Around the World in Eighty Days

Around the World in Eighty Days was my Classics Club spin pick this time. I had never read it before. I had never seen the movie. I actually knew nothing about the story.

The story takes place in the 1870s. Phileas Fogg bets his friends a boatload of money that he can travel all around the world in eighty days. Accompanying him on his trip are his valet Passapartout, a princess from India, and a detective, Mr. Fix. As they travel around the world, they are delayed by troubles on the railroad; a storm; the need to rescue the princess and the later legal difficulties this ensues; an attack by Native Americans; and other problems. But Passapartout is always instructed to reach deep into the money bag and this generally solves most of the problems. Most of the episodes along the way are not intended to be taken as realistic, I think; most of the adventures are simply that, adventures. The ending is quite satisfying, too, if you don't know what's coming.

I also watched the 1956 movie version with David Niven and acclaimed Mexican comic Cantinflas, and that was extraordinarily big, with a huge cast of characters (it's fun just trying to see who is in the movie) and sets and costumes. It won Best Picture and I think it holds up fairly well.