur A. Ross, and with music by Henry Mancini and cinematography by Russell Harlan. The supporting cast includes Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn,...
- The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a DazeThe Three Stooges Go Around the World in a DazeThe Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze is the fifth feature film made by the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita...
External links
- Alternate prologue from in70mm.com