In Hollywood, the spoiled director of humdrum movies, John Lloyd Sullivan (Joel McCrea), was born in silver spoon but is very successful with his superficial comedies. Out of the blue, he tells to his producer Mr. LeBrand (Robert Warwick) that he wants to make serious dramas, like "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and he will live like a tramp on the streets to learn the sorrows of great part of the population. He wears cheap clothes and tries to blend with poor people but he always returns to Hollywood protected by the safety team hired by the studio.
One day, he goes to a dinner with a coin and a blonde girl (Veronica Lake) offers bacon and eggs to him. Soon he learns that the girl is a failed actress that had never a chance in Hollywood and is returning home hitchhiking without any money. Sullivan decides to retribute her kindness giving a ride to her in his car but they are arrested by the police. When they are released, the girl decides to join Sullivan in his quest to learn about poverty. When Sullivan is satisfied, he is robbed and dumped unconscious in a train. He awakes in the countryside where there is an incident and he is arrested and sentenced to a labor camp, where he leans the importance of comedy in the miserable lives of destitute people.
"Sullivan's Travels" is a delightful movie by Preston Sturges with a satire of Hollywood lifestyle and the importance of comedy in the life of people, a relief for a couple of minutes for those that do not have other sort of entertainment. Joel McCrea is very funny in the role of a naive director trying to find how the poor people live. His chemistry with the gorgeous Veronika Lake is perfect and this was the first time that I noted that this lovely actress was only 1.51 m height. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Contrastes Humanos" ("Human Contrasts")
