Review of Sullivan's Travels (1941) by Tim S — 24 May 2011

Cushy Hollywood director John L. Sullivan wants to direct a tragedy, but his producers point out that he has never really undergone hardship. He sets out with a raggedy suit of clothes and 10 cents in order to be a tramp, and along the way he meets a bunch of people and gets in a lot of trouble.

At a short 90 minutes, it still manages to convey a good story. A rich director with no knowledge of the Depression simply plays the tramp for most of the film until the half way point where he really does become a tramp. Sullivan discovers that people with nothing still want entertainment, which leads him to complete a small but satisfying character arc.

Veronica Lake is also very impressive as The Girl. An attractive buy sassy young woman who buys John breakfast becomes his sidekick and love interest which also adds another dimension the script.

Its truly the moments without dialogue that have some of the most emphasis. There are multiple montage scenes all around which convey what needs to be done, without the amount of cliche scenes that would normally entail.

All together a well plotted and well scripted little comedy. The chemistry between Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake is genuine, and it ends up being one of the best movies about movies ever made.