Featured Audience Ratings

• Devon B

  
  A wealthy hollywood director gets more than he bargained for when he goes out looking for "trouble" so as to better identify with the common man (and make a better film dramatizing their plight). The director's name is Sullivan (Joel McCrea), and he is more known for… More
  A wealthy hollywood director gets more than he bargained for when he goes out looking for "trouble" so as to better identify with the common man (and make a better film dramatizing their plight). The director's name is Sullivan (Joel McCrea), and he is more known for goofy slapstick than dramatic human interest. He believes himself to be a noble pursuer of truth and justice, but as his butler Burrows points out, dressing up as a bum and hoboing around is something "only the morbid rich would find glamorous". At first, the studio is intent on following him around (in a giant bus, no less) to document this adventure, but he quickly loses them after making a deal to meet up with them later. Not long after, he's taken in by a girl (Veronica Lake) who buys him a ham-and-egg breakfast as she's on her way east, back home. Sullivan is attracted to her and wants to make a movie with her, only he's still trying to maintain his incognito status, so as a compromise, he goes home and steals his own car so as to give her a ride to whereever she wants to go ("Chicago", she says). After she discovers his ruse, the girl decides to go along with him on his adventure ("How can I be alone if you're with me?" he asks, but to no avail), and the two delve right into the seedy underbelly of America's misfortunes. Riding the rails, sleeping in flophouses, looking for handouts, as if some great and noble purpose could be distilled from abject misery. But as with other martyrs, that nobility is never pure, as they could escape their condition at anytime they so choose, he's never really down and out, he still has his millions waiting for him at home, and so the deception is never fully realized as he knows who he is. Ah, but after he goes back to being Sullivan, and he's clunked over the head and robbed by a hobo and then thrown onto a freight train, well only then does he come to realize the nature of being lowly and without friends. Sullivan comes to realize the irony of socially conscious films is that they do nothing for the people they purport to defend, that watching a film doesn't change anyone's plight. The best a film can hope to do for the lowest rungs of our society is take away the burden of life for a little while, take a person somewhere they've never been before, let them laugh and enjoy themselves, even if it's just for a little while. Throwing their poverty back up in their faces doesn't help them, not even a little bit.

• Universal D

  
  Sturges' insight about the relevance of humor in a dog-eat-dog world never gets old, mainly because his insight into humanity itself is spot on. And all his mainstays are here: crisp dialogue, vivid and far-reaching portrayals, a wide cross section of society, Hollywood w/o… More
  Sturges' insight about the relevance of humor in a dog-eat-dog world never gets old, mainly because his insight into humanity itself is spot on. And all his mainstays are here: crisp dialogue, vivid and far-reaching portrayals, a wide cross section of society, Hollywood w/o being Hollywood. And Veronica Lake, too!

• AJ V

  
  Oh, this movie was hilarious! Some scenes may get a little too silly, but overall it works. I highly recommend this great screwball comedy.

• Jon L

  
  Great film! This movie had really good shots that conveyed good acting, although over the top with dry wit and humor. Since I think that was the goal of this film, it did a pretty good job of it and I recommend this for anyone who is interested in older classics. I really did like… More
  Great film! This movie had really good shots that conveyed good acting, although over the top with dry wit and humor. Since I think that was the goal of this film, it did a pretty good job of it and I recommend this for anyone who is interested in older classics. I really did like the chemistry between the main characters and that seems hard to create in most films.

• Bruce B

  
  This is about the best Black & White Movie I have seen in sometime. Veronica Lake was nothing short of great and beautiful, her acting couldn't be touched by any other actress in this film. She was a beautiful lady. This movie starts out and one wonders if they are in for a… More
  This is about the best Black & White Movie I have seen in sometime. Veronica Lake was nothing short of great and beautiful, her acting couldn't be touched by any other actress in this film. She was a beautiful lady. This movie starts out and one wonders if they are in for a slow boring film, but within 15 minutes it picks up and what we have is a wonderful story for the 1941 time frame. Joel McCrea plays a big time movie producer who is going to put out a movie about hard times, but what does he know about hard times, so he goes on the road as a hobo, meets Veronica Lake and she joins him on his quest. All in all it makes for a pretty good movie, worth the rental, if your a Pre 1960 film collector this one needs to be in it, no big name stars but an excellent movie overall. 4 Stars

• Jeremy S

  
  John Sullivan: "There's a lot to be said for making people laugh. Did you know that's all some people have? It isn't much, but it's better than nothing in this cockeyed caravan. Boy!"

