Sullivan's Travels

Thu., Feb. 17, 7 p.m., $8, Ibrahim Theater, International House, 3701 Chestnut St., 866-777-8932, ihousephilly.org.

by Shaun Brady

	print	email	reply	rss feed

Published: Feb 16, 2011

[ film ]

Almost six decades before the Coen Brothers made O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a film by that same name was the pet project of fictitious Hollywood director John L. Sullivan, out to break with the frivolous comedies that had been his stock in trade and make a serious drama for the common man suffering the effects of the Great Depression. While perhaps not Preston Sturges' most uproarious comedy, Sullivan's Travels is nonetheless his masterpiece, alternating sequences of his trademark rapid-fire wit with a venomous parody of '40s-era filmdom and a heartfelt defense of crafting laughter (with a little sex in it). The latter comes in the form of Veronica Lake, who has no qualms about coming out from behind her swoop-banged smolder to take a tumble into a swimming pool. I-House screens the film, exemplifying "The Comedy" as part of its centennial celebration, and it would be hard to select a more apt representative from any of those hundred years.

Thu., Feb. 17, 7 p.m., $8, Ibrahim Theater, International House, 3701 Chestnut St., 866-777-8932, ihousephilly.org.

Rediscovering Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Really Virtual or Virtually Real?
Icepack
PANG'S Monthly Naked Socials
The Whats and Whys of Mushrooms
Crayola Factory's Birthday Celebration
Marathon Mrs. Dalloway Reading
Prostitution Ancient and Modern