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Sullivan's Travels poster

Movies that feel likeSullivan's Travels (1941)

Successful movie director John L. Sullivan, convinced he won't be able to film his ambitious masterpiece until he has suffered, dons a hobo disguise and sets off on a journey, aiming to "know trouble" first-hand. When all he finds is a train ride back to Hollywood and a beautiful blonde companion, he redoubles his efforts, managing to land himself in more trouble than he bargained for when he loses his memory and ends up a prisoner on a chain gang.

If you loved Sullivan's Travels, the closest films we have are The Palm Beach Story (1942), The Lady Eve (1941) and The Awful Truth (1937). All three share Sullivan's Travels' witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Man in the White Suit (1951).

🍅 100% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Preston Sturgeswittyplayfulromanticepiccerebral
7 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video · Pure Flix · FlixFling

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If Sullivan's Travels hit the spot, these will too

The Palm Beach Story poster
The Palm Beach Story
1942 · dir. Preston Sturges
🍅 94%★ 7.5comedy · romance

The same hand behind both of them: Preston Sturges

The difference: Takes it somewhere less epic than Sullivan's Travels does

A New York inventor, Tom Jeffers, needs cash to develop his big idea, so his adoring wife, Gerry, decides to raise it by divorcing him and marrying an eccentric Florida millionaire, J. D. Hackensacker III.

The Lady Eve poster
The Lady Eve
1941 · dir. Preston Sturges
🍅 99%★ 7.7comedy · romance

Both are Preston Sturges's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Trades the scale of Sullivan's Travels for an angle of its own

It's no accident when wealthy Charles falls for Jean. Jean is a con artist with her sights set on Charles' fortune. Matters complicate when Jean starts falling for her mark. When Charles suspects Jean is a gold digger, he dumps her. Jean, fixated on revenge and still pining for the millionaire, devises a plan to get back in Charles' life. With love and payback on her mind, she re-introduces herself to Charles, this time as an aristocrat named Lady Eve Sidwich.

The Awful Truth poster
The Awful Truth
1937 · dir. Leo McCarey
🍅 94%★ 7.6comedy · romance

The same preoccupation in both: screwball comedy

Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other's attempts to find new romance.

My Man Godfrey poster
My Man Godfrey
1936 · dir. Gregory La Cava
🍅 97%★ 7.9comedyPrime Video

One thread runs through both: black and white

Fifth Avenue socialite Irene Bullock needs a "forgotten man" to win a scavenger hunt, and no one is more forgotten than Godfrey Park, who resides in a dump by the East River. Irene hires Godfrey as a servant for her riotously unhinged family, to the chagrin of her spoiled sister, Cornelia, who tries her best to get Godfrey fired. As Irene falls for her new butler, Godfrey turns the tables and teaches the frivolous Bullocks a lesson or two.

The Philadelphia Story poster
The Philadelphia Story
1940 · dir. George Cukor
🍅 100%★ 7.8comedy · romance

Both keep coming back to the same thing: black and white

When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.

Steamboat Bill, Jr. poster
Steamboat Bill, Jr.
1928 · dir. Charles Reisner
🍅 96%★ 7.8comedy · romance

Common ground: jail

The just-out-of-college, effete son of a no-nonsense steamboat captain comes to visit his father whom he's not seen since he was a child.

Bringing Up Baby poster
Bringing Up Baby
1938 · dir. Howard Hawks
🍅 97%★ 7.8comedy · romance

Both are built on the same subject: screwball comedy

David Huxley is waiting to get a bone he needs for his museum collection. Through a series of strange circumstances, he meets Susan Vance, and the duo have a series of misadventures which include a leopard called Baby.

The Man in the White Suit poster
The Man in the White Suit
1951 · dir. Alexander Mackendrick
🍅 100%★ 7.2comedy · science fiction

Witty where it counts, playful underneath

The difference: Leans harder into science fiction than Sullivan's Travels does

The unassuming, nebbishy inventor Sidney Stratton creates a miraculous fabric that will never be dirty or worn out. Clearly he can make a fortune selling clothes made of the material, but may cause a crisis in the process. After all, once someone buys one of his suits they won't ever have to fix them or buy another one, and the clothing industry will collapse overnight. Nevertheless, Sidney is determined to put his invention on the market, forcing the clothing factory bigwigs to resort to more desperate measures...

Horse Feathers poster
Horse Feathers
1932 · dir. Norman Z. McLeod
🍅 97%★ 7.5comedy · romance

Romantic comedy in both cases

Quincy Adams Wagstaff, the new president of Huxley U, hires bumblers Baravelli and Pinky to help his school win the big football game against rival Darwin U.

The Navigator poster
The Navigator
1924 · dir. Donald Crisp
🍅 100%★ 7.5comedy · action · adventure

Both lean on scale more than on romance

The wealthy and impulsive Rollo Treadway decides to propose to his beautiful socialite neighbor, Betsy O'Brien. Although Betsy turns Rollo down, he still opts to go on the cruise that he intended as their honeymoon. When circumstances find both Rollo and Betsy on the wrong ship, they end up having adventures on the high seas.

Adam's Rib poster
Adam's Rib
1949 · dir. George Cukor
🍅 96%★ 7.4comedy · romance

Witty adventure, and it commits to that

A woman's attempted murder of her uncaring husband results in everyday quarrels in the lives of Adam and Amanda, a pair of happily married lawyers who end up on opposite sides of the case in court.

On the Town poster
On the Town
1949 · dir. Gene Kelly
🍅 94%★ 7.3comedy · romance

Comedy built on play, twice over

Three sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.

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The best-reviewed films that share Sullivan's Travels’ defining feeling.