Around the World in 80 Days

 

Years ago I burned through three Mintek 7” portable DVD players.  I used them to watch hundreds (and hundreds) of films.  At a certain point, though, I decided to “upgrade” to a 7” tablet, rip films, upload them to the tablet and watch them.  As much as this “worked” – I didn’t want to rip EVERY SINGLE ONE of my films...I was soon missing my Minteks and finally bought a 9” portable DVD player and committed to watching my DVDs again...and then blogging about them.

Within a month, or so, I had finished the “Adventures of Ma and Pa Kettle” and the “Airport” films but the new DVD player started having issues and was not consistent and finally died.  After about 8 movies.  My Minteks lasted me through massive collections of public domain films – though they eventually died, too, but not within the first 60 days.

This weekend I decided, once again, to buy a portable DVD player and to continue where I left off in the “As.”

I unwrapped and popped in the Best Picture Winner of 1956 - the film "Around the World in 80 Days" based on the Jules Verne book.

I will tell you straight up that this film is not that great for a number of reasons.  It's, basically, a travelogue wrapped up in a thin-bare plot with vistas and sunsets and "adventure" though most of the adventure is done by a subordinate character - not the main character played by David Niven.

 Catinflas - far left

Well, here's the story.  David Niven plays a hard ass rich dignitary or something or other - a proper British gentleman who goes to the club and plays cards.  While at the club he makes a wager that he can travel the world in 80 days and before you can say "tea time" all the other stuffy gentlemen are making wagers that he either can or cannot accomplish this feat.  Accompanied by his new manservant "Parspatoo" (or something - who calls him "Master" all the time) they go off onto their adventure and for the next 3 hours you follow them from England to Spain to France to India (where they rescue Shirley MacLaine playing an Indian woman - I kid you not...) to China, Japan, San Francisco, New York and back to England.  Does he make it in time?  You'll just have to see.

Filmed in 1955 the movie does have the issue of not aging well.  (see Shirley MacLaine as an Indian woman) and, of course, they're attacked by Native Americans for no reason.  Parspatoo gets captured, people are killed in the most non bloody way possible.  David Niven finally learns to pull the stick out of his backside and falls in love (kinda).

Shirley MacLaine looks very Indiandy, doesn't she?

But, like I said, this film is more of a travelogue and not a real movie.  But...and this is where the film truly excels.  This film is a huge FU to television.  To dismiss this film as slight just outright is to do a grave disservice to the amazing cinematography they incorporated in the picture.  The filmmakers were bent on showing the audience:  "You want to watch TV?  When you can be seeing THIS!?"

 Politically incorrect Native American scenes to come.

The first thing the smart filmmakers did was bring in radio and TV news personality Edward R. Murrow to introduce the film.  And then old Eddie goes on to talk about the Jules Verne story and pulls in "Trip to the Moon" - George Melies' silent film.  Since, of course, “ATWI80D” is a widescreen picture, “Trip to the Moon” is very small on the big screen.  Again, saying to the audience in some subtle (or not so subtle) manner:  “You want to watch a small black and white screen...really?!  REALLY?!”  And then BOOM! the screen opens up and you’ve got wide and beautiful vistas and you’re literally on the back of a bike going through late 1800’s London.  This shot, I have no idea how they got it, shoots directly behind the bicyclist as the camera is mounted on the bike (they use the same mount later when the character is on a running horse!).  It’s a great shot and puts the viewer into the moment (and remember, I’m watching on a MASSIVE 7” screen).  When this was shot, these were not small cameras - so the ability to create this was pretty cutting edge and I could see/feel the audience going along with the “ride.”

Riding on Train

As the film/travelogue continues the cinematography never lets down.  Only once was there that cheesy “we’re going to film you in front of a screen while we project mountains on it” shot.  All the other shots, from what I could tell, were done very realistically.  More shots that were pretty great:  a scene on top of a train, the undercarriage of a stage coach, a ship on the ocean and more.  This isn’t “I Love Lucy.”  This isn’t “Playhouse 90.”

For instance, in 1955 the Best Picture winner was the film-based-on-a-play “Marty” – from Wikipedia:

Marty is a 1953 teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky. It was telecast live May 24, 1953, on The Goodyear Television Playhouse with Rod Steiger in the title role and Nancy Marchand, in her television debut, playing opposite him as Clara.

Ernest Borgnine wins Oscar for Marty finds fame as Mermaid Man

When the year prior’s Best Picture winner actually got its start on TV (God Forbid) – Hollywood needed to wake up and wake up they did with the 3 hour plus “Around the World in 80 Days.”

Should you see it?  Is it worth the 3 hours and multiple cameos of big stars (casting Buster Keaton as a Train Engineer was a stroke of genius)?  Sure.  But watch it not for the slight story but for what it meant to Hollywood to truly say:  “Television sucks.  Come over here and watch this.”

Lionel Lindon rightly won the Academy Award for cinematography.

3.5 stars out of 5.