Sullivan's Travels
Encyclopedia
Sullivan's Travels is a 1941 American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges
. It is a satire
about a movie director, played by Joel McCrea
, who longs to make a socially relevant drama, but eventually learns that comedies are his more valuable contribution to society. The film features one of Veronica Lake
's first leading roles. The title is a reference to Gulliver's Travels
, the famous novel by satirist Jonathan Swift
about another journey of self-discovery.
In 1990, Sullivan's Travels was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
), a popular young Hollywood director fresh from a string of very profitable, but shallow comedies (e.g. Ants in Your Pants of 1939) , tells his studio boss, Mr. Lebrand (Robert Warwick), that he is dissatisfied and wants his next project to be a serious exploration of the plight of the downtrodden, to be based on the socially-conscious novel O Brother, Where Art Thou? by Sinclair Beckstein. Not surprisingly, Lebrand wants him to direct another, more lucrative comedy instead, but the idealistic Sullivan refuses to give in. He wants to "know trouble" first-hand as a tramp so he can return and make a film that truly depicts the sorrows of humanity. His butler (Robert Greig) and valet (Eric Blore
) openly question the wisdom of his plan.
Undeterred, Sullivan dresses as a penniless hobo and takes to the road. However, no matter how hard he tries, somehow he always ends up back in Hollywood. Lebrand insists that his staff follow him in a double-decker coach. Neither party is happy with the arrangement; Sullivan eventually persuades his guardians to leave him alone and arranges to rendezvous with them later. When he hitchhikes, he finds himself back where he started.
Then he meets a young failed actress (Veronica Lake
, credited only as "The Girl") who is contemplating quitting the business. In return for her kindness to him, Sullivan gives her a lift in his car, without telling his servants; they report the "theft" and the pair are apprehended by the police. Upon their release, the Girl pushes him into his enormous swimming pool for deceiving her about his true identity. However, after considering her options, she becomes his traveling companion.
This time, Sullivan succeeds in living like a hobo. After eating in soup kitchen
s and sleeping in homeless shelters with the Girl, Sullivan finally decides he has had enough. His experiment is publicized by the studio as a huge success. The Girl wants to stay with him, but he explains that, on the advice of his business manager, he got married to reduce his income tax, only to discover that his wife cost him double what he saved in taxes.
Sullivan decides to thank the homeless by handing out $5 bills, but one man decides he wants more than his share and ambushes Sullivan when he is alone. Sullivan is knocked unconscious and thrown onto a train boxcar
leaving the city, but the thief is run over and killed by another train. The man had earlier stolen Sullivan's shoes, which had a special identification card hidden under one of the soles. When the card is found, everyone assumes the unrecognizable body is Sullivan's.
Meanwhile, Sullivan wakes up in the rail yard of another city, with no memory of who he is or how he got there. In his confused state, he assaults the railroad worker who finds him, for which he is sentenced to six years in a labor camp. He eventually regains his memory, but not before learning the importance of laughter in the otherwise dreary lives of his fellow prisoners when they are allowed to attend a showing of Walt Disney
's Playful Pluto
cartoon. Sullivan comes to realize that comedy can do more good for the poor than O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
But Sullivan still has a problem – he cannot convince anybody that he is Sullivan. Finally, he comes up with an ingenious solution: he confesses to being his own killer. When his picture makes the front page of the newspapers, the Girl recognizes him and gets him released. His "widow" had taken up with his crooked business manager in the meanwhile, so he can now divorce her and be reunited with the Girl. A montage of happily laughing faces ends the film.
Cast notes:
purchased Sturges's script for Sullivan's Travels for $6,000. He wrote the film [as a] response to the "preaching" he found in other comedies "which seemed to have abandoned the fun in favor of the message." Sturges may have been influenced by the stories of John Garfield
, who lived the life of a hobo, riding freight trains and hitchhiking his way cross country for a short period in the 1930s. Sturges wrote the film with Joel McCrea in mind, but who was to play opposite him went through the casting process. Barbara Stanwyck
was considered to co-star, and Frances Farmer
was tested for the role as well.
