Starring
Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, Brian Keith, Pamela Tiffin,
Donald Pleasence, Martin Landau. Directed by John Sturges. (1965/165
min).
Considering
the impressive cast and a director responsible for some of our
greatest classic westerns, one would naturally assume The Hallelujah Trail
(on Blu-Ray in its original "roadshow" version) would be a
slam-dunk. But the film never takes flight, despite
threatening to do so every 15 minutes or so.
Winter's
coming and the mining town of Denver is running out of booze. The
townsfolk arrange for the transport of 40 wagons loaded with whiskey,
to be delivered by cantankerous company man Frank Wallingham (Brain
Keith). Cavalry Colonel Gearhart (Burt Lancaster) assigns a troop led
by Captain Slater (Jim Hutton) to escort the wagon train just in case it's targeted by Indians (which it is). Meanwhile, a zealous
women's temperance movement, led by feisty Cora Templeton (Lee Remick) also plan to get their hands on the shipment in order to
destroy it, thus saving the citizens of Denver from themselves. To
Gearhart's chagrin, his daughter, Louise (Pamela Tiffin), is also
part of this group, and now
he feels compelled to lead a troop of his own to protect them.
 |
| Burt takes care of a scary bug. |
Intended
as an epic comedy, The Hallelujah Trail has some fun moments. The
cast looks like they're having a good time and Elmer Bernstein's
score helps maintain a light tone. But unlike similar madcap comedies
of the era, the film seldom rises above mildly amusing. Many scenes
take a looong time setting up hilarious
payoffs, but for a movie running nearly three hours, genuine laughs are few and far between.
 |
| "So, Captain...you refuse to scrub my back?" |
I
think part of the problem is that there's loads of talent on both
sides of the camera, but few of them are really renowned for their
comedic skills. The Hallelujah Trail looks, moves and sounds like a classic
John Sturges western. No problem there; the film is suitably
sprawling, picturesque and the action scenes are expertly choreographed. He doesn't demonstrate a keen eye for comedy, though, and writer John Gay (whose background was mostly in dramas &
thrillers) doesn't provide a particularly clever screenplay to work with. Perhaps everyone was
depending on the cast to find inherent humor in the basic premise. But while Burt Lancaster is one of the big screen's
greatest icons, have you ever found him funny? Traditionally,
Lee Remick, Donald Pleasence and Martin Landau have never been a
barrel of laughs, either. No one is bad in their roles, but there's something slightly amiss when a movie's narrator has all the funniest bits.
By
the time we get to the bonkers climax - which is almost maddeningly
nonsensical - the film has pretty-much exhausted its welcome. A
shame, really. With its butt-numbing length and the amount of talent
involved, The Hallelujah Trail shouldn't
be a movie that only works in fits and starts. I'm sure, however, it has its share of fans, who'll be pleased to know the picture and sound quality of this disc is terrific.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
MEH...THERE ARE MUCH BETTER CLASSIC WESTERN COMEDIES OUT THERE
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