Film director John Sullivan (Joel McCrea) who has made his name as maker of comedies and musicals decides he wants to try and make something with more dramatic weight, something about life. To try and get a greater understanding of the plight in the world around him, he decides that he must give up his privileged life and head out into the world but, as is the way with life, it is far more complicated than he thought.
Preston Sturgess, king of the dry witted screwball comedy that characterised 30’s and 40’s Classical Hollywood, but he is so much more than just that, and this comes across so strongly in all his films, especially Sullivan’s Travels.
A huge part of the film’s power comes from the use of faces; worn, beautiful and/or grotesque. Sturgess has an amazingly cinematic understanding of the face, similar to Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc, using them as visual shorthand for more complicated ideas like the psychological weight of poverty. Also, while mainly a farce, there is enough of the real world to keep that comedy relevant and biting. This would be developed and pushed farther later in films like Forman’s The Fireman’s Ball. To make a film that can connect so easily to names likes these proves that he deserves to be among them.
As with most of Sturgess’ films there is a lot dealing with the divide of the farce of the classes. Here, we have the argument of the rich talk about poverty, the poor just want to get by and humour can act as the great equaliser, bridging the gap to get to common ground. Those in tough situations don’t need social commentary, just a good laugh is enough to lighten the heaviest of burdens and it displays nearly all of the ways this is done in film, from slapstick to satire.
As wide a spectrum of comedy this film covers, it also spreads into more dramatic territory with great success. It’s organically eclectic, changing tone with ease that only a master like Sturgess can accomplish, and is truly something to behold, seamlessly blends the comic and the tragic, the farcical with the natural.
A film truly deserving of being called a timeless classic that every film reviewer should see, and not only for the fact that is one if the most interesting comedies out of Hollywood. There’s a lot to be said for making people laugh.
Bonus
The big pluses is the documentary on Sturgess The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer, chronicling his life as told by those who knew him best, and Safeguarding Military Information, a short PSA scripted by Sturgess about the dangers of loose lips at war time. We also have the Unoffical Sturgess Stock Company roster, going through one by one every actor who appeared in at least 3 of his films. There is the Terry Jones (yes, THAT Terry Jones) commentary, who is an obvious fan of Sturgess’ work as is Kevin Jackson who gets 20 minutes to show his appreciation for the film and, of course, the standard trailer.
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