Experience the Thrill of Traveling Around the World in 80 Days (1956) - Free Movie Download
In retrospect, it's easy to see that Mike Todd - born Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen in Minneapolis in 1909 - was an even more colorful and flamboyant film producer than Dino de Laurentiis of Mandingo (1975) and King Kong (1976) fame. A born showman, Todd once aspired to be the next Florenz Ziegfeld and built his theatrical career on the successes of Broadway shows and burlesque revues like Star and Garter, which featured the legendary stripper, Gypsy Rose Lee. In 1945 he entered the film business, later partnered with Lowell Thomas, and eventually became one of the original founders of the Cinerama Corporation. Todd reached his peak with his production of Around the World in 80 Days, and perhaps he could have even topped that had he not been killed in a plane crash in the Zuni Mountains of New Mexico. He was traveling aboard his private jet - named the Lucky Liz after his wife, Elizabeth Taylor - to New York to accept a "Showman of the Year" award when it went down. Around the World in 80 Days is destined to remain Todd's most significant achievement - a showcase for his widescreen process known as Todd-AO, which transforms Jules Verne's story into an eye-popping, international travelogue.Producer: Michael Todd Director: Michael AndersonScreenplay: John Farrow, James Poe, S.J. PerelmanArt Direction: James Sullivan Cinematography: Lionel Lindon Costume Design: Miles WhiteFilm Editing: Gene Ruggiero, Paul WeatherwaxOriginal Music: Victor YoungPrologue Narration: Edward R. MurrowPrincipal Cast: David Niven (Phileas Fogg), Cantinflas (Passepartout), Robert Newton (Mr. Fix), Shirley MacLaine (Princess Aouda), Charles Boyer (Monsieur Gasse).Cameos by Robert Morley, Noel Coward, John Gielgud, Martine Carol, Fernandel, Evelyn Keyes, Jose Greco, Gilbert Roland, Cesar Romero, Cedric Hardwicke, Ronald Colman, Peter Lorre, Beatrice Lillie, Victor McLaglen, Joe E. Brown, Buster Keaton, Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Red Skelton, George Raft, John Carradine, Glynis Johns, John Mills, Andy Devine, Hermione Gingold, Jack Oakie. George Raft, Charles Coburn.C-182m. Closed captioning. Letterboxed.by Jeff Stafford Around the World in 80 Days Around the World in 80 Days (1956) is one of those Best Picture Oscar winners like Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), which is more memorable for its casting and sheer spectacle than for its artistic merits. Based on the Jules Verne novel, the film faithfully follows the story of Phileas Fogg (David Niven), a Victorian gentleman who accepts a wager that he and his valet Passepartout (Cantinflas, Mexico's premier comedian) can journey around the world in record time. The major selling point of Michael Todd's production, besides the all-star international cast and exotic locales, was the added gimmick of Todd-AO, a new 65mm widescreen process that had already been used successfully in Oklahoma! (1955). But even more colorful and excessive than the film was Todd's own promotion of it, which he presented to distributors with this warning: "Do not refer to Around the World in 80 Days as a movie. It's not a movie. Movies are something you can see in your neighborhood theatre and eat popcorn while you're watching them....Show Around the World in 80 Days almost exactly as you would present a Broadway show in your theatre."Critics of the time were apt to agree with Todd's statement that Around the World in 80 Days was not a movie. It was an event and, for some, an unendurable one that lasted two hours and forty-seven minutes. Yet Todd had a true genius for behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing, which transformed his film into a box-office phenomena that ran in one New York theatre - the Rivoli - for 16 months! One of his talents was attracting marquee-name talent through his sheer extravagant nature. When he learned that the Jules Verne novel had been a childhood favorite of David Niven, he casually offered him the role of Phileas Fogg, to which Niven excitedly said, "I'd do it for nothing." Todd's famous remark was "You've got a deal." He enticed other actors with gifts: Ronald Colman received a new yellow Cadillac for half a day's work. Noel Coward was allowed to write his own dialogue for his cameo scene and received a Bonnard painting as a Christmas present. John Gielgud was seduced into appearing in a small role out of sheer curiosity. Todd recalled that "Gielgud asked me, 'Why do you want me to play a sacked butler? I am a Shakespearean actor.' I said, 'Because I know you could do it so well and I know it's right for you.' He said, 'Let me read it.' I gave him the pages and he read it. Then he said, 'My dear Mr. Todd, you really want me to play this? Why?...Who is playing the other part?' I said, 'Noel Coward.' He said, 'I've got to see that.' I said, 'One way for you to see it - be