Sullivan's Travels
Sullivan's Travels is a 1941 American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges. A satire on the film industry, it follows a famous Hollywood comedy director (Joel McCrea) who, longing to make a socially relevant drama, sets out to live as a tramp to gain life experience for his forthcoming film. Along the way he unites with a poor aspiring actress (Veronica Lake) who accompanies him. The title is a reference to Gulliver's Travels, the 1726 novel by satirist Jonathan Swift about another journey of self-discovery.
Plot
John L. Sullivan is a popular young Hollywood director of profitable but shallow comedies. Dissatisfied with making such films as Ants in Your Plants of 1939, he tells his studio boss, Mr. LeBrand, that he wants his next project to be a serious exploration of the plight of the downtrodden based on the novel O Brother, Where Art Thou? LeBrand wants him to direct another lucrative comedy instead, but Sullivan refuses. He wants to "know trouble" first hand, and plans to travel as a tramp so he can make a film that truly depicts the sorrows of humanity. His British butler and valet both openly question the wisdom of his plan.
Awards
Cast
- Al Bridge
- Almira Sessions
- Arthur Hoyt
- Bert Moorhouse
- Billy Bletcher
- Byron Foulger
- Charles R. Moore
- Chester Conklin
- Cyril Ring
- Dewey Robinson
- Edgar Dearing
- Edward Hearn
- Elsa Lanchester
- Emory Parnell
- Eric Blore
- Esther Howard
- Frank Mills
- Franklin Pangborn
- Georges Renavent
- Harry Hayden
- J. Farrell MacDonald
- Jimmy Conlin
- Joel McCrea
- Julius Tannen
- Lon Poff
- Margaret Hayes
- Monte Blue
- Paul Newlan
- Porter Hall
- Preston Sturges
- Ray Milland
- Richard Webb
- Robert Greig
- Robert Warwick
- Roscoe Ates
- Torben Meyer
- Veronica Lake
- Victor Potel
- Willard Robertson
- William Demarest
More details
author | Preston Sturges |
---|---|
award | National Board of Review: Top Ten Films |
contentLocation | Los Angeles |
director | Preston Sturges |
editor | Stuart Gilmore |
genre | comedy drama satire social |
keywords | boxcar business man car chase eat follow front page hard labor homeless shelter id kill las vegas laugh learn married no memory playful pluto rid security guard sleep soup kitchen struggle swimming pool unsolved walt disney work camp yard bull |
musicBy | Leo Shuken |
producer | Buddy DeSylva Paul Jones |
publisher | Paramount Pictures |
theme | road movie satirical screwball comedy |