Agathos Dorea

Sullivan: I want this motion picture to be a commentary on modern conditions.
Stark realism. The problems that confront the average man!

LeBrand: But with a little sex in it…

Sullivan: I want this picture to be a document. I want to hold a mirror
up to life. I want this to be a picture of dignity! A true canvas of
the suffering of humanity!

LeBrand: But with a little sex in it…

Sullivan: Alright, alright! With a little sex in it.

~Dialogue taken from the 1941 movie, Sullivan’s Travels

Writer-director Preston Sturges’ classic film, Sullivan’s Travels, remains his most unforgettable screen effort. In this cinematic masterpiece, protagonist and main character, John Sullivan, a successful director of Hollywood fluff, hits the road disguised as a tramp. Traveling to poor communities, his journey eventually leads to a darker, depressed world in which there is little use for the socially realistic movies our hero wishes to make. Put another way, Sullivan realizes that his fellow raconteur LeBrand was right all along–most movie goers want little to do with seeing the trials and tribulations of the poor up close and personal–throw in a little sex and maybe a car chase, well that’s another matter entirely.

Sturges’ profound conclusion reveals a surprising emotional truth about filmmaking art and, at the same time, gives us all a much needed lesson in compassion.

Pretty provocative stuff for 1941.

Gas pumps adorn a familiar corridor of Nebraska highway near Brainard, NE where down and outers would routinely bum rides to Kansas City looking for a better life.