The Hallelujah Trail 1965

imdb-logo 6.5 / 10

The Hallelujah Trail

A wagon train heads for Denver with a cargo of whisky for the miners. Chaos ensues as the Temperance League, the US cavalry, the miners and the local Indians all try to take control of the valuable cargo.

A wagon train heads for Denver with a cargo of whisky for the miners. Chaos ensues as the Temperance League, the US cavalry, the miners and the local Indians all try to take control of the valuable cargo.

Videos & Photos

All 1 Videos & 14 Photos

... Col. Thaddeus P. Gearhart

... Cora Templeton Massingale

... Capt. Paul Slater

... 'Oracle' Jones

... Frank Wallingham

... Chief Walks-Stooped-Over

User reviews

See All 1 Reviews

23 Jun 2021 by John Chard

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

Release Date:

Jun 23, 1965 (United States)

Run Time:

2hr 45`

MMPA Rating:

NR

Original Language:

English

Production Countries:

United States

Status:

Released

Related Movies To

The Hallelujah Trail

Write Review

Found 1 reviews in total

23 Jun 2021 by John Chard

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

Cast & Crew of

The Hallelujah Trail

Directors & Credit Writers

... Assistant Director

... Assistant Director

... Assistant Director

Cast

... Col. Thaddeus P. Gearhart

... Cora Templeton Massingale

... Capt. Paul Slater

... 'Oracle' Jones

... Frank Wallingham

... Chief Walks-Stooped-Over

... Louise Gearhart

... Sgt. Buell

... Kevin O'Flaherty

... Chief Five Barrels

... Clayton Howell

... Henrietta

... Bartender

... Interpreter

... Mrs. Hasselrad

... Bandmaster

... Brother-in-law

... Brother-in-law 2

Produced By

... Producer

... Production Supervisor

... Unit Manager

Videos & Photos of

The Hallelujah Trail

Videos ( 1)

Photos ( 14 )

Related Movies To

The Hallelujah Trail

Found 12 Movies in total

poster-Lilo & Stitch
Lilo & Stitch (2025)

0 /10

The wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family.

Run Time: 1hr 48` . MMPA: PG . Release: 17 May 2025

Director: Richard Oswald , Brian Avery Galligan , Aldric La'Auli Porter

Producer: Tom C. Peitzman , Thomas Schumacher , Ryan Halprin

Stars: Chris Sanders , Maia Kealoha , Zach Galifianakis , Billy Magnussen , Sydney Agudong , Courtney B. Vance

poster-Distant
Distant (2024)

0 /10

After crash-landing on an alien planet, an asteroid miner must contend with the challenges of his new surroundings, while making his way across the harsh terrain to the only other survivor – a woman who is trapped in her escape pod.

Run Time: 1hr 27` . MMPA: . Release: 12 Jul 2024

Director: Will Speck , Cliff Lanning , Josh Gordon

Producer: Brian Kavanaugh-Jones , Will Speck , Cliff Lanning

Stars: Anthony Ramos , Naomi Scott , Kristofer Hivju , Zachary Quinto , Izzy Jones , Leon Nurse-Joseph

poster-KPop Demon Hunters
KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

0 /10

When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey aren't selling out stadiums, they're using their secret powers to protect their fans from supernatural threats.

Run Time: 1hr 36` . MMPA: PG . Release: 20 Jun 2025

Director: Elizabeth Schantz , Maggie Kang , Sean Tadlock

Producer: Ilia Sargent-Barba , Jacky Chrisp , Angie K. Farella

Stars: Arden Cho , Rolando Davila-Beltran , May Hong , Ji-young Yoo , Ahn Hyo-seop , Yunjin Kim

poster-A Minecraft Movie
A Minecraft Movie (2025)

0 /10

Four misfits find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they'll have to master this world while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve.

Run Time: 1hr 41` . MMPA: PG . Release: 31 Mar 2025

Director: Sophie Calver , Jon Valera , Rosie Vavasour

Producer: Simon Ambridge , Jon Berg , Jono Wilce

Stars: Jack Black , Jason Momoa , Matt Berry , Pauline Chalamet , Danielle Brooks , Jennifer Coolidge

poster-Deep Cover
Deep Cover (2025)

0 /10

Kat is an improv comedy teacher beginning to question if she’s missed her shot at success. When an undercover cop offers her the role of a lifetime, she recruits two of her students to infiltrate London’s gangland by impersonating dangerous criminals.

