☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½
Sullivan’s
Travels (1941) – P. Sturges
Not as laugh-out-loud funny as some of
Preston Sturges’ other films of the forties (The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle
of Morgan Creek) but possessed of one of those rare “high concepts” that hits
the spot. In this case, Joel McCrea
plays movie director John L. Sullivan who wants to make a picture about the down-and-out
and their plight (to be called “O Brother Where Art Thou?”) but he realizes
that he hasn’t actually known poverty and trouble himself. So, he decides (in bad taste) to go
undercover as a tramp to see what the life is really like and when he runs into
broke but aspiring actress Veronica Lake, she joins him. It takes a while for
the studio to let him go and a large detachment of personnel – errr, character
actors -- are sent in pursuit if and when trouble does descend. But getting
there is basically all the fun in this film and when McCrea and Lake actually
do meet the destitute, the film gets a bit gloomy. But Sturges pulls us out of it okay, with his
usual ridiculously unbelievable plot mechanics and a grand wink about how no
one really wants message films -- they just want to laugh to forget their
troubles. Amen, brother.
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