OSCAR WILD DAY 10: AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1956)
To say that that this film hasn’t aged well is generous. Yes, it is an adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel of the same name. Yes, it’s a veritable who’s who with dozens of stars lined up for cameos. Yes, it’s clean, wholesome, escapist entertainment for all ages. But it’s also more than a little boring throughout its bloated runtime. The year is 1872, and technological advances have Phileas Fogg (David Niven) convinced that a man can circumnavigate the world in just 80 days. He’s so sure of his theory that wagers an enormous sum of money with four members of the private club he belongs to that he himself is capable of the feat. Together with his French servant Passepartout (Cantinflas), Fogg embarks on a unique adventure spanning continents and cultures. In theory, this kind of cheeky travelogue should be a lot of fun to watch. Some sequences do dazzle the eyes a bit, but the story itself unfolds at too slow a pace. W ide shots and what could be called stock footage gloss over large stre...
