Three years and still going with Citizen Kane, Shane, Taxi Driver and The Searchers

 You read that right, it's been three years since I began this compulsion to write about Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated films, which then began including any movie (because you never know, it might be nominated) and then various live performances that I have seen. There's really no science or training involved, it's just a way to share my opinions and thoughts, maybe get you to see a movie you would otherwise miss or maybe prevent you from wasting 2 or more hours of your life. You're welcome. One of the things that has happened since I started blogging is people are always asking me what's the best movie I've seen lately or have I seen "Centipede Man" or whatever it was (um, no). It's nice and flattering, but I sometimes want to say just read the blog, but the truth is many times I actually can't remember what I've watched once I've written about it. In a good month I will watch 15-20 movies, maybe go to one or two live performances and maybe read a book connected with a movie I've seen. Paraphrasing IT support, I have to periodically clear my cache, which means I don't actually remember everything. Putting it into perspective, over the pat three years I have watched and reviewed: 362 Oscar-winning movies (out of 1196 winners), dozens of Oscar-nominated films, 59 out of 100 of the AFI 100 Best films, 102 out of 625 films on the National Film Registry and 32 of 100 from the newly added BBC top 100 American films. Without further ado, I will begin adding to the list.

8/12/15 Shane, Best Cinematography, Color, 1953, #45 AFI, National Film Registry

Shane is a Western starring Alan Ladd as Shane, Van Heflin and Jean Arthur as Joe and Marian Starrett, Brandon DeWilde as their son, Joey and Jack Palance as Jack Wilson. Shane is a mysterious stranger in Wyoming who is befriended by Joey and his parents who are struggling to establish their homestead despite threats from cattle rancher Rufus Ryker. George Stevens (Giant, Diary of Anne Frank) directed and the award winning cinematography was done by Loyal Griggs (The Ten Commandments) and the outdoor scenes, especially against the mountains, was really breathtaking. The story of the conflict between ranchers and homesteaders isn't exactly new, nor is the mysterious stranger aspect, but I liked the way Ladd didn't overwhelm a scene with a macho act, but he also wasn't afraid to throw a punch and his/Shane's interaction with Joey was fun and a little heartbreaking to watch. Brandon DeWilde was fun to watch, he had some of the best facial expressions, during the fight at the general store/saloon where Shane and Big Joe take on Ryker's men, his eyes get as big as saucers. There was a sexual tension between Marian and Shane and some dialog that makes me think something was edited out. DeWilde and Palance were both nominated for Best Supporting Actor that year but lost to Frank Sinatra in From Here To Eternity. I really liked this movie, not really appreciating the influence that it had on other film makes, just enjoying the scenery, the action and the acting which is a lot more than I can say for our next movie, The Searchers.

8/13/15 The Searchers, 1956 #96 AFI, National Film Registry, #5 BBC

I am at a loss. This has to be one of the worst or at least not interesting movies I have watched in a while, but it's on three out of four of my lists. The Searchers stars John Wayne as Ethan Edwards, a veteran of the Civil War who returns to his family in West Texas, leaves to chase some rustled cattle, then comes back to his brother's home to find some of the family killed, except for the two girls who are believed to have been captured by the Comanches. Ethan and the family's adopted son, Martin Pawley, set off to find the girls. To say Ethan doesn't really like Martin is a gross understatement, and a lot of the movie has the two of them bickering and quarreling. The movie covers several years, and it just was exhausting. The end, I thought, was ridiculously anti-climatic as they find Ethan's niece, Debbie (Natalie Wood), now a member of a Comanche tribe and unwilling to go home. The Searchers was directed by John Ford, but that's not enough for me to say why it's considered a masterpiece, compared to Stagecoach or True Grit, both which starred John Wayne; I also do not get Ethan Edwards as a compelling character. You can watch it if you want or have a list, but otherwise, skip it.