The film as released opens with a dedication:
Looney Tunes
and Merrie Melodies
cartoons, to make an animated main title sequence, but this was not used in the film, if it was ever actually produced.
The censors at the Hays Office had objections to the script which the studio submitted to them. They felt that the word "bum" would be rejected by British censors, and warned that there should be no "suggestion of sexual intimacy" between Sullivan and The Girl in the scenes in which they are sleeping together at the mission.
Sullivan's Travels went into production on 12 May 1941 and wrapped on 22 July. Location shooting took place in Canoga Park, San Marino
, Castaic
and at Lockheed Air Terminal.
Veronica Lake was six months pregnant at the beginning of production, a fact she didn't tell Sturges until filming began. Sturges was so furious when he learned that, according to Lake, he had to be physically restrained. Sturges consulted with Lake's doctor to see if she could perform the part, and hired former Tournament of Roses queen Cheryl Walker
as Lake's double. Edith Head
, Hollywood's most renowned costume designer, was tasked to find ways of concealing Lake's condition. Reportedly, Lake was disliked by some of her co-stars; McCrea refused to work with her again, turning down a lead role in I Married a Witch
, and Fredric March
, who got the part, didn't get along with her as well.
There were some minor problems during filming. Sturges had wanted to use a clip from a Charlie Chaplin
film for the church scene, but was turned down by Chaplin. McCrea does parody Chaplin's "Little Tramp" character earlier in the film. Also, the "Poverty Montage" was scheduled to take three hours to film, but instead took seven hours. Incidents such as this may account for the film, which cost $689,665.16 to produce, going $86,665.16 over budget.
The film was released in December 1941, but the New York City
opening was not until 28 January 1942.
When the film was released, the U.S. government's Office of Censorship declined to approve it for export overseas during wartime, because of the "long sequence showing life in a prison chain gang which is most objectionable because of the brutality and inhumanity with which the prisoners are treated." This conformed with the office's standing policy of not exporting films which could be used for propaganda purposes by the enemy. The producers of the film declined to make suggested changes which could have altered the film's status.
Sullivan's Travels was released on video in the U.S. on 16 March 1989, and re-released on 30 June 1993. The film was re-released in the U.K. with a restored print on 12 May 2000.
and The Lady Eve
, and also received a mixed critical reception. Although the review in the New York Times called the film "the most brilliant picture yet this year" and praised Sturges's mix of escapist fun with underlying significance, the Hollywood Reporter said that it lacked the "down to earth quality and sincerity which made [Sturges's] other three pictures a joy to behold" and that "Sturges...fails to heed the message that writer Sturges proves in his script. Laughter is the thing people want-not social studies." The New Yorker
s review said that "anyone can make a mistake, Preston Sturges, even. The mistake in question is a pretentious number called Sullivan's Travels." Nevertheless the Times named it as one of the "10 Best Films of 1941", and the National Board of Review nominated it as best picture of the year.
Over time, the reputation of the film has improved tremendously, and it is now considered a classic, with at least one reviewer calling it Sturges's "masterpiece" and "one of the finest movies about movies ever made."
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." In 2007, the American Film Institute
ranked it as the #61 Greatest Movie of All Time, the first inclusion of this film on the list. In addition, the movie's poster was ranked as #19 of "The 25 Best Movie Posters Ever" by Premiere.
American Film Institute
recognition
, Lux Radio Theatre broadcast a radio adaptation of Sullivan's Travels with Ralph Bellamy
in the lead role and Veronica Lake reprising her role.
The scene where the prisoners are taken to watch a cartoon takes place in a Southern African-American church; the film notably treats the African-American characters there with a level of respect unusual in films of the period. The Secretary of the NAACP, Walter White
, wrote to Sturges:
, Sinclair Lewis
, and John Steinbeck
, all of whom wrote socially conscious fiction. The title of Sullivan's unrealized dream project has resurfaced in several other works.
