The Hallelujah Trail

The Hallelujah Trail
Theatrical poster by Robert McGinnis
Directed byJohn Sturges
Screenplay byJohn Gay
Based onthe novel by Bill Gulick
Produced byJohn Sturges
StarringBurt Lancaster
Lee Remick
Jim Hutton
Pamela Tiffin
Donald Pleasence
Brian Keith
Martin Landau
CinematographyRobert Surtees, A.S.C.
Edited byFerris Webster
Music byElmer Bernstein
Production
companies
The Mirisch Corporation
A Mirisch-Kappa Production
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • June 23, 1965 (1965-06-23)
Running time
  • 165 minutes (70mm version)
  • 155 minutes (35mm version)
  • 148 minutes (General theatrical version)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7 million[1][2]
Box office$4,000,000[3]

The Hallelujah Trail is a 1965 American Western epic mockumentary spoof directed by John Sturges, with top-billed stars Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton and Pamela Tiffin. It was based on the book of the same title (originally released as "The Hallelujah Train") by Bill Gulick in 1963.[4]

The film is a parody of the sweeping epic Western films of the era, with grand western vistas, a huge all-star cast, and stunt-filled action scenes—matched to a broad array of satire and slapstick comedy.[5][6] It depicts a struggle between a businessman trying to deliver whiskey to Denver by wagon train, his striking Irish teamsters, a barfly militia from Denver eager to ensure that the liquid cargo reaches its destination, temperance women campaigners determined to destroy the booze, a swarm of Native Americans determined to hijack it, and—most essentially—a unit of the U.S. Cavalry trying to control the whole chaotic mess.[5][6]

With a running time of 2 hours, 45 minutes,[6] The film was one of several large-scale widescreen, long-form "epic" comedies produced in the 1960s, much like The Great Race and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, combined with the epic grandeur of the Western genre.

  1. ^ Glenn Lovell, Escape Artist: The Life and Films of John Sturges, University of Wisconsin Press, 2008 p250
  2. ^ Tino Balio, United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry, University of Wisconsin Press, 1987 p. 185
  3. ^ Anticipated rentals accruing distributors in North America. See "Top Grossers of 1965", Variety, 5 January 1966, p. 36
  4. ^ Gulick, Bill (August 4, 1965). The hallelujah trail. Doubleday. OCLC 1803426.
  5. ^ a b " The Hallelujah Trail," December 31, 1964, Variety, retrieved August 11, 2024
  6. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference long_1965_07_02_nytimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).