8/14/15 Citizen Kane, Best Writing - Original Screenplay, 1941, #1 AFI, National Film Registry, #1 BBC

The Battle Over Citizen Kane, 1996

This is the granddaddy of them all, co-written, directed and produced by Orson Welles and starring him as the titular Kane. There is probably as much written about the movie as there is about the making of the movie and the battle with William Randolph Hearst. The story of Charles Foster Kane is told in a series of flashbacks, relying on the memories of Kane's closest associates and employees; Kane is modeled on several wealthy men of the period, most notably Hearst, and along those lines, Kane becomes a powerful newspaper publisher. The movie follows Kane as he leaves his home in Colorado with his parents to move east to become the ward of wealthy banker, Walter Parks Thatcher. Kane buys a struggling paper with great aspirations to use the paper to lift the poor and protect those who cannot protect themselves, one of the great muckrakers. Kane later marries the niece of the President and we see the marriage deteriorate over a period of years through a montage. Kane later builds a castle called Xanadu where his second wife is practically kept captive. Over the years, we see Kane go from a vibrant young man who loved life and everything it had to offer to a controlling unhappy man, convinced that he could buy and build his happiness, when he is really just miserable. Kane and his closest friend, Jedidiah Leland (Joseph Cotton) eventually grow apart as Leland doesn't approve of Kane's manipulation of events to create headlines. I liked how the story unfolded and it reminded me a little of Rebecca (lately a lot of movies remind me of Rebecca) because we only learn about Kane from his associates, nothing is firsthand knowledge, and you'll have to figure out who or what Rosebud is for yourself. You may or may not be impressed with Citizen Kane, but the filming techniques used at the time were very innovative, and when you also consider that Orson Welles was directing and starring in his first film, coming from his radio career ("War of the Worlds") and the Mercury Theater group and also that most of the actors in the film had never acted in films before, oh and that Welles was 26 when Citizen Kane was completed. Welles is very dashing and handsome and has a great speaking voice, I enjoyed just listening to him. Watching Citizen Kane is almost prerequisite for film buffs as much for the techniques and the story but also to watch a genius at work, a genius that never reached that height again, and to see the film that has influenced so many directors.

I was fortunate that with the library's copy of Citizen Kane a copy of The Battle Over Citizen Kane was included. This documentary talks about the fight between William Randolph Hearst and Orson Welles over the release of Citizen Kane. It takes the viewer back to 1941 and puts into historical context Hearst's power and influence and Welles' stubbornness and artistic vision. It was very helpful.

8/22/15 Taxi Driver, 1976 #52 AFI, National Film Registry, #19 BBC

Almost everyone who watches movies is familiar with the character of Travis Bickle and his famous line "You talking to me?" even if they haven't seen the movie itself. Robert DeNiro stars as Travis Bickle, a former Marine who looks for an overnight job to cope with his insomnia and finds one driving a taxi in some of the seedier parts of New York City. Some of the people that Bickle meets include Wizard (Peter Boyle) a long-time taxi driver, Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) who is a campaign worker for presidential candidate Charles Palantine and Iris (a young Jodie Foster) a prostitute who is pimped by Matthew (Harvey Keitel). Unlike Charles Foster Kane who we only see through the eyes of others, we see what Travis sees although we don't always understand the relevance of it to him, and we don't really know a lot about his past; and we gradually see Travis lose his grip on reality as he clumsily pursues Betsy, taking her to a Swedish sex film. You get the feeling that he really doesn't think there's anything wrong or perverted about it and he doesn't understand why she is so upset. This rejection leads him to try to assassinate Palantine, perhaps trying to win back Betsy. As this is going on, he also meets Iris, a young prostitute who gets in his cab but his roughly grabbed out by Matthew. Something about her affects Travis and he seeks her out, not for sex, but to try and help her escape her life of sex and drugs. Foster isn't in the film as much as DeNiro, but when she is onscreen you are drawn to watching her, her wise-beyond-her years attitude seems natural and not pretend. Bickle has a sense of right and wrong, that in some way is innocent and in others very judgmental; given the time period, it's possible that Bickle was in Vietnam, all we really get from the film (not notes in Wikipedia or special features) is that Travis was a Marine, not if he experienced the horrors of combat. I had a preconception that Bickle was a raving psychopath, and he may be unbalanced, but DeNiro exerts a control over the character that makes you want to watch and see what happens next. Foster and DeNiro were both nominated for Oscars, and in one of the most befuddling wins, Beatrice Straight won that year for her less than 10 minutes on screen in Network, beating out Foster, but also Jane Alexander in All the President's Men and Piper Laurie in Carrie - crazy. DeNiro lost out to Peter Finch, also from Network; both men played very emotionally stressed characters, maybe Bickle was too much at that time. I don't want to tell you how the movie ends, because it was kind of a surprise to me and if you haven't seen it, you should, and I don't want to ruin it. Taxi Driver was directed by Martin Scorcese and written by Paul Shrader, a team that would work together several more times. Scorcese captures the New York City of the 1970s which was gritty and makes it as much a character as Bickle or Iris.

