...He considered this his "greatest" role (WTF??) I think he changes expressions about 3 times in the whole movie and it seems like Cantinflas has more lines than him!
This is all the more confounding considering his beautiful, heart-rending turn as the "Major" in Separate Tables...
In the trivia section it says Niven professed that it was his "favorite" role, not his "greatest" role. Maybe he felt that way because he had a lot of fun making the movie, and had a chance to work with many famous actors. Maybe he was just a big Jules Verne fan.
I'd certainly agree it's not his greatest role.
If you've never seen "Stairway to Heaven", or as it was titled in Europe "A Matter of Life and Death", I'd recommend it if you are a David Niven fan. While I think the ending is a little much, it's impossible not to be sucked into this story right from the start.