Review of Sullivan's Travels (1941) by Alex S — 10 Jan 2011

So letâ(TM)s pretend for a second that youâ(TM)re going to set out to make a movie about the ravaged economy and what it is like to be a hobo, riding the rails and stealing shoes in the night for your own feet.

You might think you need a better idea to base your movie on and you might be right but for the Sullivan of our film here, he decides research is not enough to get to the heart of this matter. He opts to travel the country as a bum, along with the first-class bum entourage sweeping the nation (actually, he insists his Hollywood staff remain behind but they insist on tagging along and itâ(TM)s a good thing, too â" they actually make for some of the most bluntly honest stuff Sturges ever wrote).

Shortly into the trip, he falls in love with a down-on-her-luck gal hoping to hit it big and before you can say âGee, I wonder how this is going to end up,â? sheâ(TM)s hopping trains, sleeping on streets and learning the ways of the bum, albeit it in disguise (I guess there is no such thing as female bums in this universe?).

Everyone learns a valuable lesson but then it dawns on your that thereâ(TM)s still another 20 minutes to play out and you wonder where this can possibly go. Turns out thereâ(TM)s another lesson or seven to learn, from Disneyâ(TM)s Pluto of all things, and this is where the film stumbles a bit.

Look, Sturges knows what he is doing and his writing elevates already solid performances from everyone in this (youâ(TM)d be hard pressed to find someone not holding up their end of the acting agreement) but for whatever reason, the final few scenes left a horrid taste in my mouth.

And yeah, thatâ(TM)s probably a cheap reason to dock a movie in its score but really now: you watch the end of this and tell me if it had the intended effect on you⦠and if it did, well, then clearly you and I havenâ(TM)t hung out enough.