Classics Easy Rider, Vertigo and The Wild Bunch and music with Kinky Boots, Pitch Perfect and Madame Butterfly and

There's a little bit of everything in this post, some theater, comedy, drama, westerns. It made for a fun week and I hope it makes for a fun 200th post (yes 200!). I think this deserves a cake.

7/28/15 Kinky Boots, Orpheum Theater, Minneapolis

I saw Kinky Boots the movie years ago and really loved it (a great contrast between Chiwetel Ejiofor's role as Lola in Kinky Boots and as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is Selma). I was excited to see the musical, with music and lyrics by Cindy Lauper and book by Harvey Fierstein. The story is about a young man from Northampton, Charlie Price, who inherits the family shoe business from his dad, who really wants to live in London with his girlfriend. But, the ties of family and the fact that he has known most of the employees his whole life, do not make it an easy proposition. Charlie meets Lola, a drag queen who could use a good sturdy, but sexy, boot. Lola (given name Simon) is a strong young black man living in London; when Charlie invites Lola out to Northampton, most of the men at the factory do not want Lola or her friends around and do not want to make boots for drag queens. Kinky Boots is a story about acceptance, acceptance of oneself and others. The songs and costumes were fabulous, the audience cheered several times during songs and were on their feet at the end. My issue (aside from the fidgety woman in front of me and the three stooges behind me) were some of the slower numbers seemed to go on too long, and even as the audience was really into the more upbeat numbers, their attention seemed to wander during the slow songs. If you can see the musical, I suggest you get tickets; in the meantime, get the movie. You'll definitely feel good.

7/30/15 Pitch Perfect

If you are like most of my friends, you have already seen Pitch Perfect and probably have seen Pitch Perfect 2. Like most things in my life, I was a little slow to the gate on this one. I was probably having a snooty moment and thought myself too above a comedy film. Don't worry, I just gave myself a head slap. Pitch Perfect is about college a capella singing groups. Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow and Rebel Wilson star and they are part of the Barden Bellas. They face off against their arch-rivals, The Treblemakers. There is nothing overly intellectual or thought-provoking, but that's okay, that's what documentaries are for. I laughed my ass off and I enjoyed the music as well. I was really impressed with Anna Kendrick, although, I think I was impressed with her in the last Oscars presentation, so I was confirmed in my impressions. She really can sing and she's pretty funny (she was the friend in Cake so she can do serious as well). It's a lot like those other 'team' movies, like Bring It On or The Internship, except I would watch Pitch Perfect again. (In fact it was on television as I was writing this and I watched it again.)

8/1/15 Madame Butterfly, Minnesota Orchestra, Minneapolis

I have been fortunate enough to see the Minnesota Opera perform Puccini's Madame Butterfly years ago and I really love the CD performance. A friend and I attended the Minnesota Orchestra's summer finale which was a performance of Madame Butterfly. It was a little weird, nothing sounded familiar. Nothing. Once I got past that little hang up, I enjoyed the performance. Butterfly is a young girl who marries B.F. Pinkerton, an American naval officer; Butterfly has fallen in love with Pinkerton, even after only knowing him for a short time, but it's not a two-way street. Pinkerton goes back to America and is away for three years with Butterfly pining for him and raising their young son. Her maid, Suzuki, looks after her and worries about her health. Pinkerton sneaks back into Japan, although Butterfly recognized his ship out in the harbor. Pinkerton wants his new American wife to raise his son. Butterfly is distraught but realizes it would be for the best, but she wants to see Pinkerton. He arrives too late. Overall, the performance was not the best I have ever seen, mainly because of the sound issues; one part of the stage seemed 'dead', a place where sound went to die. However, it was still wonderful and the audience, which wasn't a sell out, was appreciative, with several 'Bravas' being shouted out for Kelly Kaduce (Butterfly) and Kelly O'Connor (Suzuki). When I tell people that I have been to the opera, they have look that is a mixture of admiration and being perplexed. People seem to be afraid of opera, the fact that many are not sung in English, there are super titles and sometimes the music is perceived as screechy. I have seen some not so good operas, Glimmerglass and some other one I cannot remember, come to mind; they were actually horrible. HOWEVER, I have seen some incredible operas as well, Turandot, Madame Butterfly, Don Giovanni to name a few. I'm used to listening to music that is not in English, and if you think about it, you can't really understand the words to most songs and they don't make sense when you do understand them, so to me, opera is no different. It's 18th and 19th century musical theater. The next time you see your local opera company's schedule come out, challenge yourself and go see one (the funny operas like Falstaff or  The Merry Widow may be more accessible, but Puccini is always a good bet in my opinion).