Preston Sturges
Preston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
. It is a satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
about a movie director, played by Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
, who longs to make a socially relevant drama, but eventually learns that comedies are his more valuable contribution to society. The film features one of Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her role in Sullivan's Travels and her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle...
's first leading roles. The title is a reference to Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels
Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
, the famous novel by satirist Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
about another journey of self-discovery.
In 1990, Sullivan's Travels was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Plot
John L. Sullivan (Joel McCreaJoel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
), a popular young Hollywood director fresh from a string of very profitable, but shallow comedies (e.g. Ants in Your Pants of 1939) , tells his studio boss, Mr. Lebrand (Robert Warwick), that he is dissatisfied and wants his next project to be a serious exploration of the plight of the downtrodden, to be based on the socially-conscious novel O Brother, Where Art Thou? by Sinclair Beckstein. Not surprisingly, Lebrand wants him to direct another, more lucrative comedy instead, but the idealistic Sullivan refuses to give in. He wants to "know trouble" first-hand as a tramp so he can return and make a film that truly depicts the sorrows of humanity. His butler (Robert Greig) and valet (Eric Blore
Eric Blore
Eric Blore was an English comic actor. Blore was born in Finchley , England.Aged eighteeen, he worked as an insurance agent for two years. He gained theatre experience while touring Australia. Originally enlisting into the Artists Rifles he was commissioned in the South Wales Borderers in World...
) openly question the wisdom of his plan.
Undeterred, Sullivan dresses as a penniless hobo and takes to the road. However, no matter how hard he tries, somehow he always ends up back in Hollywood. Lebrand insists that his staff follow him in a double-decker coach. Neither party is happy with the arrangement; Sullivan eventually persuades his guardians to leave him alone and arranges to rendezvous with them later. When he hitchhikes, he finds himself back where he started.
Then he meets a young failed actress (Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her role in Sullivan's Travels and her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle...
, credited only as "The Girl") who is contemplating quitting the business. In return for her kindness to him, Sullivan gives her a lift in his car, without telling his servants; they report the "theft" and the pair are apprehended by the police. Upon their release, the Girl pushes him into his enormous swimming pool for deceiving her about his true identity. However, after considering her options, she becomes his traveling companion.
This time, Sullivan succeeds in living like a hobo. After eating in soup kitchen
Soup kitchen
A soup kitchen, a bread line, or a meal center is a place where food is offered to the hungry for free or at a reasonably low price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church groups or community groups...
s and sleeping in homeless shelters with the Girl, Sullivan finally decides he has had enough. His experiment is publicized by the studio as a huge success. The Girl wants to stay with him, but he explains that, on the advice of his business manager, he got married to reduce his income tax, only to discover that his wife cost him double what he saved in taxes.
Sullivan decides to thank the homeless by handing out $5 bills, but one man decides he wants more than his share and ambushes Sullivan when he is alone. Sullivan is knocked unconscious and thrown onto a train boxcar
Boxcar
A boxcar is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads...
leaving the city, but the thief is run over and killed by another train. The man had earlier stolen Sullivan's shoes, which had a special identification card hidden under one of the soles. When the card is found, everyone assumes the unrecognizable body is Sullivan's.
Meanwhile, Sullivan wakes up in the rail yard of another city, with no memory of who he is or how he got there. In his confused state, he assaults the railroad worker who finds him, for which he is sentenced to six years in a labor camp. He eventually regains his memory, but not before learning the importance of laughter in the otherwise dreary lives of his fellow prisoners when they are allowed to attend a showing of Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
's Playful Pluto
Playful Pluto
Playful Pluto is a classic Walt Disney cartoon, directed by Burt Gillett showcasing Pluto. It was the first cartoon in which Pluto was developed as major character.-Plot:...
cartoon. Sullivan comes to realize that comedy can do more good for the poor than O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
But Sullivan still has a problem – he cannot convince anybody that he is Sullivan. Finally, he comes up with an ingenious solution: he confesses to being his own killer. When his picture makes the front page of the newspapers, the Girl recognizes him and gets him released. His "widow" had taken up with his crooked business manager in the meanwhile, so he can now divorce her and be reunited with the Girl. A montage of happily laughing faces ends the film.