on the set tomorrow.' And he was on the set." Even more astonishing was Todd's total involvement in every detail of the production. He went to Chinchon, Spain, and hired the entire population of 6,500 residents to appear in a bullfight sequence. He visited his friend, the King of Thailand, who loaned him his 165-foot-long royal barge, complete with 70 glitteringly clad oarsmen, for a scene that lasted maybe 12 seconds. In China, Todd acquired a Chinese dragon used in holiday processions, which was 250 years old, thirty-feet-long, and required 24 men to operate it. In Pakistan, the producer persuaded the Nawab of Pritim Pasha to loan him his private elephant herd. He even convinced the owner of a Durango museum piece - a train that ran from San Francisco to Colorado in 1871 - to lend it after a million dollar bond was secured.At the end of filming, it was obvious that Around the World in 80 Days had set some new records in film production: the most people (68,894) ever photographed in separate worldwide locations; the greatest distance ever travelled to make a film (four million air passenger miles); the most camera set-ups ever used (200 more than Gone With the Wind, 1939); the most sets ever used (140 actual locations plus interiors on soundstages in London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo as well as six Hollywood studios); the most costumes ever used (74,685); and the most assistant directors (33).In retrospect, it's easy to see that Mike Todd - born Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen in Minneapolis in 1909 - was an even more colorful and flamboyant film producer than Dino de Laurentiis of Mandingo (1975) and King Kong (1976) fame. A born showman, Todd once aspired to be the next Florenz Ziegfeld and built his theatrical career on the successes of Broadway shows and burlesque revues like Star and Garter, which featured the legendary stripper, Gypsy Rose Lee. In 1945 he entered the film business, later partnered with Lowell Thomas, and eventually became one of the original founders of the Cinerama Corporation. Todd reached his peak with his production of Around the World in 80 Days, and perhaps he could have even topped that had he not been killed in a plane crash in the Zuni Mountains of New Mexico. He was traveling aboard his private jet - named the Lucky Liz after his wife, Elizabeth Taylor - to New York to accept a "Showman of the Year" award when it went down. Around the World in 80 Days is destined to remain Todd's most significant achievement - a showcase for his widescreen process known as Todd-AO, which transforms Jules Verne's story into an eye-popping, international travelogue.Producer: Michael Todd Director: Michael AndersonScreenplay: John Farrow, James Poe, S.J. PerelmanArt Direction: James Sullivan Cinematography: Lionel Lindon Costume Design: Miles WhiteFilm Editing: Gene Ruggiero, Paul WeatherwaxOriginal Music: Victor YoungPrologue Narration: Edward R. MurrowPrincipal Cast: David Niven (Phileas Fogg), Cantinflas (Passepartout), Robert Newton (Mr. Fix), Shirley MacLaine (Princess Aouda), Charles Boyer (Monsieur Gasse).Cameos by Robert Morley, Noel Coward, John Gielgud, Martine Carol, Fernandel, Evelyn Keyes, Jose Greco, Gilbert Roland, Cesar Romero, Cedric Hardwicke, Ronald Colman, Peter Lorre, Beatrice Lillie, Victor McLaglen, Joe E. Brown, Buster Keaton, Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Red Skelton, George Raft, John Carradine, Glynis Johns, John Mills, Andy Devine, Hermione Gingold, Jack Oakie. George Raft, Charles Coburn.C-182m. Closed captioning. Letterboxed.by Jeff Stafford Around the World in 80 Days on DVD July 9, 2004
Share The DVD special edition of Around the World in 80 Days is in the same excessive, more-is-better style of Mike Todd's film. Packed to the gills with extra features, it's actually a more entertaining package than the actual film itself - and certainly more fun than the recent remake with Steve Coogan. Take, for instance, Disc 1 which features Part 1 of Todd's epic complete with the original Entr'acte music. It also includes the complete version of Georges Melies' seminal silent masterpiece, A Trip to the Moon (1902), commentary by BBC Radio's Brian Sibley, both the original 1956 and the 1983 reissue trailers and more. Disc 2 (containing Part 2 of the film) is the one with the real surprises. "Around the World of Mike Todd" is a fascinating 1968 featurette on the late entrepreneur which features interview footage with his wife Liz Taylor, Gypsy Rose Lee, Ethel Merman, and others and is narrated by Orson Welles, dressed in what looks like some Napoleonic era military overcoat. Welles' narration teeters dangerously close to parody here (and seems like an early run-through for his mock-historical narration in the farce Start the Revolution Without Me, 1970) and is more likely to make you dismiss Todd as a vulgar and overbearing egotist - which he could be. That's clearly not