What is the name of this film...

[gideonlyons]

...where a film producer in hollywood, tired of making entertainment films, decides he has to get serious and write a real film about real working life. He follows a rocky descent into tough working class life, ending with him in jail. The last scene is where he notices the only thing that cheers up the inmates of the prison is.... the lame entertainment films that he worked on....

[vehelpfulguy]

Preston Sturgess made a film like this called Sullivan's Travels.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034240/

It was remade by the Coen Brothers as "Oh Brother where art thou" but I am not sure how similar it is as I have not seen it.  

(In the original Sullivan's Travels the film he wanted to make was called "Oh Brother where art thou" which is where the Coen brothers got their title from) 

[foxy.fagin]

I didn't know that. You certainly live up to your name, vehelpfulguy. I hadn't even realised that the Coen film was a remake, I thought it was 100% original. Any more info like that would be much appreiated.

[sp1814]

veryhelpfulguy - are you sure that O Brother Where Art Thou being a remake of Sullivan's Travels? I've seen it and my understanding is that it's a 1930s version of Homer's Odyssey.

[foxy.fagin]

Agree with sp1814 but way, way before the 1930s. And not a remake, but a variation on.

[Shipstabber]

O Brother is named after a fictional film featured in Sullivan's Travels, but is otherwise unconnected to the  film.

[maxi29]

Shipstabber's correct. "oh brother..." is the projected title of the film that the eponymous Sullivan wishes to make about the 'real' America. It's not quite true that it's the 'lame entertainment' films that he made that cheers up the prisoners, specifically it's a cartoon (either Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck). ST is a wonderful film - as are all of Sturges's.
As sp1814 points out, the Coen Brothers film is 1930s variation of the Odyssey - the two films have nothing in common (apart from the prison that is).

[foxy.fagin]

We live and learn!