Five Month Wait

My father was an avid reader of Jules Verne and once told me that Verne wrote about things that seemed impossible. Later, as the world changed, he told me what a great mind the author had, to be able to predict what would happen in the future. I remember going to the movie in my teens and my father mentioned he liked 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea better!


After seeing the new Cantiflas movie in September of 2014, I looked for other movies with Cantiflas as the star. Around the World in 80 Days won an Academy Award for best picture in 1956 (no matter what my father thought) so I decided to order the film from Netflix.  It was a long wait, either because it is a popular rental or because there are only a few copies, but whatever the reason I finally received the two disc DVD on January 8, 2015.



The movie disappointed me because I did not think the acting was that great. But, the places filmed were interesting and Cantiflas did have some funny sketches. I would rate it a five out of ten. It surprised me that it won over Giant, The King and I, The Ten Commandments, and Friendly Persuasion.

The movie is about a wager made by Phileas Fogg (David Niven) about going around the world in eighty days from England. He and his man servant, Passepartout, (Cantiflas) begin their journey by checking their pocket watches. They arrive in France and take a hot air balloon which gives the viewers a chance to see the beautiful landscapes in the area. In Spain, Cantiflas does a flamenco dance and joins bullfighters for a comical bullfight. In India a princess is rescued (a very young Shirley MacLaine that I did not recognize until I heard her voice). They continue to Hong Kong, Japan, San Francisco, the west with cowboys, Indians and the Cavalry and it was fun watching what would happen next. Mountain scenes, old fashioned steam engine train and boats on the ocean were modes of transportation for the travelers!

There were over fifty cameo appearances but I will only list those that I recognized. Red Skelton, Buster Keaton, Joe E. Brown, Edward R. Murrow, Marlene Dietrich, George Raft, Frank Sinatra, Tim McCoy,
Andy Devine, Trevor Howard, Charles Boyer, Jose Greco, Noel Coward, Sir John Gielgud, Gilbert Roland, Cesar Romero, Peter Lorrie, and Ronald Colman.

Cantiflas still wore his pants low on his hips and I liked him, not because his acting was so great, but for sentimental reasons. He brought back memories of when my parents would take me to Spanish films to see him.

Maybe the film won Best Picture because of the 112 locations, 13 countries, 140 sets and over 65,000 extras. I am glad I saw the movie again because I had forgotten most of it. It is an enjoyable long movie and perfect to watch in our snowy and 20 degree weather!