Sullivan's Travels
“Veronica Lake’s on the Take”
Preston SturgesCast
Joel McCrea
Veronica LakeCredits
Written by: Preston Sturges
Plot
John L. Sullivan, a successful Hollywood director of comedies, wants to make a serious film about human suffering, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". To learn what poverty is like, he sets out dressed as a tramp, but keeps ending up back in comfort. Meeting a girl, played by Veronica Lake, he finally experiences real misfortune. Preston Sturges's 1941 comedy moves between slapstick and sobering drama, and finishes with the argument that laughter is also a gift to the poor.
Sinekatalog’s take
A comedy director sets out to make a serious film about poverty and learns the value of laughter. Preston Sturges's film mixes slapstick with real compassion, and it is smart about Hollywood.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.
Ratings
IMDb: 7.9 / 10 (31,278 votes)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset; Rotten Tomatoes snapshot from October 2026. Scores change over time.
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