Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The strange shift from comedy to tragic drama in this film shows some kind of genius that is rarely utilized in film making. Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake play off one another like real lovers. It's too bad that Lake played a Nazi sympathizer during the actual war against the Nazis. Looks like she shot her own self in the foot--and never recovered. Aficionados of the Hobo culture will love this film.

I think all film junkies have a few films they hate that nearly everyone loves. So, while "Sullivan't Travels" is considered a classic and has an extremely high rating of 8.1, when I last saw it I was terribly disappointed and didn't understand all the hoopla about the film. That was years ago and I decided to do something I rarely do...see the film again to see if perhaps my original IMDb review (which I have since deleted) was right or wrong. Here is what I think of the film on a second viewing....The first thing that really stood out in my mind when I watched the film was Preston Sturgis' casting for the movie. Veronica Lake was very popular in Alan Ladd pictures because he was a very short man...and she was a rather tiny actress. Yet, in spite of this (or, most likely because of this), Sturgis paired her with one of the largest leading men of his day. The 15 inch difference in height was NOT typical at all of Hollywood...but more typical of real life and I can only assume the famed writer/director deliberately was resisting traditional casting decisions since the movie is a critical look at Hollywood and its clichés. I appreciated this more the second time viewing the picture.The story finds the famous Hollywood director, John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) in a funk. While he's successful in his career, he also worries that his films lack a connection to the common man and might not be representing real life. This is a reasonable concern-- especially since most films of the preceding decade portrayed very rich, happy and fashionable folks...all during the Great Depression!! So, Sullivan decides to try living incognito-- traveling the country dressed like a hobo to see the other side of America. Along the way, he meets an adorable lady (Veronica Lake) and they decide to go slumming together. The problem is that no matter how bad life is living in the gutter, they can always elect to return home to comfort and a good meal...and Sullivan finds out the hard way what it's like NOT to be able to just go home when he's tired of slumming it.Overall, I was MUCH more positive to the film the second time around. Now I am not saying I loved the movie but I did love much of it. Like many Sturgis pictures, the dialog was the best part...and it was snappy and enjoyable. My reservations for not giving it a higher score are that the story seems, at least today, a bit contrived. Also, the Mickey Mouse cartoon segment STILL seems way overdone (NOTHING is that funny)...my biggest complaint the first time. But on balance, the good far outweighs the bad and I am glad I decided to give it another try. I still think it's a bit overrated but an excellent film nonetheless.

Sullivan's Travels is more or less what you would expect from a Preston Sturges film, think The Lady Eve but with a message about the importance of laughter thrown in. The film follows John L. Sullivan a successful director of 'fluff' comedy films such as Ants in their pants of 1941 (a slight dig at gold diggers of 1933), who is tired of making the same meaningless films. Sullivan gets the crazy idea that he must leave his pampered upbringing and extravagant lifestyle to experience the hardships of the everyday man during the depression. To his producers dismay he goes ahead with the plan and gets into all kinds of fixes and mayhem along the way. On his travels he meets a stunning young actress played by Veronica Lake, who sadly is a very limited actress in real life and is no more then a pair of legs. The story keeps you entertained throughout and has it's twists near the end that are done quit well. Joel McCrea gives a solid performance as Sullivan, even if it is a bit wooden at times. Strurges does his best to replicate a Frank Capra film towards the end with his whole power of laughter message which felt a bit rushed too be honest. But all in all Sullivan's Travels is a very good lighthearted comedy, that is superbly written. But with too many flaws and not a strong enough cast to be deemed a true 'classic'. 7/10

It starts out great. But then some of the extreme slapstick physical comedy is just not funny today; lot of "falling down or falling in the water" jokes. There is greatness all around this movie, but it never feels focused enough to say what it wants. Still it has to be admired for daring to go someplace no one else could have even imagined back in 1941. And remember, though there were movies about Hollywood afterwards no one went anywhere near this until Fellini. But watching it for the first time today in many years, I was surprised how difficult it was to get involved. It seemed to stop and restart so many times that I got impatient. Still the scene where the prisoners watch the cartoon is undeniably one of the most moving moments in American screen history. And it is also easy to see how many future directors took their lead from what Sturges was trying to do here. Ambition alone can sometimes be quite rewarding.