Cast
- Joel McCreaJoel McCreaJoel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
as John L. Sullivan - Veronica LakeVeronica LakeVeronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her role in Sullivan's Travels and her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle...
as The Girl - Robert Warwick as Mr. Lebrand
- William DemarestWilliam DemarestCarl William Demarest was an American character actor. He frequently played crusty but good-hearted roles.-Early life and career:...
as Mr. Jonas - Franklin PangbornFranklin PangbornFranklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor. Pangborn was famous for small, but memorable roles, with a comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W.C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break...
as Mr. Casalsis - Porter HallPorter HallPorter Hall was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s...
as Mr. Hadrian - Byron Foulger as Mr. Johnny Valdelle
- Margaret HayesMargaret HayesMargaret Hayes was an American film and television actress.Born December 5, 1916 Florette Regina Ottenheimer in Baltimore, Maryland, she was often billed as Maggie Hayes in her film credits. She is perhaps best known for her role as Lois Judby Hammond in the film Blackboard Jungle...
as Secretary - Robert GreigRobert Greig (actor)Robert Greig was an Australian-American actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1930 and 1949, usually as the dutiful butler.-Career:...
as Burrows, Sullivan's butler - Eric BloreEric BloreEric Blore was an English comic actor. Blore was born in Finchley , England.Aged eighteeen, he worked as an insurance agent for two years. He gained theatre experience while touring Australia. Originally enlisting into the Artists Rifles he was commissioned in the South Wales Borderers in World...
as Sullivan's valet - Torben MeyerTorben MeyerTorben Emil Meyer was a Danish character actor who appeared in over 190 films in a 55-year career.-Early career:...
as The doctor - Georges RenaventGeorges RenaventGeorges Renavent was an actor in American classic films, Broadway plays and operator of American Grand Guignol. He was born in Paris, France....
as Old tramp
Cast notes:
- This was the sixth of ten films written by Preston Sturges that William Demarest appeared in.
- Members of Sturges's unofficial "stock company" of character actors who appear in Sullivan's Travels include George AndersonGeorge Anderson (actor)George Anderson was an American stage and film actor who appeared in 74 films and 25 Broadway productions in his 34 year career.-Career:...
, Al BridgeAl BridgeAl Bridge was an American character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films between 1931 and 1954...
, Chester ConklinChester ConklinChester Cooper Conklin was an American comedian and actor. He appeared in over 280 films, about half of them in the silent era.-Early life:...
, Jimmy ConlinJimmy ConlinJimmy Conlin was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films in his 32 year career.-Career:...
, William Demarest, Robert DudleyRobert Dudley (actor)Robert Dudley , born Robert Y. Dudley in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a dentist turned film character actor who, in his 35-year career, appeared in over 115 films.-Career:...
, Byron Foulger, Robert Greig, Harry Hayden, Esther HowardEsther HowardEsther Howard was a film character actress who played a wide range of supporting roles, from man-hungry spinsters to amoral criminals, appearing in over 100 movies in her 23-year film career.-Career:...
, Arthur HoytArthur HoytArthur Hoyt was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 275 films in his 34 year film career, about a third of them silent films. He was a brother of Harry O...
, J. Farrell MacDonaldJ. Farrell MacDonaldJoseph Farrell MacDonald was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. MacDonald, who was sometimes billed as "John Farrell Macdonald", "J.F...
, Torben Meyer, Charles R. MooreCharles R. MooreCharles R. Moore was an African-American actor who appeared in over 100 films in his acting career, and was sometimes credited as Charles Moore or Charlie Moore Moore played small parts such as servants, bootblacks, elevator operators, menial laborers, and, especially, railroad porters and Red Caps...
