Editing Sullivan's Travels

{{Short description|1941 film by Preston Sturges}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Sullivan's Travels
| image          = Sullivan's Travels (1941 film) – Style B poster.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster by Maurice Kallis
| director       = [[Preston Sturges]]
| writer         = Preston Sturges
| producer       = [[Paul Jones (film producer)|Paul Jones]]{{efn|[[Buddy DeSylva]] and Sturges also acted as uncredited producers on the film.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}}}
| starring       = {{ubl|[[Joel McCrea]]|[[Veronica Lake]]|[[Robert Warwick]]|[[William Demarest]]|[[Margaret Hayes]]|[[Porter Hall]]|[[Franklin Pangborn]]|[[Eric Blore]]}}
| cinematography = [[John F. Seitz|John Seitz]]
| editing        = [[Stuart Gilmore]]
| music          = {{ubl|[[Leo Shuken]]|Charles Bradshaw}}
| studio         = [[Paramount Pictures]]
| distributor    = Paramount Pictures
| released       = {{Film date|1941|12|29|[[Jackson, Tennessee]]}}
| runtime        = 90 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $678,000<ref>{{cite book |last=Curtis |first=James |author-link=James Curtis (biographer) |title=Between Flops: A Biography of Preston Sturges |publisher=[[Limelight Editions|Limelight]] |year=1984 |page=157 |isbn=978-0-15-111932-5}}</ref>
| gross          = $1.2 million (US [[Distributor rental|rentals]])<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/stream/variety149-1943-01#page/n57/mode/1up |title=101 Pix Gross in Millions |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=January 6, 1943 |page=58}}</ref>
}}

'''''Sullivan's Travels''''' is a 1941 American [[comedy film]] written and directed by [[Preston Sturges]]. A satire of the film industry, it follows a famous Hollywood comedy director ([[Joel McCrea]]) who, longing to make a socially relevant drama, sets out to live as a tramp to gain life experience for his forthcoming film. Along the way he unites with a poor aspiring actress ([[Veronica Lake]]) who accompanies him. The title is a reference to ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]'', the 1726 novel by satirist [[Jonathan Swift]] about another journey of self-discovery.

''Sullivan's Travels'' received a mix reception from critics upon its release. ''[[The New York Times]]'' described it as "the most brilliant picture yet this year", praising Sturges's mix of escapist fun with underlying significance, and ranked it as one of the ten best films of 1941. But ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' said that it lacked the "down to earth quality and sincerity which made [Sturges's] other three pictures of 1941 – ''[[The Great McGinty]]'', ''[[The Lady Eve]]'', and ''[[Christmas in July (film)|Christmas in July]]'' – "a joy to behold".

Over time, the film's reputation has improved tremendously. Media historian [[Hal Erickson (author)|Hal Erickson]] classified it as a "classic", "one of the finest movies about movies ever made" and a "masterpiece".<ref name=erikson>{{cite web |title=Sullivan's Travels (1941) – Preston Sturges |first=Hal |last=Erickson |author-link=Hal Erickson (author) |website=[[AllMovie]] |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/sullivans-travels-v47601 |access-date=June 27, 2008}}</ref> 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."

==Plot==
John L. Sullivan is a popular young Hollywood director of profitable but shallow comedies. Dissatisfied with making such films as ''Ants in Your Plants of 1939'', he tells his studio boss, Mr. LeBrand, that he wants his next project to be a serious exploration of the plight of the downtrodden based on the novel ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' LeBrand wants him to direct another lucrative comedy instead, but Sullivan refuses. He wants to "know trouble" firsthand, and plans to travel as a tramp so he can make a film that truly depicts the sorrows of humanity. His British butler and valet both openly question the wisdom of his plan.

Sullivan dresses as a hobo and takes to the road, followed by staff in a bus imposed on him for his own safety by the studio. Nobody is happy with the arrangement, and Sullivan, after trying to lose the bus in a fast-paced car chase, eventually persuades his guardians to leave him alone and arranges to rendezvous with them later in [[Las Vegas]]. However, he soon returns to Los Angeles. There, in a diner, Sullivan meets a struggling young actress who has failed to make it in Hollywood and is just about to give up and go home. She believes he is a penniless tramp and buys him breakfast.
[[File:Sullivan's Travels (1941) - Trailer.webm|thumb|The film's trailer]]
In return for her kindness, Sullivan retrieves his car from his estate and gives her a ride. He neglects to tell his servants that he has returned, so they report the car stolen. Sullivan and the girl are briefly apprehended by police, but are released after things are cleared up. He and the girl go to his palatial mansion. After seeing how wealthy he is, she shoves him into his swimming pool for deceiving her. However, when he insists on trying again, she goes with him, over his objections, disguised as a boy.

