Around The World in 80 Days (1956 Film) - Cast

Cast

The movie boasts a huge cast, with David Niven and Cantinflas in the lead roles of Fogg and Passepartout. Fogg is the classic Victorian gentleman, well-dressed, well-spoken, and extremely punctual, whereas his servant Passepartout (who has an eye for the ladies) provides much of the comic relief as a "jack of all trades" for the film in contrast to his master's strict formality. Joining them are Shirley MacLaine as Princess Aouda and Robert Newton as the detective Fix, in his last role.

The role of Passepartout was greatly expanded from the novel to accommodate Cantinflas, the most famous Latin-American comedian at the time, and winds up the focus of the film. While Passepartout describes himself as a Parisian in the novel, this is unclear in the film—he has a French name, but speaks Spanish when he and his master arrive in Spain by balloon. In the Spanish version the name of his character was changed from the French Passepartout to the Spanish "Juan Picatoste". There is also a comic bullfighting sequence especially created for Cantinflas that is not in the novel. Indeed, when the film was released in non-English speaking nations, Cantinflas was billed as the lead. According to the guidebook describing the movie, this was done because of an obstacle Todd faced in casting Cantinflas, who had never before appeared in an American movie and had turned down countless offers to do so. Todd allowed Cantinflas to appear in the film as a Latin, "so," the actor said himself, "...to my audience in Latin America, I'll still be Cantinflas."

Over 40 famous performers make cameo appearances, including Marlene Dietrich, George Raft, and Frank Sinatra to name a few. The film was significant as the first of the so-called Hollywood "make work" films, employing dozens of faded film personalities. John Wayne turned down Todd's offer for the role of the Colonel leading the Cavalry charge, a role filled in by Tim McCoy. Promotional material released at the time quoted a Screen Actors Guild representative looking at the shooting call sheet and crying: "Good heavens Todd, you've made extras out of all the stars in Hollywood!" As of Evelyn Keyes death in 2008, Shirley Maclaine and Glynis Johns are the last surviving members of the entire cast.