The Hallelujah Trail

Plot synopsis:
The film opens with a narrator using a documentary style description of the events of November 1867. He tells us there were all indications that it will be a hard winter and citizens of Denver are concerned about the lack of whiskey in town. A bad winter might close the mountain passes leaving the city dry until late spring. A group of miners and saloon owners consult scout 'Oracle' Jones (Donald Pleasence) about what to do. Fortified with some whiskey he has a vision of them pooling all their liquor needs into one big order and getting a reliable company to agree to an iron clad contact to get the alcohol to Denver before snow closes the trails.Back east, businessman Frank Wallingham (Brian Keith) storms into the local newspaper office to confront Editor Hobbes (Whit Bissell). The newspaper has printed the story that Wallingham will be shipping 40 wagons of liquor to Denver and Wallingham is concerned that the publicity will attract Indians, or even worse, government tax revenue agents. He tells the editor that as he has every penny he has tied up in the train and he intends to accompany it personally to Denver and ask for an army escort from Fort Russell to protect him along the trail. The editor, annoyed at Wallingham, decides to send a telegram about the wagon train to the well-known, temperance leader Cora Templeton Massingale (Lee Remick), who is currently visiting Fort Russell.Despite the editors observation to Wallingham that "Indians don't read newspapers" word of the wagon train quickly spreads to the Native Americans in the area. One tribe, lead by Chief Five Barrels (Robert J. Wilke) and sub-Chief Walks-Stooped-Over (Martin Landau) decides to investigate.At Fort Russell commander Col. Thaddeus Gearhart (Burt Lancaster) has been out on the trail for a few days and Capt. Paul Slater (Jim Hutton) his second-in-command, has been left in charge. Slater is courting Gearhart's daughter, Louise (Pamela Tiffin), and allows her to convince him to let Massingale hold an anti-alcohol rally at the Fort. Massingale is a good speaker and gets the crowd marching around the Fort and singing with the assistance of the army band. Some of the other troops get involved by punctuating the music with cannon fire.Gearhart, returning to the Fort, hears the shouting, bugles and cannon fire and assumes the Fort is under attack and arrives in full assault mode. When he finds it is just Massingale and her followers, he is peeved and orders Slater to report to him at his quarters. He is even more peeved when he finds Slater and his daughter are already alone in his quarters making out. Louise admits to her father that she was purposely distracting Slater so that he would not shut down the rally.Gearhart finally gets to settle down to a bath when Massingale storms into his quarters after getting the telegram about the Wallingham wagon train. Gearhart is clearly irked about having this 30ish, good-looking female invade his domain, but she tells him that to a woman that has already been windowed twice, seeing a man in a bath is no big deal. She demands that Gearhart deny the request for escort. Gearhart replies that Wallingham is a "taxpayer and a good Republican" and he cannot refuse his request for help. The next day Slater is sent with a company of troops to intercept the wagon train and give it escort.In Denver the miners become concerned about reports that the Indians may attack the wagon train and consult Jones again. He has a vision of a Miner's Militia that goes out to escort the train back and they set out along the trail.The wagon train is having some trouble too as Wallingham has hired Irish teamsters to drive the last 10 of his wagons and their leader, Kevin O'Flaherty (Tom Stern), is constantly hitting him with labor demands and threats to go out on strike.Persuaded by his daughter, Gearhart agrees to let Massingale use the mess hall for a goodbye speech. There Massingale declares that she intends to go to Denver to stop the train. Louise declares that she will go with her and the rest of the women at the rally decide to go too.Gearhart decides he had no choice but to escort the women to Denver, if for no other reason than to get rid of Massingale. Problems develop the first night on the trail when the women, having brought bath tubs with them, decide to bath in the nude and his troops climb the nearby trees hoping to catch a glimpse. Gearhart, annoyed by this development, storms over to Massingale and catches her in mid-bath (much as she did with him several days before). He is even more annoyed when she tells him her plans have changed and she has decided to meet the wagon train on the trail, and not in Denver. He tells her he will not escort her to the wagon train as he fears the women may try and stop it by throwing their bodies in front of the wagons.Gearhart realizes that he cannot let the women go without any protection, however, so he develops a strategy of "detached contact" where his company secretly follows the women at a distance.All this activity comes to a head one morning at what the narrator tells us is the "Battle of Whiskey Hills." The Indians decide to break into three groups, attack the wagon train, draw off the guard and steal several wagons. That same morning, however, the wagon train traveling west escorted by Slater's patrol will run into the Miner's Militia, heading North; the Massingale group, headed South-East; and Gearhart's company, also headed South-East. The Indians will attack from the North.Unfortunately, to make things worse, the morning of the attack is subject to a horrific, blinding sand storm and total confusion reigns. The Indians cannot see the sunrise, and cannot coordinate their attacks. Groups race by each other in the storm, perplexed by not finding who they are expecting to see. Bullets