, Frank MoranFrank MoranCharles Francis "Frank" Moran was an American boxer and film actor who fought twice for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, and appeared in over 135 movies in a 25 year film career.-Sports career:...
, Jack NortonJack NortonJack Norton , was a mustachio'd American stage and film character actor who appeared in 184 films between 1934 and 1948, often playing drunks, although in real life he was a teetotaler.-Career:...
, Franklin Pangborn, Emory ParnellEmory ParnellEmory Parnell was an American vaudevillian and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36 year career...
, Victor PotelVictor PotelVictor Potel was an American film character actor who began in the silent era and appeared in over 430 films in his 38 year career.-Career:...
, Dewey Robinson, Harry RosenthalHarry RosenthalHarry Rosenthal was an orchestra leader, composer, pianist and actor.- Biography :Rosenthal was born in Belfast in 1893, and by the 1920s he was in London where he had a thriving musical career as a composer, bandleader and pianist, including composing five operettas which met with great success...
, Julius TannenJulius TannenJulius Tannen was a comedian – or monologist, as those of his era were known – who had a long and successful career in vaudeville. He was known to stage audiences for his witty improvisations and creative word games...
and Robert Warwick. Eric Blore had appeared in The Lady EveThe Lady EveThe Lady Eve is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. The film is based on a story by Monckton Hoffe about a mismatched couple who meet on board a luxury liner...
and Porter Hall would go on to appear in three other Sturges films: The Great MomentThe Great Moment (1944 film)The Great Moment is a 1944 biographical film written and directed by Preston Sturges. Based on the book The Triumph Over Pain by René Fülöp-Miller, it tells the story of Dr. William Thomas Green Morton, a 19th century Boston dentist who discovered the use of ether as an anesthetic...
, The Miracle of Morgan's CreekThe Miracle of Morgan's CreekThe Miracle of Morgan's Creek is a 1944 screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton, and featuring Diana Lynn, William Demarest and Porter Hall...
and The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful BendThe Beautiful Blonde from Bashful BendThe Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend is a 1949 romantic comedy Western film starring Betty Grable and featuring Cesar Romero and Rudy Vallee...
, Sturges's last American film. - Preston SturgesPreston SturgesPreston Sturges , originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated playwright, screenwriter and film director born in Chicago, Illinois...
has a cameo appearance as the film director in the scene set in a film studio where The Girl sees Sullivan's picture in the paper and recognizes him. The man she almost runs into on the street outside the studio is Ray MillandRay MillandRay Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
. - Another member of the production staff appeared in the film as well: associate producer Paul JonesPaul Jones (film producer)Paul Jones , an American film producer. His major work was done for Paramount Pictures.-Career:He produced a number of the films of Preston Sturges, Bob Hope, Dean Martin, and Jerry Lewis. He also produced the Red Skelton comedy A Southern Yankee for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-External links:...
appeared as "Dear Joseph", the late husband of "Miz Zeffie", in a photograph in which the man's expression changes.
Production
ParamountParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
purchased Sturges's script for Sullivan's Travels for $6,000. He wrote the film [as a] response to the "preaching" he found in other comedies "which seemed to have abandoned the fun in favor of the message." Sturges may have been influenced by the stories of John Garfield
John Garfield
John Garfield was an American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He grew up in poverty in Depression-era New York City and in the early 1930s became an important member of the Group Theater. In 1937 he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner...
, who lived the life of a hobo, riding freight trains and hitchhiking his way cross country for a short period in the 1930s. Sturges wrote the film with Joel McCrea in mind, but who was to play opposite him went through the casting process. Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
was considered to co-star, and Frances Farmer
Frances Farmer
Frances Elena Farmer was an American actress of stage and screen. She is perhaps better known for sensationalized and fictional accounts of her life, and especially her involuntary commitment to a mental hospital...
was tested for the role as well.
