Sullivan’s Travels is a 1941 American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges. A satire on 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 disparate critical reception 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 – ‘a joy to behold’”.
Over time, the film’s reputation has improved tremendously. Media historian Hal Erickson classified it as a “classic”, “one of the finest movies about movies ever made” and a “masterpiece”. 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.”
Take a look at these vintage photos to see portraits of Veronica Lake during the filming of Sullivan’s Travels in 1941.
A knockout!
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