Around the World in 80 Days

Around the World in 80 Days.
1956 Warner Bros. Pictures; originally distributed by United Artists prior to 1976.
Starring: David Niven, Mario Moreno "Cantinflas", Robert Newton, Robert Morley, Shirley MacLaine, and a plethora of cameo appearances
Director: Michael Anderson
Available from Amazon as a two-disc special edition.

Michael Anderson and producer Michael Todd brought Jules Verne's novel of the same name to the big screen, with a few notable embellishments, namely the hot air balloon that was not in the book.

Phileas Fogg (Niven) makes a bet with his gentleman's club, the Reform Club, that he can circumnavigate the world in eighty days, betting 20,000 pounds. He soon sets out on a hot air balloon with his valet, the resourceful Passepartout (Moreno), making his first stop in Paris. As he's traveling, suspicion grows that Fogg has stolen 55,000 pounds from the Bank of England, and Inspector Fox (Newton) is assigned by the bank president Ralph (Morley) to follow and arrest Fogg. After Fogg and Passepartout engage in misadventures around the globe, like rescuing Princess Aouda (MacLaine) in India from being buried with her deceased husband, they land in London, where Fox arrests Fogg, just hours short of his goal.

But Fox has made a mistake, as the real culprit has been nabbed in Brighton. All looks lost for Fogg, until Passepartout realizes that they crossed the International Date Line, and gained a day, giving them enough time to reach the Reform Club and win the bet, which they do just under the wire.

Around the World in 80 Days is an impressive production, with beautiful colorful photography, and it also won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Unfortunately, I could not get into the movie for whatever reason. Maybe it was the length, or perhaps I wasn't really in the mood to tackle such an epic movie. However, I can't in good conscience give this one a rating of not recommended, since this is a classic movie, and I think it may be unfair to dismiss it after just one showing.

Slightly recommended for now; perhaps repeated viewings will change my initial opinion of the flick...