Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)

Lose adaptation of the Jules Vern novel is an epic adventure spectacle. Affable rouge and jack-of-all-trades Mike Todd produced the film, and apparently got it made largely through force of personality. Todd begged and borrowed to finance the mammoth production, and managed to charm big name stars from both sides of the Atlantic to appear in ‘cameo roles’, a term Todd coined for this film. In all something like 40 stars appear in the movie, ranging from silent screen comedian Buster Keaton, and British stage performer John Gielgud, to gangster film star George Raft and actor/singer Frank Sinatra. David Niven plays Phileas Fogg, and a young Shirley MacLaine an Indian princes. This film, which charmed both audiances and critics and made $18 million box office, and beat out my favorite film Giant for the 1956 best picture Oscar. Two disc DVD edition includes the first film adaptation of a Jules Vern story, From the Earth to the Moon (1902), a 1968 documentary on Mike Todd (who died in a plan crash a year after receiving the Oscar for 80 Days), and numerous other special features, including a 1957 TV special built around a party Todd held for 18,000 guests at Madison Square Garden (1). Here the producer competes with his film for entertainment value. Four out of Five.

1. Which at the time would have translated to one out of every 10,000 Americans attending.