Soundtrack Review: ‘Around the World in 80 Days (Expanded Edition)’

By Jeff Swindoll Jan 30, 2007, 16:13 GMT

Soundtrack for the movie Around the World in 80 Days (Expanded Edition) ...more

“A five-foot five concentration of human spark” was how Shirley MacLaine described producer Mike Todd.  Todd was the “human spark” behind the 1956 extravaganza that would be known as Around the World in 80 Days.  The film would star a gaggle of stars of the time in both leading roles as well as multitudes of cameos. 

Todd’s enthusiasm and ability to put his money where his mouth is makes the production even more endearing since most people told him that it would bust the budget and be a flop.  Time told otherwise as the film was a box office champ in 1956 and won the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year in 1957.  It was many factors that drew audiences into the theaters to see the film, the stargazing perhaps, but it was Victor Young’s glorious score they were humming when they left. 

This wonderful score won Victor Young a posthumous Oscar for Best Score since he died in 1956.  A CD release in 1990 only produced the 12 tracks assumed to be on the LP release.  Now, Hit Parade Records gets 2007 off to a bang with a reissue of the Young’s wonderful score that nearly doubles the tracks. 

This new release contains the 12 tracks from the original release and adds 11 bonus tracks of music totaling around 30 minutes of new material, digitally re-mastered in true stereo.  Some of the additional tracks have a slight running time, “Arrival in Suez” only lasts 24 seconds, but oddly enough they’re not slight in my remembrance of the film. However, other new tracks are rather large additions like the 8-minute “Sioux Attack.” 

Whatever the case, the CD is a welcome release and will please both classic film and soundtrack fans.  The only disappointment is that 9 more minutes of Young’s work for the film couldn’t have been dug up to make it an even 80 minutes.  Excellent work by Victor Young and an excellent release from Hit Parade. 

‘Around the World in 80 Days (Expanded Edition)’ is now available at Amazon. Visit the soundtrack database for more information and a complete track listing.