8/2/15 Vertigo, 1958 #9 AFI, National Film Registry, #3 BBC 

I seem to be on an Alfred Hitchcock kick lately, or it's just a coincidence that so many of his movies are on three of the four lists I am using. A few weeks ago I watched Rear View Mirror and North by Northwest and I didn't care so much for Rear View Mirror but I did like North by Northwest. I really liked Vertigo, though, it was a suspenseful film that really sucked me in and had me on the edge of my seat. James Stewart stars in another Hitchcock film as John "Scottie" Ferguson, a former police detective who retired due to a severe fear of heights and vertigo; Kim Novak is Judy Barton. The film is set in San Francisco and we get a nice flavor of the city. Scottie meets up with an old friend, Gavin Elster, to follow Elster's wife and determine the cause of her recent strange behavior. I am going to stop here with any other plot points because I don't want to ruin the suspense. I was reminded of one of Hitchock's other films, and one of my favorite books, Rebecca. It's moody and tense, and there is almost a 'ghost story' element. Scottie is a flawed hero, and perhaps it's not even right to call him a hero. Novak does a good job at portraying Barton as a conflicted woman (you'll have to watch the movie to see why). There are a few more Hitchcock movies on my lists including Marnie and Psycho and I'm embarrassed to say I'm afraid to watch Psycho by myself.

8/6/15 Easy Rider, 1969 #84 AFI, National Film Registry 

Like a lot of movies on 'the lists', I have heard of Easy Rider and seen clips of Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper riding motorcycles, but I have never seen the movie in its entirety. I wasn't sure what to expect or if I would like it, I kind of thought I would hate it. I'm kind of a square if you haven't guessed that already by the fact that I spend my spare timing writing this blog, so I thought I would be less than impressed by this look at American counter-culture. I'm not ashamed to admit that I liked it. Easy Rider is a buddy/road film with Wyatt/Captain America (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper) traveling from California to New Orleans after making a lot of money on a drug sale. Along the way, Wyatt and Billy meet people who are not too fond of their long hair, loud motorcycles and their hippie lifestyle (this is the year of Woodstock), but they also meet people sympathetic to them, including members of a desert commune, an alcoholic lawyer (Jack Nicholson) and two prostitutes. One of the things that blew me away was the cinematography, there were some incredible scenes where the sky was purple-red - AMAZING! I also learned from Wikipedia is a lot of the dialog was improvised. Hopper directed the movie and Hopper, Fonda and Terry Southern wrote it. I had the notion that the movie was kind of drug-addled, and while drugs are a pretty significant part of the plot, there is an underlying sense that Wyatt is on a quest for something, maybe the American dream, whatever that is. He is much more appreciative and interested in the people they meet on the road than Billy is. I did not know how the movie ended and I was very surprised and kind of bummed out, and maybe that was the point, you don't always get what you want or expect. The music is a perfect time capsule of 1969 with songs from Steppenwolf, The Byrds, The Band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and more. Some movies from this period don't translate very well into the 21st century (Shampoo) is one that always sticks in my mind, but I think Easy Rider can be appreciated for its film-making style, the soundtrack and the journey that Wyatt and Billy are on, in Wyatt's case, a journey for meaning and purpose.



