Tonight's Movie: Sullivan's Travels (1941)

I've seen numerous films written and/or directed by Preston Sturges over the years, including his other collaborations with Joel McCrea: THE PALM BEACH STORY (1942), which never fails to make me laugh despite countless viewings, and the rather odd THE GREAT MOMENT (1944), the story of a dentist inventing anesthesia, which as a teenager I saw in 35 millimeter at the Vagabond Theater in Los Angeles.

Much of this film really tickled my funnybone. I loved the fast-paced dialogue in the early going, McCrea's deadpan delivery (he may be underappreciated as a comedian), and I thought Veronica Lake was brilliant in an original performance. There were some great set pieces, and some lines that have to be seen in context to be appreciated, such as Sullivan sighing over his seeming inability to get very far away from Hollywood. And although I tend to prefer verbal to physical humor, there was also a very funny slapstick sequence involving a bus which reminded me a bit of the train sequence in the following year's THE PALM BEACH STORY.
However, the film stopped working for me in its last third. I know I'm in the minority, given the reviews I've read over the years, but the film came to a screeching halt for me at that point, when the comedy stops and one tragedy follows another, becoming downright unpleasant. It's kind of ironic that while these scenes are used to make the film's ultimate point about the importance of laughter, they are the very kind of dreary O BROTHER, WHERE ARE THOU? scenes that Sullivan decides against making.

Nonetheless, this is a unique film, with a terrific first hour and a lot of humor and substance, which will be worth revisiting in future years. Perhaps it will strike me differently on a later viewing, as sometimes happens. And although I generally disliked the film's last half hour, as a Disney fan I did enjoy the use of a Disney cartoon to make the point that the world needs more laughter.
The large cast includes many Sturges "regulars," including William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Robert Warwick, Porter Hall, Roscoe Ates, and Chester Conklin. It runs 90 minutes.

It's also on DVD as part of the Preston Sturges Filmmaker Collection.
SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS has also had a release on VHS.
SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS will next air on Turner Classic Movies on November 22, 2011. The trailer can be seen on the TCM website.
2 Comments:
One of my very favorites. And a great film to learn more about the era just before the war. I think of it as the last Depression movie.
It's been a long while since I've seen Sullivan's Travels, but it's right up there with The Lady Eve among my favorite Sturges films. I always thought it got darker and depressing toward the end precisely to underscore that Sullivan shouldn't make that type of film. In other words, it's not ironic that the film becomes O Brother Where Art Thou - it's the whole point.
Post a Comment
<< Home