• Jennifer X

  
  Scratch anything I've said before, Veronica Lake is THE poster girl for adorability. Preston Sturges sure knows how to pick his leading ladies. Very, very good satire with a solid message and well-timed transitions. I love films that show versatility.

• Stephen M

  
  The way "Sullivan's Travels" shifts effortlessly back and forth in tone, from light to dark and back again, is hugely impressive. The Coen brothers borrowed more than just the title of the project Joel McCrea's film director is desperate to make, "O, Brother,… More
  The way "Sullivan's Travels" shifts effortlessly back and forth in tone, from light to dark and back again, is hugely impressive. The Coen brothers borrowed more than just the title of the project Joel McCrea's film director is desperate to make, "O, Brother, Where Art Thou"; the figure of the artist, struggling against the Hollywood studio system to make a universally important statement, is clearly echoed in "Barton Fink". It's not my favourite Sturges movie but it's still delightful. Veronica Lake is adorable in this.

• jay n

  
  Humor and sorrow mixed perfectly. Veronica Lake radiates star quality and talent, what a sad waste.

• Michael G

  
  A great, great film. It starts off silly and light-hearted then eventually switches gears and gets genuinely ugly. And if you can take your eyes off Veronica Lake you've got serious problems...

• Dillon L

  
  I think the film Sullivan should've made after the end is the Coen Brothers version of O Brother, Where Art Thou?

• Byron B

  
  I don't know much about the Coen Brothers to know if they claim Preston Sturges as a major influence on their work, but there seems to be a connection. They seem to be continuing the tradition of Hollywood outsiders making movies their own way, freely mixing comedy, drama, dark… More
  I don't know much about the Coen Brothers to know if they claim Preston Sturges as a major influence on their work, but there seems to be a connection. They seem to be continuing the tradition of Hollywood outsiders making movies their own way, freely mixing comedy, drama, dark twisted moments, and a little romance. After all they made Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, the movie that never gets made in this film. I think I've only seen one other Sturges film, The Great McGinty, and I noticed social issues seem to be a favorite theme. He pokes fun at the Hollywood machine. There is lots of great dialog, some of which I didn't appreciate till I saw the clips again in a special feature doc. There are quite a few laughs, but it turns at times to thoughtful drama and a touch of romance. Then it also deals with the darker side of society, the danger of giving charity to the poor too freely, the treatment of chain gang prisoners, and a particularly grisly death for the time when this movie was made. The movie cautions against taking the art and social power of moving pictures too seriously.

• Matthew Y

  
  I wonder how original and impactful Sullivan's Travels was back in the day. From today's standards it still holds up well with its always challenging message of the haves responsibilities to the have nots but from a plot standpoint I wonder how original it might have been.… More
  I wonder how original and impactful Sullivan's Travels was back in the day. From today's standards it still holds up well with its always challenging message of the haves responsibilities to the have nots but from a plot standpoint I wonder how original it might have been. The story of someone assuming the life of a poor and impoverished part of society to get a better understanding of it is a relatively abused plot piece in today's world and the third amnesia act has been a plot point that has almost been used to death. Though in 1941, I wonder how remarkably original the film might have come across. Regardless the film has managed to grow in appeal over the years and even crept its way onto AFI's second top 100 list. I think I'll swing back and forth on the films place in cinema history for some time but its clever and still challenging storyline has managed to survive this long, who am I to question it?

• Andrew F

  
  Good, but not a great classic movie like it could have been.

• Anastasia B

  
  One of the best scripts that ever came out of Hollywood, Sullivan's Travels proves Preston Sturges was one of a kind.A perfect mix of comedy, drama and social commentary, this film is a must-see for anyone who really loves movies!

• Marion R

  
  It's an okay film

• Tom S

  
  "Where are we?" "I don't know. Hollywood, I s'pose."

• Emily B

  
  Highly enjoyable film by Preston Sturges. There's witty dialogue and a great performance from McCrea, not so great a performance from Lake, but she still steals every scene with that beauty of hers.

• Anthony V

  
  Funny, touching and Veronica Lake! A Preston Sturges classic!

• Linda K

  
  The original OH BROTHER WHERE ART THOU!

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