the intention of the piece though which was created by the producer's son, Mike Todd, Jr., as a glowing testiment to his father's greatness. However, when you hear Liz Taylor's account of his whirlwind courtship of her and his relentless deal-making, you'll more likely to be put off by his non-stop chutzpah. Still, you have to admire the man's talent for self-promotion which is on shameless display in another extra - "Excerpts from Playhouse 90: Around the World in 90 Minutes." This footage from Todd's one year anniversary celebration of the release of his epic shows such media legends as Walter Cronkite hosting the event from Madison Square Garden along with game show host Gary Moore and special guests (by invitation only) such as Ginger Rogers, gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, and senator Hubert Humphrey. Typical of Todd's sense of humor is the marquee for the event which reads "A Little Private Party Tonight" - the event had over 18,000 guests. Other extras on the disc include some highlights from the March 27th, 1957 Oscar show with Liz Taylor and Todd cooing over each other before the cameras; outtakes from the film featuring Buster Keaton, John Carradine, David Niven, Cantinflas and Shirley MacLaine; a newsreel of Liz Taylor in Spain, and a photo gallery.The DVD presentation gets high marks on the whole, especially considering the fact that Around the World in 80 Days was originally shown in Todd-AO, a process that required theatres to project the film on large curved screens. While the image here is formatted for a anamorphic widescreen movie, it's obvious that the transfer has some problems; there is some obvious warping on the edges of the image. But the color detail, sharpness of image and sound quality of the almost-fifty year old movie is quite good. For more information about Around the World in 80 Days, visit Warner Video. To order Around the World in 80 Days, go toTCM Shopping.by Jeff Stafford Around the World in 80 Days on DVD The DVD special edition of Around the World in 80 Days is in the same excessive, more-is-better style of Mike Todd's film. Packed to the gills with extra features, it's actually a more entertaining package than the actual film itself - and certainly more fun than the recent remake with Steve Coogan. Take, for instance, Disc 1 which features Part 1 of Todd's epic complete with the original Entr'acte music. It also includes the complete version of Georges Melies' seminal silent masterpiece, A Trip to the Moon (1902), commentary by BBC Radio's Brian Sibley, both the original 1956 and the 1983 reissue trailers and more. Disc 2 (containing Part 2 of the film) is the one with the real surprises. "Around the World of Mike Todd" is a fascinating 1968 featurette on the late entrepreneur which features interview footage with his wife Liz Taylor, Gypsy Rose Lee, Ethel Merman, and others and is narrated by Orson Welles, dressed in what looks like some Napoleonic era military overcoat. Welles' narration teeters dangerously close to parody here (and seems like an early run-through for his mock-historical narration in the farce Start the Revolution Without Me, 1970) and is more likely to make you dismiss Todd as a vulgar and overbearing egotist - which he could be. That's clearly not the intention of the piece though which was created by the producer's son, Mike Todd, Jr., as a glowing testiment to his father's greatness. However, when you hear Liz Taylor's account of his whirlwind courtship of her and his relentless deal-making, you'll more likely to be put off by his non-stop chutzpah. Still, you have to admire the man's talent for self-promotion which is on shameless display in another extra - "Excerpts from Playhouse 90: Around the World in 90 Minutes." This footage from Todd's one year anniversary celebration of the release of his epic shows such media legends as Walter Cronkite hosting the event from Madison Square Garden along with game show host Gary Moore and special guests (by invitation only) such as Ginger Rogers, gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, and senator Hubert Humphrey. Typical of Todd's sense of humor is the marquee for the event which reads "A Little Private Party Tonight" - the event had over 18,000 guests. Other extras on the disc include some highlights from the March 27th, 1957 Oscar show with Liz Taylor and Todd cooing over each other before the cameras; outtakes from the film featuring Buster Keaton, John Carradine, David Niven, Cantinflas and Shirley MacLaine; a newsreel of Liz Taylor in Spain, and a photo gallery.The DVD presentation gets high marks on the whole, especially considering the fact that Around the World in 80 Days was originally shown in Todd-AO, a process that required theatres to project the film on large curved screens. While the image here is formatted for a anamorphic widescreen movie, it's obvious that the transfer has some problems; there is some obvious warping on the edges of the image. But the color detail, sharpness of image and sound quality of the almost-fifty year old movie is quite good. For more information about Around the World in 80 Days, visit Warner Video. To order Around the World in 80 Days, go toTCM Shopping.by Jeff Stafford Sir John Mills (1908-2005) April 27, 2005
