Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake in Preston Sturges’s “Sullivan’s Travels”

Sullivan’s Travels (1942) is a satirical look at life in Hollywood as only director Preston Sturges could tell it. It centers around successful movie director John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) and his quest to learn more about life so he can film the deadly serious novel O Brother Where Art Thou?

Sullivan’s previous films were profitable comedies, but the director yearns for more. He wants to be taken seriously like Frank Capra.

To learn about life, Sullivan disguises himself as a hobo. Along the way, he meets a disillusioned young actress (Veronica Lake) who convinces him to take her on his quest. Together they experience many adventures where they discover that a bit of laughter goes a long way in tough times.

But then the movie world is suddenly turned upside down when Sullivan goes missing. Where is John L. Sullivan?

Sullivan’s Travels features the great Sturges stock company, featuring William Demarest, Robert Greig, Eric Blore, Esther Howard, and Franklin Pangborn.

Veronica Lake and Joel McCrea

Preston Sturges (1898 - 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. Sturges was one of the first film directors to direct his screenplays, opening the door for Billy Wilder and Joseph L. Mankiewicz to do the same. Sturges was a successful playwright, Hollywood screenwriter, and script doctor. As a writer-director, Sturges had an amazing output of films in five years, all considered classics today. These films include The Great McGinty (1940), Christmas in July (1940), The Lady Eve (1941), Sullivan's Travels (1941), The Palm Beach Story (1942), Hail the Conquering Hero (1944), and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944). After leaving Paramount Pictures in a dispute with upper management, Sturges's career declined and he never produced anything close to the quality of his earlier successes. Despite this decline, Sturges is considered one of the greatest talents to come out of Hollywood.

Joel McCrea (1905 – 1990) was an American movie star who appeared in over 100 films. During his almost-five-decades career, McCrea worked with some of the top directors in Hollywood including Alfred Hitchcock (Foreign Correspondent 1940), Preston Sturges (Sullivan’s Travels 1941, The Palm Beach Story 1942), and George Stevens (The More the Merrier 1943). McCrea worked opposite some of the top leading actresses of the day including Miriam Hopkins, Irene Dunne, Veronica Lake, Claudette Colbert, and Barbara Stanwyck with whom he made six films. He was the first actor to play Dr. Kildare in the film Internes Can’t Take Money (1937) costarring Stanwyck. McCrea married actress Frances Dee in 1933. The two were married until McCrea died in 1990.

Veronica Lake (1922 - 1973) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She was a popular star of film noirs, often paired with Alan Ladd in the 1940s. She was also famous for her peek-a-boo hairstyle. Her home studio, Paramount, dubbed her the peek-a-boo girl. Women and girls all over the world copied her hair-over-one-eye hairstyle. Lake became an overnight sensation with her role in I Wanted Wings (1940). During the height of her career, Lake was making $4,500 a week. Some of her popular films include Sullivan’s Travels (1941),  This Gun for Hire (1942), The Glass Key (1942), So Proudly We Hail! (1943), and The Blue Dahlia (1946). Lake’s career declined due to her struggle with alcoholism. She died from cirrhosis of the liver in 1973. She was 50 years old.

Sullivan’s Travels trivia

• Veronica Lake was six months pregnant when she signed on for this film. Costume designer Edith Head designed a wardrobe to hide this fact. Production was from June 12 to July 22, 1941, and her daughter Elaine Detlie was born on August 21, 1941.
• Sturges wanted to use a clip from a Charlie Chaplin film in the church scene but Chaplin refused permission.
• Sturges wrote the film with Joel McCrea in mind. He never considered anyone else for the role.
• Anthony Mann was Preston Sturges’s assistant.

Click HERE to watch the film at the Internet Archive.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on February 24, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a link to join us on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. What did you make of Sturges’s critique of Hollywood? Do you think there was any truth in his satire?
2. This was Veronica Lake’s first big starring role. Was she up to the task? Many studio heads didn’t think she was right for the role.
3. The film is filled with great dialogue. Was there a line from the movie that was, particularly memorable or funny?
4.  Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake supposedly didn’t get along. Did that show in their performances?
5. The film has many character actors that Sturges used in many of his movies. Do you have a favorite? 

Preston Sturges’s “Christmas in July”

Christmas in July (1940) is a comedy written and directed by Preston Sturges and starring Dick Powell and Ellen Drew. 

Jimmy MacDonald (Powell) was one of the millions of people to enter the Maxford House Coffee contest. He submitted the slogan "If you can't sleep at night, it's not the coffee, it's the bunk." Jimmy dreams of proving to himself and others that he is a success and able to provide for his mother (Georgia Caine) and marry his girlfriend Betty Casey (Drew).

"If you can't sleep at night, it's not the coffee, it's the bunk."

As a joke, three coworkers send Jimmy a fake telegram announcing that he has won the contest. When his boss hears that Jimmy "won" the contest, he promotes him with a fancy office and a secretary. When the incident snowballs out of control, things really get crazy.

