Sullivan's Travels (1941)

11/15/17. A good look at a time when hobos rode the train across the U.S. because they belonged nowhere, so everywhere can be somewhere they can bum around for a night. McCrea gets his lessons of life from his privileged upbringing by trying to live as someone who knew no one and had no money. And, what he learns about life wasn't too pretty. Worth catching as this is a National Film Registry pick. And, you get a chance to see Veronica Lake who was quite a big star at the time.

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.

excellent movie that we can easily proclaim a masterpiece. before i go into it...i want to tell you how proud i am to be Canadian. the bickering and hate love of whits and blacks is so infantile and gross. it has been going on for years...stop it already. the black man on the yacht car was not laughed at because of being black.....it was his situation that was funny. one other person said how can grown men laugh at a mickey mouse film....darn it they hadn't seen films for months and were locked up in the dark. veronica lake for the first time surprised me....she is small i see it now. an OK actress who was beginning to show promise but it didn't last. Joel a super star that rendered his role real well. superb supporting cast....and a top notch storyline and director Preston sturges

John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) is a successful Hollywood director doing low-brow silly comedies. He is dissatisfied and wants to do something serious like "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" by Sinclair Beckstein. Sullivan knows nothing about trouble and dresses up as a tramp to get to know human suffering. Everybody keeps helping him out and he can't get away from his people. Eventually he meets a failed actress (Veronica Lake) looking to leave Hollywood. He tries to give her a ride in his own car. However the staff reported it stolen and the two are arrested. He returns home with the girl and now she wants to join him in his experiment.This has the Preston Sturges rapid fire dialog style. Joel McCrea is a sweet likable leading man. Veronica Lake is adorable especially when she's being a tramp (the hobo kind). They have great chemistry together. The comedy is fun. The tone isn't so simple as a straight forward comedy. It has some darker moments especially when the couple go their separate way. The big scene with them watching the cartoon is one of those cinematic poetry.