Sullivan's Travels starts off with a truly inspired comic moment that the rest of the movie just doesn't seem to live up to. The plot follows the movie director Sullivan (McCrea) who gets sick of making comedies and musicals in a time of depression and wants to create a picture that means something to people. He decides to live as a tramp to understand what trouble is, to experience the lows of the human condition. Along the way he meets a washed-up actress (Lake) who discovers his intentions and asks to join him. As far as comedy goes, this movie just isn't that funny. At least, not consistently so. There are some moments that made me laugh out loud, but they were few and far between.
While it drops off for the middle half hour, things start to get much more interesting and intricate at about the hour mark. Through an unexpected and surprising chain of events, the comedy seems to veer off into the dismal and depressing. I appreciate the attempt at valuation and redemption, but I wanted a comedy, and a comedy I did not get. Technically, the film was a little better than average, with some quality compositions and a number of long takes. I particularly love the way the story comes back full circle, although the movie doesn't really heed its own advice. I definitely recommend it for some, just know that it's neither an especially great comedy or an especially great drama.IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034240/