Rating: NR
Genre:
Comedy
Release Date: 08/21/2001
SubTitles: English
Sound: 5.1/1
Run Time: 90 Minutes
Flags: Suitable for Children, Adult Humor
Distributor/Studio: Criterion
In
Preston Sturges' classic
comedy of Depression-era America, filmmaker
John L. Sullivan (
Joel McCrea), fed up with directing profitable
comedies like "Ants in Your Plants of 1939," is consumed with the desire to make a serious social statement in his upcoming film, "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" Unable to function in the rarefied atmosphere of Hollywood,
Sullivan decides to hit the road, disguised as a tramp, and touch base with the "real" people of America. But
Sullivan's studio transforms his odyssey into a publicity stunt, providing the would-be nomad with a luxury van, complete with butler (
Robert Greig) and valet (
Eric Blore). Advised by his servants that the poor resent having the rich intrude upon them,
Sullivan escapes his retinue and continues his travels incognito. En route, he meets a down-and-out failed actress (
Veronica Lake). Experiencing firsthand the scroungy existence of real-life hoboes,
Sullivan returns to Hollywood full of bleeding-heart fervor. After first arranging for the girl's screen test, he heads for the railyards, intending to improve the lot of the local rail-riders and bindlestiffs by handing out ten thousand dollars in five-dollar bills. Instead,
Sullivan is coldcocked by a tramp, who steals
Sullivan's clothes and identification. When the tramp is run over by a speeding train, the world at large is convinced that the great
John L. Sullivan is dead. Meanwhile, the dazed
Sullivan, dressed like a bum with no identification on his person, is arrested and put to work on a brutal Southern chain gang. With its almost
Shakespearean combination of uproarious
comedy and grim
tragedy,
Sullivan's Travels is
Sturges' masterpiece and one of the finest movies about movies ever made.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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