Western

Comedy

The Hallelujah Trail

Kappa

The Mirisch Company

United Artists

United States of America

English

Burt Lancaster

Lee Remick

Jim Hutton

Donald Pleasence

Brian Keith

Martin Landau

Pamela Tiffin

John Anderson

Tom Stern

Robert J. Wilke

Dub Taylor

Whit Bissell

Helen Kleeb

Val Avery

Noam Pitlik

William Benedict

Hope Summers

Ted Markland

Larry Duran

Jerry Gatlin

Marshall Reed

Jim Burk

John McKee

Bing Russell

Buff Brady

Carl Pitti

Elaine Martone

Carroll Adams

John Barton

Oscar Blank

Bill Borzage

Danny Borzage

Mushy Callahan

Russell Custer

John Dehner

Bobby Gilbert

Raven Grey Eagle

Herman Hack

Carol Henry

Eddie Little Sky

John Marlin

Mathew McCue

Karla Most

Victor Romito

Rudy Sooter

Arthur Tovey

Bill Williams

Chalky Williams

Harry Wilson

John Sturges

William Gulick

John Gay

Robert E. Relyea

Cary Odell

Hoyle Barrett

Robert J. Schiffer

Fae M. Smith

Nate H. Edwards

Patrick J. Palmer

Allen K. Wood

Jack N. Reddish

Wayne Fury

Gilbert D. Marchant

Robert Martin

Clem Portman

A. Paul Pollard

Wesley Jeffries

Marshall M. Borden

Richard Carruth

John Franco

Elmer Bernstein

Robert Surtees

Ferris Webster

Lynn Stalmaster

Edith Head

Paul Cameron

Fred Lemoine

Thomas J. Schmidt

Tim Zinnemann

Daniel Hays

May Boss

Philip Crawford

Steve DeFrance

Tony Epper

Harry Froboess

John Moio

Danny Sands

Joe Yrigoyen

Tom D. May

William Mendenhall

John M. Stephens

Bruce Surtees

Richard Tim Vanik

David M. Walsh

Robert McGinnis

Jeannie Epper

Robert B. Shepard

Charles Bail

Quirks, Quandaries and Quicksand.

The Hallelujah Trail is directed by John Sturges and adapted to screenplay by John Gay from the novel written by Bill Gulick. It stars Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, Pamela Tiffin, Brian Keith, John Anderson, Martin Landau and Donald Pleasence. Music is by Elmer Bernstein and cinematography by Robert Surtees.

Depending on who you talk to about The Hallelujah Trail, it will either be called an ass numbing bore or a misunderstood gem, such is the reputation of it, it kinda demands to be seen so as to evaluate why so divisive.

It flopped on release and was savaged by critics, while it was a tough production from the off, one that badly over ran and was expensive to film. Cast members not getting on, bad weather, bad location provisions for cast, and the awful death of stuntman Bill Williams during one particular scene. Add in that lead man Lancaster looks bored - working at a time that he called his slavery period - then it felt doomed at an early stage.

Its failure has been contributed to a number of things, such as timing (comedy Western, and an epic one at that, too early? too late?) but really it's takes too many bites of the pie, rendering the whole as something resembling a garbled mess. The thin plot is stretched unbearably to fifteen minutes shy of three hours, thrusting a number of character groups to trudge around with a screenplay that ironically - given the temperance/alcoholic basis of story - feels like it was written by an inebriate. 

Yet I personally would be a born liar if I said there wasn't a lot to like in the mix. Filmed not just in Technicolor and Panavision, but Ultra Panavision 70 no less! Pic looks terrific, with Surtees bringing the Gallup locales to vivid life, and Bernstein provides another technical highlight with his rambunctious score, big bold brass and percussion thunders around the settings. Some of the comedy works, when the cast get chance to come alive, and even though some aspects no doubt give the PC brigade kittens, the likes of Martin Landau as an Indian called Chief Walks-Stooped-Over are a joy. While for the red blooded among us, the huge running time at least allows for plenty of the positively yummy Remick...

So it's a tough call, I think its harsh to call it a bore, yet it's awfully messy. So with that I sit on the fence, where just one of my butt cheeks gets numb... 5/10

Michael Schlesinger on THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL

The Hallelujah Trail (1965) Original Trailer [HD]

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The Hallelujah Trail

Cast & Crew

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Cast

Burt Lancaster

Lee Remick

Jim Hutton

Donald Pleasence

Brian Keith

Martin Landau

Pamela Tiffin

John Anderson

Tom Stern

Robert J. Wilke

Box office

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