Around the World in 80 Days

If "The Ten Commandments" is the biggest story ever told, "Around the World in 80 Days" is a close second. This project (I do not think it is does this film justice to call it a film, project is really more apt) is equally breathtaking and mindboggling in its scope and size. Released at the height of the epic craze that swept Hollywood (the Best Picture nominees from this year alone included this, "Giant", "The Ten Commandments" and "The King and I", some of the most ambitious films Hollywood ever tackled), this is still impressive for the size of its cast, the number of exotic locations (distinguishing it even further from other Hollywood spectacles, this film did a ton of actual location shooting, refraining from considering 10 miles outside of Los Angeles as a suitable stand in), the amazing use of the new Todd AO widescreen technology, and the popularization (not the innovation Mike Todd assumed credit for) of the cameo role, boasting many familiar Hollywood faces, adding even more star power and event appeal to this already epic production. Based on Jules Verne's classic novel of a wealthy, bored English gentleman who accepts a bet that the globe cannot be circumnavigated in under 80 days, the project is aided infinitely by the presence of David Niven as Phileas Fogg, who grounds the at times overwhelming film experience with his British sophistication and cool, as well as giving the film a consistent air of legitimacy. As his intrepid valet, Passepartout, the Mexican actor/acrobat/stunt man/bullfighter Cantinflas provides some comic relief not in the form of cameo roles, and is a worthy foil to David Niven's dominating on-screen persona. The only other major role is the beautiful Shirley MacLaine as Princess Aouda, whom the globe trotting duo rescue in India, and who completes the jaunt with them. Sprawled across five continents and three hours of film, "Around the World in 80 Days" definitely achieves producer Mike Todd's desired effect: big!

Beginning in London, we find that Mr. Phileas Fogg is a very difficult, but highly respected man. He runs his life like a general in the army, and does absolutely not tolerate any deviations from his schedule, as he informs Passepartout, his latest in a long line of valets. At the same time as the film is introducing us to Phileas Fogg, we find that the Bank of England has been robbed of an extraordinary sum. Thus, when Fogg accepts the highly publicized wager of 25,000 pounds that he can span the entire globe in under 80 days, everyone assumes that it was Fogg, a man of incredible wealth but indeterminate means, who robbed the bank. Fogg claims he can do it because he has the entire trip mapped out, fitting with his obsessively punctual lifestyle, down to the very minute. He has also calculated for unseen hazards and obstacles, which come into play almost immediately when they miss a train and are forced to scale the Alps via hot air balloon. Hot on their trail is Mr. Fix of Scotland Yard, the befuddled detective who chases the duo across the globe, convinced Fogg is his man, but always a step behind. The first leg of the trip takes the duo through Spain, where Passepartout displays his bullfighting prowess in exchange for use of a wealthy nobleman's yacht, and then into the jungles of India, where they find Princess Aouda, rescuing her as she is about to be sacrificed to some vengeful god. Again Passepartout displays his skills as acrobat, shimmying onto the pagan temple's altar unnoticed, and providing enough of a distraction for Fogg to save the Princess.

The traveling duo now a trio, the rest of the movie virtually flies by. Wild encounters in exotic Southeast Asia, (Passepartout exposes a snake charmer, only to be chased through an elaborate market place), Japan, (thinking he's been left behind by Fogg, Passepartout reluctantly joins an acrobatic circus troupe), and the American wild west (braving a saloon in San Francisco's Barbary Coast, and surviving an Indian attack on their train bound for the East Coast) bring the duo back to England with what they think is a few hours to spare. Only immediately after setting foot on British soil, Fix arrests Fogg for robbing the Bank of England. Fogg is heartbroken, not so much for being arrested and having his name tarnished, but because he has lost his bet, which is really the reason he accepted in the first place. Fogg could care less about the money he stands to win, or the money he stands to lose for that matter; his only motivation, seemingly the only thing he can "get up for" is the thrill of winning a bet of such monumental proportions. As fate would have it, the true criminal is exposed and Fogg is released, distraught at having lost the bet, but forgetting one key fact: having crossed the International Date Line, the trio gained a day. Passepartout can hardly contain himself as he tells Fogg the news, and the sight of Fogg calmly walking into the Gentlemen's Club (during the final chime of the clock, naturally) where the bet was forged 80 days prior is absolutely priceless. His bet won, Fogg realizes, in a Henry Higgins-esque revelation, that winning the bet is not the only thing he has won: the love of the Princess, but more importantly, feeling the emotion of love. With Passepartout as the oddest third wheel ever, the trio is now happily together, and the movie ends with a wonderfully unique way of categorizing the dozens of cameos the film is peppered with throughout: an approximately six minute sequence that follows minimally animated icons representing the main characters (Fogg is a pocket watch, Passepartout a unicycle, and the Princess is a veil with eyes) as they pass through each of the film's major locales. Pausing at each one, the credits then appear, reminding you, "Oh yeah, that was Frank Sinatra as the piano player in San Francisco!". After this sublime sequence, in true epic fashion, the Exit Music plays, and "Around the World in 80 Days" comes to an end.