The film as released opens with a dedication:
To the memory of those who made us laugh: the motley mountebanks, the clowns, the buffoons, in all times and in all nations, whose efforts have lightened our burden a little, this picture is affectionately dedicated.This was originally intended to be spoken by Sullivan. Sturges wanted the film to begin with the prologue: "This is the story of a man who wanted to wash an elephant. The elephant darn near ruined him." Paramount contracted with the Schlesinger Corp., who made the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
and Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
cartoons, to make an animated main title sequence, but this was not used in the film, if it was ever actually produced.
The censors at the Hays Office had objections to the script which the studio submitted to them. They felt that the word "bum" would be rejected by British censors, and warned that there should be no "suggestion of sexual intimacy" between Sullivan and The Girl in the scenes in which they are sleeping together at the mission.
Sullivan's Travels went into production on 12 May 1941 and wrapped on 22 July. Location shooting took place in Canoga Park, San Marino
San Marino, California
San Marino is a small, affluent city in Los Angeles County, California. Incorporated in 1913, the City founders designed the community to be uniquely residential, with expansive properties surrounded by beautiful gardens, wide streets, and well maintained parkways...
, Castaic
Castaic, California
Castaic, California, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, north of Santa Clarita and a few miles from Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park. It is approximately 39 miles from the downtown Los Angeles Civic Center. As of the 2010...
and at Lockheed Air Terminal.
Veronica Lake was six months pregnant at the beginning of production, a fact she didn't tell Sturges until filming began. Sturges was so furious when he learned that, according to Lake, he had to be physically restrained. Sturges consulted with Lake's doctor to see if she could perform the part, and hired former Tournament of Roses queen Cheryl Walker
Cheryl Walker
Cheryl Walker was an American fashion model and actress.-Life and career:Born in South Pasadena, California to Everett Dale and Pauline S. Walker, Cheryl Walker won the 1938 Tournament of Roses pageant leading to a brief career as a model and the beginning of a brief film career...
as Lake's double. Edith Head
Edith Head
Edith Head was an American costume designer who won eight Academy Awards, more than any other woman.-Early life and career:...
, Hollywood's most renowned costume designer, was tasked to find ways of concealing Lake's condition. Reportedly, Lake was disliked by some of her co-stars; McCrea refused to work with her again, turning down a lead role in I Married a Witch
I Married a Witch
I Married a Witch is a 1942 fantasy romantic comedy film, directed by René Clair, and starring Veronica Lake as a witch whose plan for revenge goes comically awry, with Fredric March as her foil. The film also features Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward and Cecil Kellaway...
, and Fredric March
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
, who got the part, didn't get along with her as well.
There were some minor problems during filming. Sturges had wanted to use a clip from a Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
film for the church scene, but was turned down by Chaplin. McCrea does parody Chaplin's "Little Tramp" character earlier in the film. Also, the "Poverty Montage" was scheduled to take three hours to film, but instead took seven hours. Incidents such as this may account for the film, which cost $689,665.16 to produce, going $86,665.16 over budget.
The film was released in December 1941, but the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
opening was not until 28 January 1942.
When the film was released, the U.S. government's Office of Censorship declined to approve it for export overseas during wartime, because of the "long sequence showing life in a prison chain gang which is most objectionable because of the brutality and inhumanity with which the prisoners are treated." This conformed with the office's standing policy of not exporting films which could be used for propaganda purposes by the enemy. The producers of the film declined to make suggested changes which could have altered the film's status.
Sullivan's Travels was released on video in the U.S. on 16 March 1989, and re-released on 30 June 1993. The film was re-released in the U.K. with a restored print on 12 May 2000.
Response
Sullivan's Travels was not as immediately successful at the box office as earlier Sturges films such as The Great McGintyThe Great McGinty
The Great McGinty is a 1940 political satire comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff and featuring William Demarest and Muriel Angelus. It was Sturges's first film as a director; he sold the story to Paramount Pictures for just $10 on condition...
and The Lady Eve
The Lady Eve
The Lady Eve is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. The film is based on a story by Monckton Hoffe about a mismatched couple who meet on board a luxury liner...
