Review of Sullivan's Travels (1941) by Tony P — 26 Apr 2008

I've seriously neglected older films in my RT journal so I'm trying to watch (or in many cases rewatch) a bunch of classics in a feeble attempt at a well-rounded journal! Somehow I never managed to see a Preston Sturges film....until now.

[b]Sullivan's Travels (1941) - 8.3/10[/b].

Director - Preston Sturges.

Starring - Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, William Demarest, Robert Warwick, Eric Blore, Robert Greig, Porter Hall.

[i]Sullivan's Travels[/i], set in the Depression era, stars Joel McCrea as Hollywood director John L. Sullivan. Sullivan has made his mark in Hollywood directing profitable, yet lightweight comedies. Fed up with an "out-of-touch" Hollywood, Sullivan decides he wants to make a socially conscience film entitled "O Brother, Where Art Thou" about poverty and human suffering. His producers balk at this idea, but that only fuels Sullivan's desires more. Since Sullivan has never experienced the human suffering he wishes to write about he decides to pose as a hobo and live among the "real" people of America. His studio, realizing they can't talk him out of it decides to turn his journey into a publicity stunt, following him around everywhere he goes. Sullivan tries to shake them and ends up at a cafe where he meets a struggling actress (Veronica Lake) who thinks he is a bum, not a Hollywood director. She buys him lunch and decides to join him on his journey soon discovering his real identity. The pair experiences life among the poor and then it's time to return to Hollywood. Sullivan decides to make one last visit, this time to pass out hundreds of $5 dollar bills to the tramps he encountered. Unfortunately he is mugged and left unconscious in a railyard. The thief also steals Sullivan's identity and is run over by a train leading everyone to believe he is dead. Meanwhile Sullivan, unable to prove his identity, is arrested for assault and sentenced to a chain gang.

My first experience with Sturges was definitely positive. [i]Sullivan's Travels [/i]is easily one of the best comedies of it's era. Sturges liberally uses elements of screwball, slapstick and drama, but at it's core it's a biting satire. Nobody is immune, but his ultimate target isn't the tramps and hobos, it's Hollywood's elite and Sullivan himself. What really elevates this above other comedies of it's era is the writing. The dialogue is clever, witty and often quite insightful. The early scene where Sullivan tries to convince his producers to fund "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" is a classic example of Sturges' fine writing. Just when you think it's headed for typical screwball territory, Sturges changes gears. He pauses just long enough to show real human suffering, for example the scene where McCrea and Lake are stepping over bodies searching for a place to sleep, which adds a needed dramatic element to a film that mocks almost everything. The result is a hilarious comedy with a social conscience and one of the finest satires of Hollywood ever made. It's influence is apparent from the Coen Brothers to Robert Altman's "The Player". A must see.