#61 Sullivan's Travels (1941)

#61 Sullivan's Travels (1941)



Sullivan: I want this picture to be a commentary on modern conditions.  Stark realism.  The problems that confront the average man!
LeBrand: But with a little sex in it.
Sullivan: A little, but I don't want to stress it.  I want this picture to be a document.  I want to hold a mirror up to life.  I want this to be a picture of dignity!  A true canvas of the suffering of humanity!
LeBrand: But with a little sex in it.
Sullivan: With a little sex in it.
Hadrian: How 'bout a nice musical?

I don't feel like I have much to say about Sullivan's Travels.

It was okay, I didn't mind watching it, but nothing really stuck with me, though I did like the message in the end that laughter is powerful and important.  I often don't feel like comedies get enough credit.

John L. Sullivan is a successful director who decides that his movies are not important enough.  He wants to make a serious movie.  He wants to travel around without money to learn what it's like for poor people so that he can make his movie authentic, much to the chagrin of his producers and his butler, Burrows:

Sullivan: I'm going out on the road to find out what it's like to be poor and needy and then I'm going to make a picture about it.
Burrows: If you'll permit me to say so, sir, the subject is not an interesting one.  The poor know all about poverty and only the morbid rich would find the topic glamorous.
Sullivan: But I'm doing it for the poor.  Don't you understand?
Burrows: I doubt if they would appreciate it, sir.  They rather resent the invasion of their privacy, I believe quite properly, sir.  Also, such excursions can be extremely dangerous, sir.  I worked for a gentleman once who likewise, with two friends, accoutered themselves as you have, sir, and then went out for a lark.  They have not been heard from since.

Along the way he meets Veronika Lake's character, who falls for him, and wants to accompany him on his journey:

Sullivan: But nothing is going to stop me.  I'm going to find out how it feels to be in trouble.  Without friends, without credit, without checkbook, without name.  Alone.
The Girl: And I'll go with you.
Sullivan: How can I be alone if you're with me?

And most significantly, he learns the importance of laughter in the movies: "There's a lot to be said for making people laugh.  Did you know that that's all some people have?  It isn't much, but it's better than nothing in this cockeyed caravan."