Review of Sullivan's Travels (1941) by John T — 28 Nov 2014

Sullivan's Travels is a delightful movie by Preston Sturges with a satire of Hollywood lifestyle and the importance of comedy in the life of people, a relief for a couple of minutes for those that do not have other sort of entertainment.

Joel McCrea is very funny in the role of a naive director trying to find how the poor people live. Joel McCrae stars as a comedy film producer who is tired of making silly comedies and musicals for his studio. He wants to make films of social significance with a message about the troubles in today's world so he disguises himself and travels as a hobo to gather material for his next picture, a social statement about poverty. This is one of Veronica Lake's more appealing roles in her first feature role, although her character has no name other than "The Girl", as McCrae's traveling companion. Together, the two possessed excellent chemistry together.

The supporting cast includes Robert Warwick, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Porter Hall, Byron Foulger, Margaret Hayes, Robert Greig and Eric Blore were great as Sullivan's hangers on who repeatedly try to rein him to Hollywood, if for no other reason than their own selfish interests.

After a lighthearted combination of drama and humor through much of the film, the film gets surprisingly dark in the last 20 minutes as McCrea goes through some very, very tough times.

Sullivan's Travels is a very funny film with the appeal of Lake, witty comedy, while not being one of Hollywood's ham fisted attempts at making a movie with a message. A movie which can be watched by all - essential for those lovers of classic cinema. Overall, this Preston Sturges-directed movie is good stuff and a classic film that deservedly still has a solid reputation.