fly everywhere and finally each group, including the Indians, hunker down in a circle while they fire at each other blindly.When the storm clears Gearhart is amazed to find that despite the rampant gunfire, nobody has been killed. He holds a conference with all parties. While the motives of most are clear, the Indians state (through a translator) that they were peacefully hunting buffalo when they were drawn into the incident. They state that after they are given presents, they will go home. Unfortunately this is mistranslated and Gearhart thinks the Indians are offering him a gift. He tells them thank you, but no thanks, and sends them on their way.The Indians, however, keep following the group which is now composed of both units of the cavalry, the whiskey train, the womans group and the miners militia. Gearhart calls another meeting where he gets Jones to translate and realizes that the Indians are the ones who want presents, most likely some firewater. Gearhart tells them to go home, but they keep following.As they near a swampy area known as "Quicksand Bottoms," Jones has a vision and directs Wallingham to camp the train next to the marsh for the night. At the same time the Irish teamsters, encouraged by Massingale, go on strike removing 10 wagons from the train. Willingham wants to take the wagons back by force, but Gearhart sees this as a labor dispute and threatens to use his troops to keep the peace.That night about 30 of the women go to a camp meeting with the Indians and get them to sign temperance pledges (though there is some doubt that the Indians know what they are signing). In the middle of the meeting the Indians take the women hostage and tell Gearhart they will not release them unless they get 20 of the Wallingham wagons. This is eventually bargained down to 10, the exact number held by the Irish Teamsters and Gearhart decides to make the exchange to save the womens lives.As it is illegal to give firewater to Indians, this will ruin Gearhart's career. Massingale comes to Gearhart's tent distraught about her part in this and asking his forgiveness. She breaks her own rule, drinks a few shots of whiskey and she and Gearhart have a tender moment.Wallingham is upset by these events but Jones comes to him with a way out. Jones knows a secret way across quicksand bottoms that can be used by the train to escape the rest of the group. During the night he has marked the path with sticks flagged with red strips from his underwear. While the 10 wagons are being exchanged with the Indians, the rest of the wagon train will slip away, pull up the flags as they go, and be in Denver before anybody knows what happened.The exchange is arranged for dawn the next day. The Indians will release three women for every wagon they get. At the last minute O'Flaherty confides in Massingale that the bottles in the 10 wagons aren't whiskey, but warm, volatile champagne that is likely to explode if treated roughly. This gives her an idea. As she is assigned a position at the exchange point, she can use a hatpin to prick the horses rear ends as soon as the Indian drivers climb onto the wagons. This sets the creatures into a gallop causing the wagons to shake and bounce uncontrollably on the rough ground. After the first few wagons are exchanged the remaining horses are so excited they stampede and the wagons head out with no drivers.The remaining Indians leave the rest of the women hostages behind and jump on their horses to pursue the wagons. The troops go after the Indians and mistake the sound of champagne bottles exploding for gunfire and surround the Indians and the wagons. The Indians, drunk and tired of the whole thing, surrender and decide to go peacefully home with just a few of the bottles of booze not destroyed in the chase.Meanwhile Wallingham and Jones try to slip away with the rest of the wagon train, but in the early hours of the morning Massingale and the women discovered the flags. Suspecting this was some scheme of Jones, they move the markers. This results in the wagons becoming hopelessly mired in the quicksand. Though the drivers and horses escape, the wagons themselves sink out of sight and Wallingham is forced into bankruptcy.With the whiskey gone, the women are escorted back to Fort Russell where, in a double wedding, Slater marries Louise and Gearhart marries Massingale, who has decided to retire from the temperance movement.Jones and Wallingham stake a homestead claim in Quicksand Bottoms where the occasional return to the surface of the bog of barrels of whiskey keeps them happy for a number of years.The miners return to Denver, where, despite all predations to the contrary, the winter turns out to be one of the mildest ones ever on record.

Tags: violence, comedy

Review:
Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves sending up every possible western myth!The stunning look of the film, which must have been breathtaking in UltraPanavision 70mm, the beautiful rousing score a cast of thousands and a script that is truly awful!All these elements just don't come together but the individual scenes often do.I am lucky enough to own the original 1960s sountrack album and theater progam.
But somehow despite the concoction not quite coming off I just find myself giggling all the way through.Whether it is Burt Lancaster being gruff, or the achingly beautiful Lee Reemick being difficult or Martin Landau being not quite as silly as he looks this film remains one in my guilty pleasure collection!.
Amusing take off on cavalry-and Indian movies in which a rambunctious temperance leader called Template (Lee Remick) out to stop cavalry-guarded cargo commanded by a stiff colonel called Thaddeus (Burt Lancaster) and an officer named Slater (Jim Hutton) en route to thirsting Denver miners led by Oraculo (Donald Pleasence) and an old man (Dub Taylor) .