Run Time: 1hr 39` . MMPA: R . Release: 12 Jun 2025

Director: Kelly Maracin Krieg , Tom Kingsley

Producer: Annys Hamilton , Laurie MacDonald , Stephanie Winter

Stars: Bryce Dallas Howard , Orlando Bloom , Sean Bean , Paddy Considine , Ian McShane , Nick Mohammed

poster-Baby Blue
Baby Blue (2023)

5 /10

A group of teens stumble across the story of now dead serial killer Baby Blue and decide he'd be the perfect subject of a true crime vodcast. But when they start digging, they quickly discover that his murder spree never stopped. Now they are being targeted from beyond the grave.

Run Time: 1hr 30` . MMPA: . Release: 16 Apr 2023

Director: Adam Mason

Producer: Bradley Pilz , Johannes Roberts

Stars: Dylan Sprayberry , Lia McHugh , Anthony Turpel , Aramis Knight , Alexia Ioannides , Oliver Cooper

poster-Baywatch
Baywatch (2017)

5.5 /10

Devoted lifeguard Mitch Buchannon butts heads with a brash new recruit. Together, they uncover a local criminal plot that threatens the future of the Bay.

Run Time: 1hr 56` . MMPA: R . Release: 25 May 2017

Director: Carmen Soriano , Seth Gordon

Producer: Hiram Garcia , Eli Roth , Louise Rosner-Meyer

Stars: Dwayne Johnson , Zac Efron , Priyanka Chopra Jonas , Alexandra Daddario , Jon Bass , Hannibal Buress

poster-Ready or Not
Ready or Not (2019)

6.9 /10

A young bride's wedding night turns into her worst nightmare when her ridiculously rich in-laws force her to play a gruesome game of hide-and-seek.

Run Time: 1hr 35` . MMPA: R . Release: 21 Aug 2019

Director: Zoë Bigio , Matt Bettinelli-Olpin , Gino Sandoval

Producer: Victoria Darlene Baksi , William Sherak , Tara Farney

Stars: Samara Weaving , Adam Brody , Mark O'Brien , Henry Czerny , Andie MacDowell , Melanie Scrofano

poster-Moana 2
Moana 2 (2024)

0 /10

After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana journeys alongside Maui and a new crew to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she's ever faced.

Run Time: 1hr 40` . MMPA: PG . Release: 21 Nov 2024

Director: Jason Hand , Dana Ledoux Miller , David G. Derrick Jr.

Producer: Christina Chen , Jennifer Lee , Dwayne Johnson

Stars: Auli'i Cravalho , Dwayne Johnson , Alan Tudyk , Temuera Morrison , Rachel House , Nicole Scherzinger

poster-Elio
Elio (2025)

0 /10

Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination, finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.

Run Time: 1hr 38` . MMPA: PG . Release: 18 Jun 2025

Director: Madeline Sharafian , Kelly Bonbright , Domee Shi

Producer: Terri Douglas , Kevin Reher , Aphton Corbin

Stars: Yonas Kibreab , America Ferrera , Zoe Saldaña , Brendan Hunt , Jameela Jamil , Brad Garrett

poster-How to Train Your Dragon 2
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

7.8 /10

Five years have passed since Hiccup and Toothless united the dragons and Vikings of Berk. Now, they spend their time charting unmapped territories. During one of their adventures, the pair discover a secret cave that houses hundreds of wild dragons -- and a mysterious dragon rider. Hiccup and Toothless find themselves at the center of a battle to protect Berk from a power-hungry warrior.

Run Time: 1hr 42` . MMPA: PG . Release: 05 Jun 2014

Director: J.C. Alvarez , Dean DeBlois

Producer: Caroline Robinson , Aubrey Millen , Roy Lee

Stars: Jay Baruchel , Cate Blanchett , Gerard Butler , Craig Ferguson , America Ferrera , Jonah Hill

poster-Ron's Gone Wrong
Ron's Gone Wrong (2021)

7 /10

In a world where walking, talking, digitally connected bots have become children's best friends, an 11-year-old finds that his robot buddy doesn't quite work the same as the others do.

Run Time: 1hr 47` . MMPA: PG . Release: 14 Oct 2021

Director: Jean-Philippe Vine , Octavio E. Rodriguez , Sarah Smith

Producer: Elisabeth Murdoch , Lara Breay , Tom Jacomb

Stars: Zach Galifianakis , Jack Dylan Grazer , Ed Helms , Olivia Colman , Justice Smith , Rob Delaney