Will Jimmy's newfound success be short-lived or will he be able to prove that he deserves to be taken seriously as an astute businessman?

Ellen Drew and Dick Powell

Preston Sturges (1898 - 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. Sturges was one of the first film directors to direct his own screenplays, opening up the door for Billy Wilder and Joseph L. Mankiewicz to do the same. Sturges was a successful playwright and Hollywood screenwriter and script doctor. As a writer-director, Sturges had an amazing output of films in a period of five years, all considered classics today. These films include The Great McGinty (1940), Christmas in July (1940), The Lady Eve (1941), Sullivan's Travels (1941), The Palm Beach Story (1942), Hail the Conquering Hero (1944), and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944). After leaving Paramount Pictures in a dispute with upper management, Sturges's career declined and he never produced anything close to the quality of his earlier successes. In spite of this decline, Sturges is considered one of the greatest talents to come out of Hollywood.

Dick Powell (1904 - 1963) was an American actor, singer, producer, and director. He began his movie career in musicals and comedies but eventually toughened up his image in the mid-1940s when he became a popular star of film noir. He was the first actor to portray Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet (1944). After appearing in his last film, Susan Slept Here, Powell started directing. In the 1950s he was one of the founders of Four Star Television along with Charles Boyer, David Niven, and Ida Lupino. Some popular films starring Powell include 42nd Street (1933), A Midsummer's Night Dream (1935), Christmas in July (1940), Pitfall (1948), and The Bad and the Beautiful (1952).

Ellen Drew (1914 -2003) was an American film actress. She was under contract with Paramount studios from 1938 to 1944. At Paramount she costarred with Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, and George Raft. After leaving Paramount, Drew went to RKO where she was the leading lady opposite Ronald Colman, William Holden, and Robert Preston. During the 1950s, with film roles drying, Drew turned to television where sh guest-starred on shows like Perry Mason and The Millionaire.

To watch the film on YouTube, click on the link below.

To join the discussion on May 9, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you'll receive an invitation with a link to the meeting on Zoom.

Christmas in July trivia

• The $25,000 prize money would be equivalent to about $460,000 today.
• Preston Sturges helped invent the special sofa featured in the movie. Sturges was an inventor besides being a filmmaker.
• Betty Field and William Holden were originally announced as the film's stars.
• Sturges sold the script to Paramount for $6,000. He sold his first script to Paramount, The Great McGinty for $10.

Discussion questions

1. How would you classify this film? Screwball comedy? Romantic comedy? Something else?
2. The film has many of the "Preston Sturges Stock Company" character actors. Did you have a favorite?
3. Did you understand Jimmy's slogan? Did you think it was worthy of winning the contest?
4. Do you think Sturges was making a commentary on corporate America with his comedy?
5. What did you think of the two leads: Dick Powell and Ellen Drew?

Preston Sturges series: Screening of “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek” August 16 at Daystar Center

Preston Sturges series: The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
Where: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street, Chicago, IL
When: August 16, 2016
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald

The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944) stars Betty Hutton as Trudy Kockenlocker, a small-town girl who goes a little bit wild at party for soldiers going overseas. After dancing the night away and drinking too much “victory lemonade,” Trudy finds herself with a headache and a wedding ring on her finger. She has no recollection of getting married so she sets out to marry childhood friend Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken) who has adored her his entire life. This classic screwball comedy was nominated for a 1944 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

The film features a standout performances from Diana Lynn who plays Trudy’s younger sister and Sturges stock company regulars William Demarest and Porter Hall.

Backstory: Preston Sturges was so impressed with Eddie Bracken’s performance in The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek that he wrote Hail The Conquering Hero for him. Both films were released in 1944.

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!
Before the movie, grab a cup of coffee from Overflow Coffee Bar, located within the Daystar Center. You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion
Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.


Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.

Preston Sturges series: Screening of “Sullivan’s Travels” June 28 at Daystar Center

Preston Sturges series: Sullivan’s Travels
Where: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street, Chicago, IL
When: June 28, 2016
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald

Veronica Lake and Joel McCrea

Sullivan’s Travels (1942) is a satirical look at life in Hollywood as only Preston Sturges could tell it. It centers around successful movie director John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) and his quest to learn more about life so he can film the deadly serious novel O Brother Where Art Thou?

Sullivan’s previous films were profitable comedies, but the director yearns for something more. He wants to be taken seriously like Frank Capra.

To learn about life, Sullivan disguises himself as a hobo. Along the way he meets a disillusioned young actress (Veronica Lake) who convinces him to take her along on his quest. Together they experience many adventures where they discover that a little laughter goes a long way in tough times.

But then the movie world is suddenly turned upside down when Sullivan goes missing. Sullivan’s Travels features the great Sturges stock company featuring William Demarest, Robert Greig, Eric Blore, Esther Howard, and Franklin Pangborn.

