A wagon train carrying kegs of whiskey and a militant temperance group collide in the Old West. A big-budget western comedy, directed by John Sturges and written by John Gay from a novel by William Gulick, "The Hallelujah Trail" may have had lofty ambitions en route to the big screen, bu the results sank in the film's quicksand. A few A-list stars evidently saw potential in the script or were hard-up for cash, because the seemingly endless saga stars Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, and Brian Keith. Martin Landau also appears in an embarrassing performance as an Indian called Chief Walks Stooped Over, which indicates the writers' level of humor.
Brian Keith leads a train of 40 wagons carrying whiskey to the thirsty patrons of the nearly dry saloons in Denver. Lancaster as Colonel Thaddeus Gearhart is ordered to accompany the wagon train with a cavalry escort, and he sends a squad of troops led by Jim Hutton to ensure that the whiskey arrives safely. Meanwhile, a temperance group, headed by Lee Remick, a widow whose two husbands drank themselves to death, is determined to stop the whiskey train and set out to intercept it. Lancaster and a second cavalry group accompany the all female anti-liquor group to ensure their safety. A nearby tribe of Sioux Indians hear of the whiskey train and are eager to get the fire water for themselves. Of course, the temperance ladies took the family buckboards and left angry husbands behind. Lancaster's daughter, Pamela Tiffin, joins the temperance group and angers Lancaster, while Tiffin's fiancé, Hutton, has angered Tiffin by accompanying the wagon train. Donald Pleasance, a whiskey drinking oracle, tells the men of Denver that he sees that their whiskey is in danger, and thirsty male Denver-ites march out to save the wagons. Got all that? Unfortunately, the writers set up a complex situation, which admittedly has comic possibilities, but they seemed to have gotten lost in the muddle and go nowhere with it. A voice-over narration, accompanied by maps and diagrams, tries to keep the audience straight as the various groups converge.
"The Hallelujah Trail" is intermittently amusing, but the film is often a long slog through unfunny situations. At times, the movie plays like a musical, but, besides a rousing title tune and a few inspirational temperance marches, there are songs, although Elmer Bernstein's score is among the film's few assets. The movie is way too long and saddled with an intermission to lengthen it further. Shifts from Robert Surtee's scenic panoramas of western grandeur to claustrophobic and obviously fake sound stages are jarring. At times, the humor is labored; drunken Indians have ceased to be funny; and the performances are overly broad; the actors mug shamelessly; and performances are on par with those in a TV situation comedy like "F Troop." Lancaster, Remick, Keith, and Landau have all done far better work and best omit this turkey from their resumes. The film is a waste of talent and a potentially comic situation.
Brian Keith leads a train of 40 wagons carrying whiskey to the thirsty patrons of the nearly dry saloons in Denver. Lancaster as Colonel Thaddeus Gearhart is ordered to accompany the wagon train with a cavalry escort, and he sends a squad of troops led by Jim Hutton to ensure that the whiskey arrives safely. Meanwhile, a temperance group, headed by Lee Remick, a widow whose two husbands drank themselves to death, is determined to stop the whiskey train and set out to intercept it. Lancaster and a second cavalry group accompany the all female anti-liquor group to ensure their safety. A nearby tribe of Sioux Indians hear of the whiskey train and are eager to get the fire water for themselves. Of course, the temperance ladies took the family buckboards and left angry husbands behind. Lancaster's daughter, Pamela Tiffin, joins the temperance group and angers Lancaster, while Tiffin's fiancé, Hutton, has angered Tiffin by accompanying the wagon train. Donald Pleasance, a whiskey drinking oracle, tells the men of Denver that he sees that their whiskey is in danger, and thirsty male Denver-ites march out to save the wagons. Got all that? Unfortunately, the writers set up a complex situation, which admittedly has comic possibilities, but they seemed to have gotten lost in the muddle and go nowhere with it. A voice-over narration, accompanied by maps and diagrams, tries to keep the audience straight as the various groups converge.
"The Hallelujah Trail" is intermittently amusing, but the film is often a long slog through unfunny situations. At times, the movie plays like a musical, but, besides a rousing title tune and a few inspirational temperance marches, there are songs, although Elmer Bernstein's score is among the film's few assets. The movie is way too long and saddled with an intermission to lengthen it further. Shifts from Robert Surtee's scenic panoramas of western grandeur to claustrophobic and obviously fake sound stages are jarring. At times, the humor is labored; drunken Indians have ceased to be funny; and the performances are overly broad; the actors mug shamelessly; and performances are on par with those in a TV situation comedy like "F Troop." Lancaster, Remick, Keith, and Landau have all done far better work and best omit this turkey from their resumes. The film is a waste of talent and a potentially comic situation.