, and also received a mixed critical reception. Although the review in the New York Times called the film "the most brilliant picture yet this year" and praised Sturges's mix of escapist fun with underlying significance, the Hollywood Reporter said that it lacked the "down to earth quality and sincerity which made [Sturges's] other three pictures a joy to behold" and that "Sturges...fails to heed the message that writer Sturges proves in his script. Laughter is the thing people want-not social studies." The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
s review said that "anyone can make a mistake, Preston Sturges, even. The mistake in question is a pretentious number called Sullivan's Travels." Nevertheless the Times named it as one of the "10 Best Films of 1941", and the National Board of Review nominated it as best picture of the year.
Over time, the reputation of the film has improved tremendously, and it is now considered a classic, with at least one reviewer calling it Sturges's "masterpiece" and "one of the finest movies about movies ever made."
Awards and honors
In 1990, Sullivan's Travels was selected for preservation in the United States National Film RegistryNational Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." In 2007, the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
ranked it as the #61 Greatest Movie of All Time, the first inclusion of this film on the list. In addition, the movie's poster was ranked as #19 of "The 25 Best Movie Posters Ever" by Premiere.
American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
recognition
- 2000: AFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsAFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsPart of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs is a list of the top 100 funniest movies in American cinema. A wide variety of comedies were nominated for the distinction that included slapstick comedy, screwball comedy, romantic comedy, satire, black comedy, musical comedy, comedy of...
#39 - 2006: AFI's 100 Years... 100 CheersAFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers100 Years…100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies is a list of the most inspiring films as determined by the American Film Institute. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series, which has been compiling lists of the greatest films of all time in various categories since 1998...
#25 - 2007: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) #61
Adaptations
On November 9, 19421942 in radio
The year 1942 saw a number of significant happenings in radio broadcasting history.-Events:*1 January: All radio broadcasting in the Netherlands comes under full control of the country's Nazi occupiers. Publication of the only authorized programme guide, De Luistergids, begins.*9 January: Blue...
, Lux Radio Theatre broadcast a radio adaptation of Sullivan's Travels with Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy was an American actor whose career spanned sixty-two years.-Early life:He was born Ralph Rexford Bellamy in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lilla Louise , a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was fifteen and managed to get into a road show...
in the lead role and Veronica Lake reprising her role.
Themes
The film is a satire of the conflict between art and commerce as well as the gap between the privileged and the impoverished. Sturges skewers the naiveté of wealthy entertainers who want to appease their class guilt by making "socially relevant drama". Instead, he suggests that measurable good can come from anyone willing to take a road less traveled.The scene where the prisoners are taken to watch a cartoon takes place in a Southern African-American church; the film notably treats the African-American characters there with a level of respect unusual in films of the period. The Secretary of the NAACP, Walter White
Walter Francis White
Walter Francis White was a civil rights activist who led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for almost a quarter of a century and directed a broad program of legal challenges to segregation and disfranchisement. He was also a journalist, novelist, and essayist...
, wrote to Sturges:
I want to congratulate and thank you for the church sequence in Sullivan's Travels. This is one of the most moving scenes I have seen in a moving picture for a long time. But I am particularly grateful to you, as are a number of my friends, both white and colored, for the dignified and decent treatment of Negroes in this scene. I was in Hollywood recently and am to return there soon for conferences with production heads, writers, directors, and actors and actresses in an effort to induce broader and more decent picturization of the Negro instead of limiting him to menial or comic roles. The sequence in Sullivan's Travels is a step in that direction and I want you to know how grateful we are.
In popular culture
- In Lawrence KasdanLawrence KasdanLawrence Edward "Larry" Kasdan is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Kasdan was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Sylvia Sarah , an employment counselor, and Clarence Norman Kasdan, who managed retail electronics stores.His Brother is the writer/producer Mark...
's Grand Canyon (1991), Steve MartinSteve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
's character, an action movie producer who experiences a revelation after being mugged, temporarily decides to make high-quality "life drama" movies, but soon returns to the action genre when he decides that violence is life and should be welcomed and watched. Martin's character recommends that his friend (played by Kevin KlineKevin KlineKevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :...
