Movies - Sullivan's Travels

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	Movies - Sullivan's Travels

Sullivan's Travels is a 1941 American film written and directed by Preston Sturges. This satire follows a movie director, John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea), as he learns that making comedies is a more valuable contribution to society than making the socially relevant drama that he would like to. The film is a satire of the conflict between art and commerce as well as the gap between the privileged and the impoverished. At the same time that Sturges skewers the naiveté of wealthy entertainers trying to appease their class guilt by making "socially relevant drama", he suggests that measurable good can come from anyone willing to take a road less travelled. Veronica Lake's turn as the love interest was one of her first as the leading lady.

The film was not as immediately successful at the box-office as other Sturges films such as The Great McGinty
and The Lady Eve
, and was met with a mixed critical reception. It has proven, however, to have an enduring quality and has since become one of Sturges' and Lake's most beloved films.

Plot

John L. Sullivan, a wealthy young Hollywood director, fresh off a string of very profitable, but shallow comedies (e.g. Ants in Your Pants), wants to direct a new and different kind of film entitled O Brother, Where Art Thou? which will depict the plight of the downtrodden in a ludicrously heavy-handed way. Not surprisingly, he is pressured by his studio bosses to direct another, more lucrative film instead, but the pampered Sullivan refuses to give in.

He decides to dress as a penniless hobo and hit the road to learn how the destitute really live first hand. He repeatedly says he wants to "know trouble" so that he can return and make a film that truly depicts the sorrows of humanity. However, no matter what he does, no matter how often or how hard he tries, he somehow always winds up right back in Hollywood. On one of his attempts, he meets a failed young actress (Veronica Lake) who is contemplating quitting. She decides she has nothing to lose and becomes his travelling companion.

In the end, having finally experienced real hard-luck and learned the importance of laughter, Sullivan realizes a comedy can do more good for the poor than his didactic and somber O Brother, Where Art Thou?. A montage of happily laughing faces ends the film.

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