--- title: "Sullivan's Travels: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/sullivans-travels/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/sullivans-travels" critics_score: 86 critics_reviews: 15 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Sullivan's Travels (1941): what the critics said Critics' score 86 from 15 reviews: 15 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The consensus is firmly positive: all fifteen reviews favour Sullivan’s Travels, with praise centring on Preston Sturges’ satire of Hollywood seriousness and his defence of laughter. Critics repeatedly admire the crisp dialogue, inventive plotting and shifts between slapstick, romance and hardship. The performances draw praise too: Radio Times singles out McCrea and Lake, while other reviews applaud the supporting cast. Most critics find that the comedy gives its social concerns weight without becoming solemn. The differences are chiefly in emphasis and enthusiasm, rather than substantial objections. Variety offers a more measured response, describing the mixture of grim tragedy and smart comedy as curious but effective. Sight and Sound concentrates on structural ingenuity and links to silent comedy; Slant Magazine stresses the film’s philosophical questions about humanism and representation. The supplied reviews contain few explicit reservations, even where their enthusiasm is more restrained. ## Radio Times — David Parkinson Rating 5/5. Hails this sparkling satire as a classic comedy that strikes a winning balance between entertainment and conscience. Praises McCrea's best performance and Lake's star-making turn amid the vigorous action. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-vzvjlm/sullivans-travels/) ## Empire — Angie Errigo Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2014. The critic calls it a brilliant and funny comic masterpiece that has endured as a favourite among filmmakers and buffs, the granddaddy of movies about the film business. They single out Sturges' assured but light hand in steering between moods and genres, and the film's poignant affirmation of comedy's power. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/sullivan-travels-review/) ## Slant Magazine — Clayton Dillard Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 April 2015. The critic hails the film as Hollywood's greatest comedy and lauds its rigorous philosophical inquiry into humanism, liberalism, and representation through ironic storytelling. They single out the chain-gang church sequence watching a Disney short as a standout moment of joy amid the satire. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/sullivans-travels/) ## The AV Club — Erik Adams Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 December 2013. The critic calls the film Sturges' comic masterpiece and praises its insights into the Hollywood studio system and the power of laughter. They single out the rich irony in the protagonist's failed attempts to experience real hardship and the uplifting climactic epiphany. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/sullivan-s-travels-laughs-in-the-face-of-reinvention-1798242817) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 12 May 2000. The critic praises Preston Sturges' 1941 film as having irresistible charm and energy, following a high-minded director who disguises himself as a hobo to experience real life. It is described as coming as close as possible to a distillation of pure happiness, with marvellous supporting performances. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/may/12/culture.reviews6) ## The New York Times — Bosley Crowther Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 January 1942. The film is a trenchant satire on social significance in pictures and a sardonic defense of Hollywood make-believe. It is expertly made and acted, with the best social comment on Hollywood since A Star Is Born. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1942/01/29/archives/comic-tour-in-sullivans-travels-on-the-paramounts-screen-a-yank-on.html) ## Time Out — TM Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 August 2012. Calls it an irresistible gem and almost serious comedy that skewers liberal solemnities in problem pictures. Praises the wonderful dialogue, eccentric characterisations and superlative performances. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/sullivans-travels) ## IndieWire — Vikram Murthi Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 August 2015. The piece presents the film as a classic for discussion, highlighting Sturges' satirical take on Hollywood pretensions and social commentary. It notes the film's tonal shifts and enduring relevance as a comedy with depth. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/criticwire-classic-of-the-week-preston-sturges-sullivans-travels-130574/) ## Sight and Sound — Brad Stevens Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2005. Praises the box set of Sturges' Paramount comedies as a welcome rediscovery of his inventive, modern-feeling work that anticipates later cinema. Singles out Sullivan's Travels for its evocation of silent comedy, structural ingenuity and anticipation of modernist films like 8½. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/2540) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 13 January 2023. Sturges’s ingenious plot mixes lighthearted romance with grimly realistic drama, brought to life with a remarkable profusion of scintillating dialogue that addresses the viewer directly. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/sullivans-travels) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. The piece presents it as a self-referential lesson in the entertainment value of filmmaking as opposed to its social value, with the director learning the meaning of life and the value of laughter in softening the human condition. It notes the plot involving a Hollywood director seeking material for a serious film while living as a hobo. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/sullivans-travels-reissue-7433784.html) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1940. A curious but effective mixture of grim tragedy, slapstick and smart comedy that ties everything together neatly while keeping the audience engaged; Sturges’ dialog is trenchant and crisp. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1940/film/reviews/sullivan-s-travels-1200413504/) ## Collider — Andre Dellamorte Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2015. The critic calls Sullivan's Travels a canonical work and one of the best Hollywood satires, praising its blend of class commentary and delightful set pieces that affirm the value of escapism and comedy. [Read the review](https://collider.com/criterion-blu-ray-reviews-sullivans-travels-cries-and-whispers-hoop-dreams/) ## Eye for Film — Stephanie Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 May 2005. The critic praises it as one of the great classic comedies that combines a meaningful story with subtle moral overtones, lightness, and humour. They single out the film's verve, wit, compassion, and unique insight into the minds of yesteryear moviemakers and Sturges himself. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/sullivans-travels-film-review-by-stephanie-wolfe-murray) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 April 2015. The piece calls it the most perfect of Sturges' films, praising its focus, moral, tone shifts, pathos, peril, irony, and love story, noting how it earns its satisfying conclusion about the value of making people laugh. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/the-8-essential-films-of-preston-sturges-20150421/3/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/sullivans-travels.md