Which 1956 film won Best Picture and features a balloon journey around the world?

The 1956 film that won Best Picture and features a balloon journey around the world is Around the World in 80 Days. Directed by Michael Anderson and produced by Mike Todd, the adventure comedy adapts Jules Verne’s 1872 novel about the precise English gentleman Phileas Fogg and his valet Passepartout.

David Niven plays Fogg, while Mexican comedian Cantinflas plays Passepartout. After Fogg wagers that he can circle the globe in 80 days, the pair travel by trains, ships, elephants, and a hydrogen balloon. The balloon flight is one of the movie’s most memorable images, but it was created for the film and does not occur in Verne’s original novel. It was designed partly to showcase the wide-screen Todd-AO process.

The production became a major event film, running about three hours and featuring numerous cameo appearances. At the 29th Academy Awards, it won Best Picture and four other awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay. It is distinct from later films such as The Great Race and Around the World in 80 Days adaptations.