Share He was arguably the most refined, and versatile of all English film stars in the history of British cinema. Sir John Mills, the Oscar-winning actor whose film career spanned over 70 years, died on April 23 of natural causes in London. He was 97. Born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills in Norfolk, England on February 22, 1908. His father was a headmaster of a village school in Suffolk, where Mills was raised. After secondary school, he worked as a clerk in a corn merchant's office while acting in amateur dramatic societies. Ever ambitious, he relocated to London in1928 to find more work as an actor.He took tap-dancing lessons and made his stage debut as a chorus boy in The Five O'Clock Girl at theLondon Hippodrome in 1929. Later that year, hejoined an acting troupe that toured India and the Far East with a repertory of modern plays, musical comedies and Shakespeare. It was during this tour when he scored his big break - he was spotted by Noel Coward while in Singapore and promptly taken under the playwright's wing when he returned to London in 1931. On his return, he starred on the West End (London's Broadway), in Coward's Cavalcade and earned the lead in a production of Charley's Aunt. His song and dance talents came in handy for his film debut, an early British musical-comedy The Midshipmaid (1932). His biggest hits over the next few years would all fall into the genre of lightcomic-musicals: Britannia of Billingsgate (1933), Royal Cavalcade (1935), and Four Dark Hours(1937). He scored a his first big part as Robert Donat's student in the MGM backed production Mills went on to play Robert Donat's Goodbye, Mr.Chips (1939). He developed some more heft to his acting credentials that same year when he made his debut at the celebrated Old Vic Theatre as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream.He served briefly in the Navy, 1940-41, during World War II before receiving a medical discharge. When Mills returned to the screen, he began a great turn as the atypical sturdy, dignified Englishman ("English without tears" went the popular phrase of the day). He starred as a stalwart lead in a amazing string of hit films: In Which We Serve (1942), We Dive at Dawn (1943), This Happy Breed (1944), The Way to the Stars (1945), and Waterloo Road (1945). Although Mills was ever dependable, they did not show his breakout talents until he starred as Pip in David Lean's gorgeous adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations (1946). As the young orphan who morphs into a man of wealth and stature, Mills showed the depth as an actor by offering a finely modulated performance.By the late '40s, Mills was a bona fide star of British films, and over the next decade the strong roles kept coming: as the ill-fated Robert Falcon Scott in Scott of the Antarctic (1948); Bassett, the handy man who tries to help a troubled child (the brilliant John Howard Davies) of greedy, neglectful parents in the superb domestic drama The Rocking Horse Winner (1950); an overprotective father who gets trapped in a murder yarn in Mr.Denning Drives North (1952); a fine Willie Mossop in David Lean's Hobson's Choice (1954); an impressive "against-type" performance as a Russian peasant in War and Peace (1956); a sympathetic police inspector coaxing the trust of a juvenile (his daughter Hayley) who knows the facts of a murder case in the underappreciated Tiger Bay (1959); a rowdy Australian sheep shearer in Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (also 1959); and arguably his finest performance - a Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival for a hard-as-nails army colonel who fears the loss of control over his regiment in Tunes of Glory (1960).The mid-60s saw an isolated effort as a filmdirector: Gypsy Girl (which starred his other daughter Juliet - who would later find fame on US television in Nanny and the Professor (1970-72); and showed the development of Mills into a charming character actor: the working-class patriarch in the modest comedy The Family Way (starring Hayley as his daughter); and a terrific comic bit as a murderous Lord who tries to kill off his kin for the family inheritance in Bryan Forbes The Wrong Box (all 1966). By the '70s, his film work slowed considerably, but he was always worth watching: an Oscar winning performance as a mute villager in David Leans study of the Irish troubles Ryan's Daughter (1970); as the influential General Herbert Kitchener Young Winston (1972); and as a driven oil driller in Oklahoma Crude (1973). With the exception of a small role in Sir Richard Attenborough's Ghandi(1