8/8/15 The Wild Bunch, 1969 #79 AFI, National Film Registry, #52 BBC 

The only Sam Peckinpah movie that I can recall seeing is Straw Dogs which I hated, loathed, despised, so I wasn't in a great hurry to watch any of his other movies. The Wild Bunch is a Western set in 1913 southern Texas and northern Mexico and stars William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan and Warren Oates. Pike (Holden) leads a group of robbers looking for their last big score before they ride off into the sunset. Something goes terribly wrong when they try to rob a railroad, and that something is Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan), formerly Pike's partner who has been forced to betray his old friend to stay out of prison. The movie follows Pike and his gang as they try to outrun Thornton and his crew of misfits (including Strother Martin) while they are also trying to complete a job for General Mapache, the Mexican leader of the area.The Wild Bunch is noted for being very violent, and it definitely is, but for some reason it didn't upset or bother me as much as it did it Straw Dogs (although it is a different type of violence) or in Bonnie and Clyde (but I think the shrieking of Estelle Parsons bothered me more). At times, it was definitely over the top, one of the final scenes reminded me of the end of Django Unchained and I was wondering if Quentin Tarantino had been influenced by Peckinpah (I would say probably). Robert Ryan (Dirty Dozen, The Longest Day) was really good as the reluctant agent of the railroad; Thornton seemed okay with trying to capture Pike and the gang, but he didn't want the bloodshed that his 'crew' lusted after, he and Pike knew each other so well it was like they were playing a chess match. When Pike would talk about Thornton, he knew what his next move would be and he didn't even seem to begrudge the fact that Thornton was hunting him down, he understood it was Thornton's only choice. Pike isn't overly sentimental, but he does have a code that he lives by, although it's hard to discern at first. Peckinpah used film techniques that we take for granted now like slow motion scenes. He really captured the the feeling of the dusty, dry Southwest, and also the changing of an era. Most Westerns are set in the mid-1800s, this one is set on the eve of World War I, even including some German officers and automobiles. I love William Holden and I was thinking that he was really an incredible actor when you think about the roles he had, from Paul in Born Yesterday to David Larrabee in Sabrina to grizzled news division president in Network, he had great range. In an earlier post I mention that I really didn't like Westerns, except I think I need to revise that opinion. If it's a good movie, regardless of genre, it's a good movie. I did like The Wild Bunch, it has action, some humor and good acting. If you like Quentin Tarantino's movies, you will probably like this as well.

Ant-Man, Cake, Do the Right Thing and more

A quick note: the BBC recently published their list of the best 100 American films and for kicks, I decided to incorporate it into the list for Academy Award winners, the American Film Institute's best 100 films over the past 100 years and the National Film Registry.

7/13/15 Cake, 2014

When I tell people I've seen Cake, I get 'really?' and then 'was it really depressing?' Yes, really, and no, it wasn't depressing. Jennifer Aniston deserved the great reviews she received for playing Claire Bennett, an attorney suffering from chronic pain, who also can be a raving bitch. Claire takes out her pain and anger on anyone within reach including her housekeeper, Silvana (Adriana Barraza who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress in Babel, and she was amazing), people in her support group, her physical therapist, and her estranged husband. I got the feeling that as bad as her physical pain was, her emotional pain was just as bad. Nina Collins (Anna Kendrick) was a member of Claire's pain support group who committed suicide, but she visits Claire in dreams, trying to convince Claire to commit suicide. Sounds really depressing, doesn't it? It is serious and occasionally sad, but I never thought it was depressing. Claire fights people and her pain with a wicked sense of humor, some might call it gallows humor, but I understood it. I liked watching the relationship between Silvana and Claire; Silvana's daughter doesn't like how Claire treats her and wants her to quit, but Silvana has an understanding of Claire, and seems to realize that Claire needs to lash out at someone, and she's okay if it's her, within reason. Barraza can totally mix it up with Aniston, they are a great match; I was actually thinking this could be re-worked to be a play with the focus on Silvana and Claire. I don't want to give out too many details since it's still fairly new in the home video market. But, if you're wondering if you should see it, I would say yes. Aniston should have received an Oscar nomination, in my opinion.

7/15/15 Do the Right Thing, 1989 #96 AFI,  National Film Registry, #25 BBC

I sort of remember when Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing came out, it caused a lot of controversy.  For whatever reason, I didn't go see it. The movie is set in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, which is as much of a character as the actors. Lee wrote, directed and starred in Do the Right Thing. Mookie (Spike Lee) is the main character and he works at Sal's Pizzeria (Sal is Danny Aiello). The story is kind of a day in the life of the neighborhood characters in a sweltering summer: Sal's sons, Vito and Pino; Da Mayor (Ossie Davis), Mother Sister (Ruby Dee), Tina, Mookie's girlfriend and mother of his son (Rosie Perez) and more (the cast list is really a who's who of great actors).  We see the movie through Mookie's eyes; he's really just trying to make a couple of dollars to take care of his son, hang out with his friends. He hears Sal's brusque, abrasive comments, but seems to know Sal's being a curmudgeon, occasionally pointing out some of the prejudices coming out of his mouth. Mookie's not as understanding with Sal's eldest son, Pino (John Turturro), who openly despises his father's customers, who are mostly African-American. I wanted to punch Pino in the mouth. Lee conveys the heat of the summer and as the temperature rises, so do the tempers. The set design pops with color, and draws your eye. There is a flavor of comedy which builds into a dramatic peak with a race riot and an unanticipated death that pack a punch. Lee is a provocateur, presenting images that are upsetting and troubling, and ending the movie with two quotes, one from Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, two men with the same ultimate goal, but with different ideas on attaining it. The way events transpire at the end reminded me of the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland, and not in a good way. Sadly, it shows how little has changed in twenty-five years. It's a movie worth seeing, not only for the film-making, essentially unknown actors making their mark, but because the issues of generational and race conflict still exist.

