Sullivan's Travels

Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Veronica Lake’s on the Take

Successful movie director John L. Sullivan, convinced he won't be able to film his ambitious masterpiece until he has suffered, dons a hobo disguise and sets off on a journey, aiming to "know trouble" first-hand. When all he finds is a train ride back to Hollywood and a beautiful blonde companion, he redoubles his efforts, managing to land himself in more trouble than he bargained for when he loses his memory and ends up a prisoner on a chain gang.

Date of release
1941-11-30
TMDB
7.4 / 10 (538)
Runtime
1h 31m
Genres
Comedy, Romance, Adventure
Director
Preston Sturges

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Budget: $678K
  • Awards: 1 · Nominations: 0. Including: National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Sullivan's Travels is a 1941 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Preston Sturges. A satire of the film industry, it follows a famous Hollywood comedy director 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 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.

Production

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."

The film as released opens with a dedication: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. 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 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.

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.

Sullivan's Travels went into production on May 12, 1941, and wrapped on July 22. Location shooting took place in Canoga Park, San Marino, Castaic and at Lockheed Air Terminal.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

Recommended