Sullivan's Travels

Title: Sullivan's Travels (1941)
Director: Preston Sturges
Starring: Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake
Rank: 61

It's amazing the things a person can learn just from observing others. "Take a walk in another man's shoes" is a common phrase, but not something commonly practiced these days. Sullivan's Travels is about a director, John Sullivan, who wants to make a dramatic film about the lives of poor people. His investors, however, think this is a terrible idea: What does wealthy Sullivan know about the life of the poor and hobos?

Wanting to make an exceptional movie, Sullivan goes in disguise as a hobo to try to gain insight for his film. His first attempts to blend in are frivolous, and don't yield much understanding for Sullivan. He does, through a case of mistaken identity, end up living life as a hobo in chains for three years. When he is finally returned to his luscious life in Hollywood, he has a new appreciation for life, a genuine understanding of the hardships of a life on the street, and a realization that he doesn't want to make a drama about the hobo life. Instead, he wants to make a comedy: while on the streets, he observed first hand how laughter takes away the stressfulness of any situation, and knows that he wants to make a comedy to lighten the spirits of the less-fortunate as a sign of gratitude for all they taught him.

Laughter is, indeed, the best medicine. Scientifically proven to reduce stress, increase mood, and is even heart-healthy! (Source: Laughter is the Best Medicine) Sullivan learned through his experiences that when a person is in a discouraging situation, it is better to make them lighten up with humor rather than reaffirm their sorrowful circumstances. The film even opens with a dedication to humorous people:
To the memory of those who made us laugh: the motley mountebanks, the clowns, the buffoons, in all times and in all nations, whose efforts have lightened our burden a little, this picture is affectionately dedicated.

But more importantly than just learning the value of laughter, Sullivan learns what life is like through the eyes of another. All of us have our hardships in life, and all of us have the good points about life, too. Whatever the situation is, there's always someone who has a situation we would consider worse than our own. It takes a great deal of intelligence to learn through the observation of others rather than continuously making our own mistakes, and this holds true with learning about sorrow. Life is beautiful, but has complications. Life isn't easy (and if it was, it would certainly be boring and uneventful), but we can learn to appreciate the positive things in our lives rather than dwelling on the negative.

Sullivan's Travels touches on the benefits of showing charity and kindness to others. While Sullivan spends time as a tramp, people show him mercy at times. Some people give him food, sometimes it's as simple as just not turning him into the cops or letting him sleep in a place for the night. When he returns to his normal life, he pays the favors forward, giving $5 (which was a lot more back then than it is today) to all the hobos on the street. He even gives $100 to a man who gave him food when Sullivan had no way to pay for it. A gift of kindness, given without anything expected in return, is the purest form of love. Just remember this: even simple gestures of help can make a big difference. Giving to others is one of the most satisfying things a person can do. If the tables were turned, wouldn't you hope there would be someone out there willing to look past your situation and give you a little bit of a break?


Movies to Go: 81

The Last Picture Show

Title: The Last Picture Show (1971)
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Starring: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Cloris Leachman, Ben Johnson
Rank: 95

I really enjoyed watching The Last Picture Show. It's a black and white feature, made in the seventies but set in the fifties, about a small town in Texas. The people in the town grow, learn, and collide with each other throughout their lives. It's a coming of age story about two best friends, as they go from boyhood into manhood together.

There's always a point in our lives where we feel it is the official end of our childhood and the beginning of adulthood. Most people have that one defining moment when they feel they have become an adult, marking an official close to their adolescence. For Sonny and Duane (Timothy Bottoms and Jeff Bridges), that time comes when they watch the final showing of a second-run movie in the town's tiny cinema. Watching the last picture show (where the title comes from) in the cinema before it closes forever marks the close of their teenage years and their entry into manhood and the next phase of life.

The story is full of awkward sex scenes, most have the character's intention of trying to use sex as a sign of maturity. The group of boys, lead more often than not by Duane, tries to lose their virginity and conquer different sexual feats. Even Jacy (played by Cybill Shepherd in her film debut) tries to grow up using sexuality. She is the most desirable girl in the school, and she knows it. She wants to lose her virginity to Duane just so she can sleep with another (older) man, but something goes wrong with Duane and he is unable to perform. Jacy lies to her friends and tells her that the sex was the most indescribable experience she's ever had, making them envy her. It is not uncommon for teenage girls and boys to use sexuality as a vehicle to make them seem more grown up. Through experience I can tell you that it isn't the sex that makes a person mature, though. Maturity comes through developing yourself as a person and treating others in the best way you know how.

Part of learning and growing comes from colliding with other people in our lives. In the film, everyone knew each other and was involved in one another's lives. Like Miss Mosley said, "A person can't sneeze in this town without someone offering them a handkerchief." There are no secrets in a small town. Everyone knows about the different shenanigans of the boys, everyone knows about Sonny and Ruth's affair, everyone knows about the sexual promiscuity of Jacy. The people of the town conflict in what they want, and they clash with each other often. If we all had the same desires, views, opinions, and beliefs, life would be extremely boring and offer little opportunity for personal evolutions. When we meet someone who disagrees with us, then it makes us think, and making us think helps to form new ideas and new opinions. Meeting someone who has ideals that conflict with ours can be a very positive thing, so next time someone disagrees with you, listen to them! This doesn't mean that you have to change your ideals to match theirs, but it means you should have a respect for what they are saying, and see if you can understand their reasoning. You might be surprised on the things you can learn.

In the end of the film, Duane and Sonny both reach manhood, better because of the experiences they have lived through. People never have to stop learning and growing, as long as they are alive. Just because we feel a certain way today doesn't mean we will feel the same in ten years, five years, or even one year from now. It all comes down to how open-minded we allow ourselves to be. I, for one, hope I never stop learning and growing up, because I know there is still so much more out there that I have yet to experience.



Movies to Go: 88