This time Sullivan succeeds. After riding in a cattle car, eating in [[soup kitchen]]s and sleeping in homeless shelters with the girl (where someone steals his shoes), 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 Sullivan reveals to her that he is married, lovelessly, to someone else, having been advised to do so solely to reduce his taxes. Worse, the plan backfired, with Sullivan's joint returns higher than when he was single and his wife having an affair with his business manager.

Sullivan decides to thank the homeless for the insights he has gained by handing out $5 bills. At a train yard, a man knocks Sullivan unconscious, steals his money and shoes, and dumps him in a departing [[boxcar]]. While escaping with Sullivan's money, the thief gets run over by another train. When the mangled body is found, the ID cards sewn into the stolen shoes identify the deceased as Sullivan.

Sullivan wakes up in another city, with no memory of who he is or how he got there. A [[Security guard|yard bull]] finds him and accosts him for illegally entering the rail yard. In his dazed state, Sullivan hits the man with a rock, earning himself a six-year sentence of hard labor in a work camp. He gradually regains his memory. In the camp, he attends a showing of [[Walt Disney]]'s 1934 ''[[Playful Pluto]]'' cartoon, a rare treat for the prisoners, and is surprised to find himself laughing along with the rest of them.

Unable to convince anybody either that he is Sullivan or communicate with the outside world, he comes up with a solution: after learning of his unsolved "killing" on the front page of an old newspaper, he confesses to being the murderer. When his picture makes the front page, he is recognized and released. His "widow" has married his business manager, meaning she will have to grant him a divorce or be charged with bigamy. Sullivan's boss finally tells him he can make ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' Sullivan confesses he has changed his mind; he now wants to continue making comedies, having seen firsthand the joy they bring to the downtrodden.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Joel McCrea]] as John L. Sullivan
* [[Veronica Lake]] as The Girl
* [[Robert Warwick]] as Mr. LeBrand
* [[William Demarest]] as Mr. Jonas
* [[Franklin Pangborn]] as Mr. Casalsis
* [[Porter Hall]] as Mr. Hadrian
* [[Byron Foulger]] as Mr. Johnny Valdelle
* [[Margaret Hayes]] as secretary
* [[Robert Greig (actor)|Robert Greig]] as Burrows, Sullivan's butler
* [[Eric Blore]] as Sullivan's valet
* [[Torben Meyer]] as the doctor
* [[Georges Renavent]] as old tramp
* Jan Buckingham as Mrs. Sullivan
* [[Emory Parnell]] as rail yard bull (uncredited)
* [[Jess Lee Brooks]] as the preacher (uncredited)
}}

==Themes==
[[Image:Sullivan's-Travels-1942.jpg|thumb|right|[[Veronica Lake]] and [[Joel McCrea]] in ''Sullivan's Travels'']]
The film's primary theme is best summed up in the last line of dialogue as spoken by 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."

The scene in which the prisoners are taken to watch the 1934 [[Disney]] cartoon ''[[Playful Pluto]]'' takes place in a [[Black Southerners|Southern black]] church; the film treats the African-American characters there with a level of respect unusual in films of the period. The Secretary of the [[NAACP]], [[Walter Francis White|Walter White]], wrote to Sturges:
<blockquote>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.<ref name="afi"/></blockquote>

==Production==
===Development===
[[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] 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."<ref name="afi">{{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/27051 |title=Sullivan's Travels (1941) – History |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |access-date=May 12, 2024}}</ref>

The film as released opens with a dedication:<blockquote>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.</blockquote> 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."<ref name="afi"/> Paramount contracted with the Schlesinger Corp., who made the [[Warner Bros.]] ''[[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.<ref name="afi"/>

The censors at the [[Hays Office]] had objections to the script they received. 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.<ref name="afi"/>

===Casting===
Sturges wrote the film with [[Joel McCrea]] in mind, but found the female lead—[[Veronica Lake]]—through the casting process. Before Lake was cast, [[Barbara Stanwyck]] was considered, as well as [[Frances Farmer]].<ref name="afi"/>

