by Chris Marshall:
I’ve never read Jules Vernes’s novel Around the World in 80 Days, so I don’t know how closely the film
version sticks to the source material. In the movie, at least, we do see
Phileas Fogg make a trip around the world, and in doing so, we see lots and
lots of semi- to fully-racist depictions of various cultures and ethnic groups.
Ok, so maybe it’s not always racist, but it is always stereotypical. First, though,
just some quick background information. For a movie that’s over two and a half
hours long, Around the World in 80 Days
is surprisingly light on plot. Fogg (played by David Niven) is a British
aristocrat whose entire life is run by clocks; he’s the world’s most punctual
man. He’s also incredibly particular about his routine. His meals must be
served at exactly the same minute every day. His bathwater has to be at precisely
the right temperature and not even one degree off. It’s too much for his assistant
to take, so he quits.
Fogg can’t survive without an assistant, however, and he
immediately hires a man named Passepartout. Passepartout has a French name, is
played by a Mexican actor named Cantinflas (yes, Cantinflas), and in the movie
seems to be from Spain. Or maybe we’re supposed to believe he actually is from
France. I don’t remember anybody ever saying for sure.
Anyway, for reasons I can’t remember, Fogg takes a bet from
a group of wealthy bankers who claim that he can’t circumnavigate the globe in
80 days. He and Passepartout then set out to accomplish that task. Bam, there’s
your story.
Back to those stereotypes. Once the plot is developed in
the first 15 minutes, it turns into a globe-spanning (literally) series of
vignettes. They spend a few minutes in each location, taking in some local
color, and escaping some new threat to the success of their mission. If the
movie is to be believed, people are always dancing in the streets, no matter
where in the world you are. Spain, India, Hong Kong, San Francisco, wherever.
It’s quite peculiar.
And obviously, when you’re in Spain, you’ll be forced to
participate in a bullfight. In India, you’ll be have to rescue a princess[1]
from being burned alive in a funeral pyre (?). In Japan, you’ll certainly go
see a Kabuki play. In the western United States, your train will be attacked by
Native Americans. It was an eventful 80 days.
In addition to the race around the world, there’s also a
subplot in which a British detective follows Fogg for the entire trip,
believing him to be the culprit in a bank heist back in London. I’ll give
credit where credit is due here; this led to some genuinely funny scenes. Then
again, it also leads to an important question. If it’s so easy for the
detective to follow Fogg and Passepartout every step of the way, then doesn’t
that mean that anybody could get around the world in 80 days?
 |
| Yoink! Passepartou is impervious to arrows. |
But after all these hitches along the way, will the
ever-punctual Phileas Fogg make it back to London in time to win the bet? I won’t
spoil it, but I think you can figure this one out.
Overall, this isn’t a bad movie. Was it as good as its
competition, namely Giant and The Ten Commandments? Maybe not. On its
own, though, it is a fairly enjoyable, if overly long, film. You know, if you
can put aside the more racist aspects of it.
If you ever watch this, keep your eyes peeled for all the
cameos; I was shocked to discover that there were so many. I spotted Frank
Sinatra playing piano in a saloon in one of the U.S. scenes, but there were many
others that I missed. Marlene Dietrich, Buster Keaton, Red Skelton, Cesar
Romero, Peter Lorre, Noel Coward, John Carradine, etc. Granted, these are all
names that I know, but I couldn’t put a face to several of them, especially for
the ones who were a little older when the movie was made. Still, it’d be fun to
try to pick them out. It might make the bloated running time seem a little more
bearable.
It’s for the best that Fogg and friends never stopped in
Kitulgala, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the setting of tomorrow’s film, The Bridge on the River Kwai. I have a
feeling they might not have gotten home in 80 days once Colonel Saito got his
hands on them.
[1]
Princess Aouda, who is presumably Indian, is played by Shirley MacLaine. I only
learned this while writing the article. I wouldn’t have guessed that was her if
you’d given me 100 chances.
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