Backstory: Veronica Lake was six months pregnant when she signed on for this film, which made Preston Sturges furious. Fortunately, Sturges was able to film Lake in such a way that it is almost impossible detect.

Veronica Lake getting last minute makeup attention on the set

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!
Before the movie, grab a cup of coffee from Overflow Coffee Bar, located within the Daystar Center. You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion
Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.


Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.

Preston Sturges and "The Lady Eve"

This post is part of The Criterion Blogathon hosted by Aaron at Criterion Blues, Kristina at Speakeasy and Ruth at Silver Screenings. It is one of many by some of the best movie bloggers around. I’m so glad to be a small part of this event. To check out all of the other great posts, click here.

Preston Sturges was a playwright, writer of screenplays, inventor, movie director, and a restaurateur. The Lady Eve cemented Preston Sturges’s place as one of American cinema’s major talents.

Sturges wrote the play Strictly Dishonorable in 1929. It was a major hit on Broadway for 16 months. This success caught the attention of Hollywood and Sturges began writing for Paramount. He eventually went from Paramount to Universal, MGM, and then back to Paramount where he had an amazing eight-year run as one of the very first writer/directors in Hollywood.

 The Lady Eve (1941) centers around Father and daughter con artists, along with their “butler” (Charles Coburn, Barbara Stanwyck, and Melvin Cooper respectively) and their caper on a transatlantic cruise ship swindling rich passengers in card games. When the two spot a big fish, Charles Poncefort Pike (Henry Fonda), heir to Pike Ale—“The ale that won for Yale”—they decide to take him for all he’s worth. But when the daughter (Eve/Stanwyck) falls in love with their mark, things get complicated and hilarious.

This was Preston Sturges’s third film as both writer and director and his first big-budget production with A-list movie stars. After the critical and financial successes of The Great McGinty and Christmas in July, both released in 1940, Paramount gave Sturges free rein to craft The Lady Eve. For his leads, Sturges got Stanwyck and Fonda. From all accounts, both stars enjoyed working with each other and with Sturges. Sturges wrote The Lady Eve with Stanwyck in mind after he saw her performance in Remember the Night the year before. Sturges was so impressed with her characterization in that film that he knew she would be ideal as Eve. Fonda, who had four films in release in 1940, including The Grapes of Wrath, was happy to star in a comedy. As Charles Pike, Fonda showed his talent for physical comedy. Fonda’s numerous pratfalls are one of the film’s major delights. Bosley Crowther in the New York Times said, “No one could possibly have suspected the dry and somewhat ponderous comic talent which is exhibited by Henry Fonda as the rich young man.” As Eve, Stanwyck is one part of a trio of card sharks mixing it up with rich swells, like Pike, traveling by ocean liner. Along with her father, “Colonel” Harrington (Coburn) and their “butler” Gerald (Cooper), Eve sees Pike as an easy mark, that is, until she falls in love with him.

Eve’s and Charles’s love is put to the test when Eve is revealed to be a card shark by the ship’s purser. Upon discovering this, Charles dumps Eve in a most humiliating and devastating fashion. Once Eve recovers, she is determined to get back at Charles by “disguising” herself as The Lady Eve Sedgewick, pretending to be the niece of another con artist “Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith” (Eric Blore). The Lady Eve manages to charm Charles on land in the same way Eve charmed him at sea. She eventually gets Charles to propose and he and The Lady Eve get married in an elaborate society wedding. On their honeymoon, Eve concocts a backstory about her past marriages and romances, turning the tables on Charles, humiliating and hurting him the way he hurt her. Charles leaves her, but it’s revealed that Eve is still in love with Charles in spite of everything (We suspect that Charles is still in love with Eve, but he’s too stubborn and proud to admit it). Will The Lady Eve be revealed as just plain Eve? Will Charles and Eve discover each other and find true love and happiness?

Amidst all the hilarity, there are some serious themes running through the narrative: Can one really find true love? Is love redemptive or is it all a bunch of hooey? These themes would be repeated in more serious productions from Alfred Hitchcock. What was unique about Sturges’s approach is how he was able to point to the character flaws of both the upper and lower classes without malice or a mean spirit.

The Lady Eve is filled with a host of great character actors, most of which became part of the “Sturges Stock Company.” This stock company included William Demarest, Eric Blore, and Robert Grieg. The latter two appearing in Sturges’s Sullivan’s Travels, also released in 1941.

When the movie was released, Crowther, declared Sturges, “the most refreshing new force to hit the American motion pictures in the past five years.” He went on to say that a “more charming or distinguished gem of nonsense has not occurred since It Happened One Night.”

The Lady Eve is not only one of the best screwball comedies ever made, but one of the best American films ever made, this according to director and film historian, Peter Bogdanovitch. In case you think Bogdanovitch’s critique is a bit over the top, consider this: The Lady Eve was voted the best movie of 1941 by The New York Times over Citizen Kane!