===Filming===
''Sullivan's Travels'' went into production on May 12, 1941, and wrapped on July 22. Location shooting took place in [[Canoga Park, Los Angeles|Canoga Park]], [[San Marino, California|San Marino]], [[Castaic, California|Castaic]] and at [[Lockheed Air Terminal]].<ref name="afi"/>

Lake was six months pregnant at the beginning of production, a fact she did not disclose to Sturges until filming began. Sturges was so furious that, according to Lake, he had to be physically restrained.<ref name=tcmart>{{cite web|last=Steffen|first=James|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/91851/sullivans-travels#articles-reviews|title=Sullivan's Travels (1942) – Articles|publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|access-date=May 12, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012223714/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/91851/Sullivan-s-Travels/articles.html|archive-date=October 12, 2017}}</ref> Sturges consulted with Lake's doctor to see if she could perform the part, and hired former [[Tournament of Roses]] queen [[Cheryl Walker (actress)|Cheryl Walker]] as Lake's double.<ref name="afi"/> Costume designer [[Edith Head]] was tasked to find ways of concealing Lake's pregnancy. Reportedly, Lake was disliked by a few of her co-stars. McCrea refused to work with her again, and subsequently turned down a lead role with her in ''[[I Married a Witch]]''. [[Fredric March]], who took the latter part, did not much enjoy working with Lake, either.<ref>{{cite web|last=Stafford|first=Jeff|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/78841/i-married-a-witch#articles-reviews|title=I Married a Witch (1942) – Articles|publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|access-date=May 12, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922220817/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/78841/I-Married-A-Witch/articles.html|archive-date=September 22, 2017}}</ref> However, McCrea got along famously with Sturges, and afterward presented him with a watch engraved "for the finest direction I've ever had." Sturges' assistant director, [[Anthony Mann]], also was influenced heavily by his experience on the production.<ref>{{cite book |last=Spoto |first=Donald |author-link=Donald Spoto |title=Madcap: The Life of Preston Sturges |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company|Little, Brown & Co.]] |year=1990 |page=171 |isbn=978-0-316-80726-5}}</ref>

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 and the Disney cartoon substituted instead. Lake does parody Chaplin's "Little Tramp" character earlier in the film.<ref name="afi"/> Also, the poverty montage was scheduled to take three hours to film, but took seven hours. The film cost $689,000 to produce, some $86,000 over budget.<ref name="afi"/>

==Release==
The film was given a pre-screening for critics on December 4, 1941,<ref name=variety1941>{{cite magazine|title=Tradeshows|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=December 3, 1941|page=22}}</ref> before premiering in [[Jackson, Tennessee]] on December 29, 1941.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/27051#3|title=Sullivan's Travels (1941) – Details|website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|access-date=May 12, 2024}}</ref> Its Hollywood premiere occurred on February 12, 1942, at the [[Paramount Theatre (Los Angeles)|Los Angeles Paramount Theatre]].<ref name=latimes1942>{{cite news|title=Sullivan Travels Today|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=February 12, 1942|page=10}}</ref>

When the film was released, the U.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 that could be used for propaganda purposes by the enemy. The producers of the film declined to make suggested changes that could have altered the film's status.<ref name="afi"/>

===Critical response===
''Sullivan's Travels'' was not immediately successful at the box office as were earlier Sturges films such as ''[[The Great McGinty]]'' and ''[[The Lady Eve]]'', and received mixed critical reception. Although the review in ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the film "the most brilliant picture yet this year" and praised Sturges' 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''."<ref name="afi"/> Nevertheless, the ''Times'' named it as one of the ten 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; at least one reviewer called it Sturges's "masterpiece" and "one of the finest movies about movies ever made."<ref name=erikson/> On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 41 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sullivans_travels/ |title=Sullivan's Travels |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=May 12, 2024}}</ref>

In 2020, ''Diabolique Magazine'' described Lake's character as "captivating, magical, and extremely sexy, whether sitting on McCrea's lap in a bathrobe and combing his hair or walking along the road in a hobo overcoat ... She wasn't great with all her dialogue but Sturges made her spit it out at rapid-fire pace and protected her limitations. It's a performance for the ages."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://diaboliquemagazine.com/the-cinema-of-veronica-lake/|magazine=Diabolique Magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|title=The Cinema of Veronica Lake|date=February 11, 2020}}</ref>

===Home media===
''Sullivan's Travels'' was released on video in the United States on March 16, 1989, and re-released on June 30, 1993. The film was re-released in the United Kingdom with a restored print on May 12, 2000.

