Part of Weekend Classics: 1941’s Greatest Hits
Joel McCrea and sultry Veronica Lake star in this starkly realistic yet highly humorous satire from writer-director Preston Sturges. McCrea plays successful Hollywood director John L. Sullivan, an idealist who believes you can’t accurately direct a screen tragedy unless you live it first. Disguising himself as homeless, Sullivan sets off to see America from the bottom up. Along the way he befriends a beautiful but cynical stray (Veronica Lake), and learns about the cruelty of life among the less fortunate. In the midst of the brutality and despair, the young director makes a valuable discovery that what the downtrodden need most is laughter. Hailed by critics as Preston Sturges’ masterpiece, SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS reveals the wonderful insight and artistry of one of Hollywood’s finest directors.
See also: THE LADY EVE (Sun, Sep 20 + Wed, Sep 23)
“Still as brilliant and funny today as it was back in the early '40s, when Sturges was the toast of Tinseltown, praised as its premier satirist and crafter of social comedies…. Comedy doesn't come much more classic. If you haven't seen it, it's about time you did.” —Angie Errigo, Empire Magazine “Amidst the screwball hijinks of the picture, [Sturges] went looking for himself, but what he found was bigger than he could have realised – the key to the magic of cinema itself…. The greatest art not only shows us how to live, it comforts us in our darkest hours. This realisation will stand as Preston Sturges’ genius.” —Craig Williams, Cinevue “With the characters’ torrential, scintillating verbiage, Sturges seems to leap out from behind the screen to address the viewer directly. Few classic filmmakers with so much to say manage to find so many splendid words to say it in.” —Richard Brody, The New Yorker “Preston Sturges’ most famous film, SULLIVAN TRAVELS, may not match the sleek perfection of his LADY EVEN, but its endlessly fertile and still influential fusion of satire, screwball comedy, drama, and slapstick (most recent homage: the Coen brothers’ O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?) remains tartly fresh.” —Tim Purtell, Entertainment Weekly
