Around the World in 80 Days

Whenever anyone talks about bloated, brain-dead, insufferable star-riddled epics from the 1950s, the type of movie that they’re talking about is Around the World in 80 Days. As a picturesque travelogue of the entire globe, it can’t be beat. As an engaging story with well-developed characters, it leaves one wanting.

As all razzle-dazzle spectacles go, I suppose you could do worse. And perhaps it is impossible to make a movie out of Around the World in 80 Days that’s dramatically engaging, but this is still boring. Watch it for the cavalcade of guest spots and cameos in the film, most of which linger on the star for a prolonged period of time before moving on to the next one in this section. My personal favorites are Buster Keaton as the train conductor, although hearing the great silent clown speak is a little jarring at first, and the trio of Marlene Dietrich, George Raft and Frank Sinatra in a California saloon. And watch it for the beautiful images that they filmed in various places all over the world. There’s a lot of showmanship on display, pity it never adds up to anything interesting.