"That's a nice-a donut."

Friday, May 26, 2006

Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Released in 1941, smack in the middle of what is widely considered the Golden Age of Hollywood, it is rather easy to understand why a movie like Sullivan's Travels might be relatively overlooked today (or especially why it was largely ignored by critics and the Academy at the time). After all, it was up against classics like Citizen Kane, The Maltese Falcon, Sergeant York, Suspicion, and How Green Was My Valley. It even has to compete for attention with another of director Preston Sturges' comedies from that year, The Lady Eve. But it is a fine film - a very layered film that is at times a satire, a comedy, a buddy picture, an adventure, and a sad drama. Though some of the aspects will work for some people more than others.

For some folks, this might very well be viewed as a precursor to more modern movies like The Hard Way, where an actor inhabits the world that he will soon be filming (in that case, the actor played by Michael J. Fox hangs out with a police detective for a couple weeks) and learns valuable life lessons. John Sullivan (Joel McCrea) is not an actor though, but a director. Sully has previously made a couple successful comedies (and of course that is what the studio heads want from him again) but this time he is more interested in creating a drama. He wants to film the struggles of the poor, but knows nothing about that, so he sets off from his high life and embarks on a journey dressed up as a homeless man. He is looking to find "trouble," to experience more of the human suffering and actual real-life experiences that he could never begin to find living as a successful director in Hollywood. During his journey he meets an attractive aspiring actress (Veronica Lake) and she sort of becomes his sidekick. But he ultimately finds much more trouble than he ever imagined he would find.

The first two-thirds of the film are quite different from the final act, filled with many genuine moments of humanity as well as hilarity. Some of it is slap stick, and some of it biting social commentary on the nature of Hollywood. I especially liked how, no matter how hard he tried, Sully kept ended up back in town. The interplay between Lake and McCrea are the best parts of the movie, by far. Lake certainly deserved her immense popularity at the time.

Eventually the movie becomes a rather dark drama. Though with all the trouble Sully gets into in that very different final act, he never wavers from his purpose; he wants to make a movie that matters and that will affect people. Some (well, many) of the plot points are a bit too convenient, as the loose ends all get tied together nicely. But it's a fun tale, with a story that still holds up reasonably well today. It may not have as strong technical merits as its peers such as Kane or Falcon, but still belongs on anyone’s must-see list of classic films.

The Verdict: B+.

Michael Bentley 1:15 PM

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