Sullivan's Travels

Cinematographer John Seitz admired Preston Sturges' unconventional approach to his work. The opening scene comprised ten pages of dialogue to cover about four and a half minutes of screen time. It was scheduled for two complete days of shooting. On the morning of the first day, Seitz found Sturges inspecting the set with a viewfinder, looking for where he could cut the scene and change camera set-ups. Seitz dared him to do it all in one take. Never one to refuse a dare, Sturges took him up on it, although the nervous Seitz had never attempted to complete a two-day work schedule in one day. With the endorsement of McCrea and the rest of the actors, Sturges pressed on, determined to set a record. The first take was fine, but the camera wobbled a little in the tracking shot following the men from screening room to office, so they tried again. They did two or three takes at the most and that was it - two full days work by 11 a.m. on the first day, a feat that had the entire studio buzzing.

When the supposedly-unconscious Sullivan is being pulled into an empty boxcar by the bum who hit him into an empty boxcar, Joel McCrea is visibly pushing himself along with his foot, apparently because the other man is not strong enough to drag him.

The Paramount logo appears as a seal on a package.

The package is opened to reveal a book with the film title on it and the opening credits appear on pages in the book.

Featured in The Cinematographer (1951)