[[The Criterion Collection]] issued a special edition [[DVD]] of the film on August 21, 2001, before reissuing a newly restored version of the film both DVD and [[Blu-ray]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/sullivans-travels/|title=Blu-ray Review: Preston Sturges's ''Sullivan's Travels'' on the Criterion Collection|last=Dillard|first=Clayton|website=[[Slant Magazine]]|date=April 14, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201223215750/https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/sullivans-travels/|archive-date=December 23, 2020}}</ref>

==Legacy==
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."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date=2020-05-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Gamarekian|first=Barbara|date=October 19, 1990|title=Library of Congress Adds 25 Titles to National Film Registry|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/19/movies/library-of-congress-adds-25-titles-to-national-film-registry.html|access-date=May 12, 2020}}</ref> In 2000, the [[American Film Institute]] listed the film at No. 39 on [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs]].<ref>{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=August 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624052741/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs100.pdf |archive-date=June 24, 2016}}</ref> In 2006, it was ranked No. 25 on [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers]].<ref>{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/cheers100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=August 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624052507/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/cheers100.pdf |archive-date=June 24, 2016}}</ref> In 2007, it was ranked at No. 61 on the anniversary edition of their [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)|100 Years...100 Movies]].<ref>{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/100Movies.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=August 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624052446/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/100Movies.pdf |archive-date=June 24, 2016}}</ref>

The [[Writers Guild of America|Writers Guilds of America]] voted the screenplay for ''Sullivan's Travels'' as the 29th greatest ever written,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-greatest-screenplays/list |title=101 Greatest Screenplays |publisher=[[Writers Guild of America West]] |access-date=January 31, 2017}}</ref> as well as the 35th funniest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-funniest-screenplays/list |title=101 Funniest Screenplays |publisher=[[Writers Guild of America West]] |access-date=January 31, 2017}}</ref> The film's poster was ranked as No. 19 of "The 25 Best Movie Posters Ever" by ''Premiere''. A 2010 special issue of ''[[Trains (magazine)|Trains]]'' magazine ranked ''Sullivan's Travels'' 25th among the 100 greatest train films.<ref>Trains Magazine Special Edition No. 5-2010, p. 81</ref>

''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'', the fictional book that Sullivan wants to adapt for the screen, was used as the title of the [[O Brother, Where Art Thou?|film of the same name]] by the [[Coen brothers]] in 2000.

==Adaptations==
On November 9, 1942, ''Lux Radio Theatre'' broadcast a radio adaptation of ''Sullivan's Travels'' with [[Ralph Bellamy]] in the lead role and Veronica Lake reprising her role.<ref name="afi"/>

==See also==
* [[List of cult films]]
* [[List of films featuring fictional films]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sullivan's Travels (film)|Sullivan's Travels}}
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{AFI film}}
* {{TCMDb title}}
* [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/sullivans_travels.pdf ''Sullivan's Travels'' essay] by Julie Grossman at [[National Film Registry]]
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/3541-sullivan-s-travels-self-portrait-in-a-fun-house-mirror ''Sullivan's Travels: Self-Portrait in a Fun-House Mirror''] – an essay by [[Stuart Klawans]] at [[The Criterion Collection]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120621105327/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9901E1DF1439E33BBC4151DFB7668389659EDE Review] by [[Bosley Crowther]] in ''[[The New York Times]]'' (1942)
* {{cite book |last=Eagan |first=Daniel |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC&pg=PA341 |chapter=Sullivan's Travels |title=America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry |publisher=[[A & C Black]] |year=2010 |pages=341–343 |isbn=978-0826-42977-3}}

{{Preston Sturges}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1941 films]]
[[Category:1941 comedy films]]
[[Category:1940s American films]]
[[Category:1940s comedy road movies]]
[[Category:1940s English-language films]]
[[Category:1940s satirical films]]
[[Category:1940s screwball comedy films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American comedy road movies]]
[[Category:American satirical films]]
[[Category:American screwball comedy films]]
[[Category:Films about film directors and producers]]
[[Category:Films about Hollywood, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films directed by Preston Sturges]]
[[Category:Films scored by Leo Shuken]]
[[Category:Films set in the Las Vegas Valley]]
[[Category:Films set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films set on trains]]
[[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Preston Sturges]]
[[Category:Great Depression films]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:Universal Pictures films]]