) check out Sullivan's Travels, as "movies are where we get our answers to life". - A 19951995 in televisionThe year 1995 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1995.For the American TV schedule, see: 1995-96 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
episode of Due SouthDue SouthDue South is a Canadian crime drama series with elements of comedy. The series was created by Paul Haggis, produced by Alliance Communications, and stars Paul Gross, David Marciano, and latterly Callum Keith Rennie...
titled "Witness" has this film being shown in a prison where Fraser has had himself incarcerated in order to protect both his partner Ray and the husband of a witness in a murder trial, both also incarcerated at the prison. - In the television show Numb3rsNUMB3RSNumb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...
, season 4, episode 16, "Atomic No. 33" (May 2, 20082008 in televisionThe following is a list of events affecting American television in 2008. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and new channel launches.-January:-February:-March:-April:-May:-June:-July:-August:...
), Special Agent Don EppesDon EppesDon Eppes is the main fictional character in the television show Numb3rs. He is played by Rob Morrow.Don is an FBI Special Agent who runs the FBI Violent Crimes Squad in Los Angeles. Don recruits his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes, to help him and the Bureau solve some of their most...
reveals that his favorite film is not Heat but rather Sullivan's Travels. Numb3rs Season 6, episode 4, "Where Credit's Due" (Oct 16, 2009), quotes a character from the movie. - In the HBO series Sex and the CitySex and the CitySex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, season 1, episode 2, Models and Mortals, Miranda's date comments that he would like to sleep with Lake around the time she filmed this movie.
O Brother, Where Art Thou by Sinclair Beckstein
In the airplane scene in Sullivan's Travels, the author of the book O Brother, Where Art Thou? is shown to be "Sinclair Beckstein", which is an amalgamation of the names of authors Upton SinclairUpton Sinclair
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. , was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle . It exposed conditions in the U.S...
, Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis
Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of...
, and John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
, all of whom wrote socially conscious fiction. The title of Sullivan's unrealized dream project has resurfaced in several other works.
- A 19911991 in televisionFor the American TV schedule, see: 1991-92 United States network television schedule.The year 1991 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1991.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
episode of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 21, 1991. In the episode, Grampa confesses that Homer has a half-brother, whom Homer immediately tries to track down. He eventually discovers...
", got its title from the film and features Homer's half-brother Herb, who goes from CEO of a major car manufacturer to a hobo. - In the 1993 film Amos & AndrewAmos & AndrewAmos & Andrew is a 1993 comedy starring Nicolas Cage and Samuel L. Jackson, filmed in and around Wilmington, North Carolina. It concerns wealthy African-American playwright Andrew Sterling's purchase of a summer home on a predominantly white island.-Plot:When Andrew Sterling Amos & Andrew is a...
, Samuel L. JacksonSamuel L. JacksonSamuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
's character has won the Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for a play called Yo Brother, Where Art Thou? - A 19981998 in televisionThe year 1998 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1998.For the American TV schedule, see: 1998–99 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
episode of SlidersSlidersSliders is an American science fiction television series. It was broadcast for five seasons, beginning in 1995 and ending in 2000. The series follows a group of travelers as they use a wormhole to "slide" between different parallel universes. The show was created by Robert K. Weiss and Tracy Tormé...
titled "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" features main character Quinn Mallory finding his brother in a simplistic reality reminiscent of early colonial times. - The Coen brothers' 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?O Brother, Where Art Thou?O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a 2000 comedy film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning. Set in 1937 rural Mississippi during the Great Depression, the film's story is a modern satire loosely...
borrows the title and has many plot similarities to Sullivan's Travels; on the special-edition DVD the Coens say the film is almost what Sullivan would have ended up making after Sullivan's Travels ends.
External links
- Criterion Collection essay by Todd McCarthy
- Review by Bosley CrowtherBosley CrowtherBosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
in New York Times (1942)