7/25/15 Wild Tales, nominated, Best Foreign Film, 2014

I'm beginning to think that when a write up says "black comedy" it's code for 'this really isn't funny, but we're too pretentious for our own good', because this movie was pretentious and not funny. Wild Tales is a Spanish/Argentine production; it's a collection of short films linked together by the theme of revenge. Save the two hours to do something fun, like having your cuticles yanked out.

7/25/15 Bringing Up Baby, 1938 #88 AFI, National Film Registry, #83 BBC

Bringing Up Baby stars Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant as Susan Vance and David Huxley, an odd couple if there ever was one. Huxley is a paleontologist who is going to be married the next day, but he is preoccupied with getting a million dollar grant from the wealthy Mrs. Random (to be fair, his fiancee is also preoccupied with him getting the grant and building his career, more than he is). In his quest to meet with Mrs. Random, David keeps meeting up with a young woman, who we would call 'spacey'; she takes his golf ball, thinking it's hers, she practically destroys his car, and then she thinks he is a zoologist. This woman is Susan Vance, and she happens to be Mrs. Random's niece, but she doesn't exactly share that information. Susan's brother has sent a young leopard, Baby, to their aunt, and Susan invites David to help bring up Baby. I hate to be a wet blanket, but while I enjoyed Bringing up Baby, I didn't love it. It was fun to watch Hepburn and Grant;  enjoyed them both more in The Philadelphia Story.

7/26/15 Ant-Man, not yet nominated, 2015

For some of us, this is odd timing for an Ant-Man film, considering Hank Pym (as Ant-Man) was an original Avenger, but I thought the movie linked the past, the present and the future with any new Marvel films, kind of the link that Iron Man provided previously. This movie is still in theaters, so I'll be sparing with the details. The new Ant-Man is Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), mentored by Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). This movie, like Guardians of the Galaxy sneaks up on you and mixes action with the comic book humor that I love (Douglas seemed to really enjoy his role and I hope he sticks around for other movies). The special effects are fabulous; I was curious to see how the tiny world of ants would translate to the screen, and honestly, it's awesome. The photography is fabulous. Normally I skip on 3D films because most of them are scams to get your money, but if I was to see this again, I would go 3D. If you want to see this, don't wait for DVD, see it on the big screen.

7/26/15 Sullivan's Travels, 1941, #61 AFI

Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake star in Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels, a movie about a movie director, John L. Sullivan (McCrea) who is tired of making the same kind of comedy films and wants to make a serious movie about poverty and the harsh realities of life. His big studio bosses think that's a very bad idea, and they think his other idea of pretending to be a hobo and traveling across the country is even worse. They agree if they can send a crew with him; he consents, but tries to lose them at every opportunity. On one of his stops, Sullivan meets a young woman, identified in the film as The Girl, played by Veronica Lake, who is a struggling actress and ready to go back home. The Girl goes on the road with Sullivan, dressed as a young boy. The movie has two divisions, the first one is the voluntary journey that the Girl and Sullivan take together, learning about life on the road, meeting some good people, and ending the journey on their terms. The second is a little darker, with Sullivan being attacked, losing his memory, and then being bullied by a railroad guard and attacking him, and Sullivan being thrown into a labor camp (kind of like the one Burt Reynolds was in in The Longest Yard) (I will say that was the speediest trial in history). In the meantime, another body is found and identified Sullivan, but as a favor to their friend, they give the Girl an acting role. Things eventually work out, and I don't want to ruin the ending, so I'll stop here. This was the first Veronica Lake movie I have seen, but she is referenced all the time, not necessarily because she was a great actress, but because of her hair style, very long blond hair, covering part of her face. I thought she was very good and funny. The movie isn't a 'screwball comedy' like Bringing up Baby, but it balances comedy with the heavy topic of post-Depression and the early war years, and sadly, it's probably still relevant today. Most people have probably not heard of Sullivan's Travels, but it is #61 on the AFI list and very much worth seeing.