As a wagon train heads for Denver with a cargo of whiskey for the miners being attacked by Indians led by Chief Walks-Stooped-Over (Martin Landau) , then chaos and wreak havoc ensue .
The picture is wonderfully amused and enjoyable with Burt Lancaster as a tough but agreeable officer , Pamela Tiffin as his rebel young daughter and Martin Landau steals the show as a deadpan but hilarious Indian .
The gem of casting was Donald Pleasence as the hilarious visionary who "sees" the alcoholic wagon train as it crosses the plains, giving the movie its name..
Fortunately entrepreneur Frank Wallingham (Brian Keith) is willing to risk life and limb to bring forty wagons of hooch through Indian country to succor the miners.Meanwhile, back at your local, friendly cavalry garrison, Cora Templeton Massingale (Lee Remick), twice widowed from husbands whose livers gave out along with, presumably, their libido is holding a rousing temperance rally with the permission of CPT Paul Slater, a young officer besotted with the C.O.'s daughter, Louise (Pamela Tiffin).
That's COL Thaddeus Gearhart (Burt Lancaster), nineteen years serving the colors and now faced with a sweet but rebellious daughter allied with a sweet but crafty and dedicated temperance campaigner, Colorado's version of Carrie Nation (and far more likable than that harridan).What follows is the cavalry riding to escort the wagons with the booze, Indians of a decidedly non-homicidal nature attempting to get their share of firewater (all of it, actually), miners formed into a militia to insure the safe delivery of the spirits and - last but not least - a stereotypical Irish teamster arguing for the rights of labor.
What is on the screen is magnificent scenery and a fine score by Elmer Bernstein with the title tune guaranteed to bury itself in your brain for frequent and uncalled for replays.Burt Lancaster is very funny as a colonel trying to deal with his command, whose enlisted personnel seem to be temperance-prone (talk about distortion of the reality of frontier Army service!), his daughter, Indians, miners and the alluring, funny Lee Remick.About 15-20 minutes could have been shaved from the movie but, overall, it's a politically very incorrect funny story about a West that never existed.The DVD transfer is excellent but the magnificent scenery reflects how great it would be to see "The Hallelujah Trail" again on a big, big screen.7/10.
Ironically enough in post Civil War America that's about all it took.Poor Burt Lancaster in one of his few ventures into comedy, as commander of a frontier army post, he's expected to provide good order between the conflicting demands of drunken townsman, Republican businessmen, temperance women, and a tribe of Indians looking to get their hands on white man's firewater.Lancaster overacts outrageously, sort of a Sergeant Warden now an officer and hating every minute of it.
He's good, but I think Robert Mitchum would have been a natural fit for the lead.Lee Remick is leader of the temperance workers and in our time they can certainly be made an object of fun.
The roots of the temperance movement are very real.But this is a comedy and Lee Remick as a liberated woman of her time is expanding a bit on the part she played in Wheeler Dealers.
Lots of similarity between this role as Cora Massingale and her part in Wheeler Dealers as Molly Thatcher, a pioneer woman stockbroker.The rest of the cast is fine, I would single out Brian Keith as the choleric taxpayer and good Republican and Donald Pleasance the psychic and alcoholic scout.
I especially liked old Brian Keith as the entrepreneur declaring himself to be a "Republican," and Robert Wilke, another great character actor as Chief Five Barrels.
Other than that, don't watch this if you don't like satire, romance, and screwball westerns meant to bring women as well as men into the theater or, in modern times, to the TV screen.
From the era of "epic" comedies like The Great Race and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Hallelujah Trail was the entry in the western category.
Lots of funny stuff, but just too long to sustain the hilarity.A favorite bit concerns temperance leader Lee Remick unsuccessfully trying to convince cavalry officer Burt Lancaster of the rightness of her cause:LEE: Three of the women in my movement have lost their husbands to alcohol.
The plot may seem to plod along or to some may not even appear to exist, but one needs to look at the different groups involved, (miners, temperance marchers, indians, teamsters, etc), to see that they all tie together in a good comedy.
"The Hallelujah Trail" was therefore presumably an attempt to broaden his range by branching out into comedy.The film is a spoof version of the sort of large-scale epic Western that was very popular at the time.
Lancaster plays Colonel Gearhart, a US cavalry officer who has the duty of trying to ensure the safety of a consignment of whisky bound for the miners of Denver, a consignment threatened not only by marauding Indians but also by a militant group of female temperance campaigners.
The film copies the look and feel of big epic Westerns such as "How the West Was Won" with their sweeping photography of the Western landscapes, thundering musical scores and portentous voice-over commentary (here deliberately exaggerated for comic effect).There were a number of humorous Westerns in the sixties and seventies, of which Mel Brooks's "Blazing Saddles" is perhaps the best-known.
Donald Pleasance helps add real comic value with his inebriated clairvoyance, and some of the drunken sequences bring a smile to the viewer (the triple and quadruple exposure effect being effective), but it's not guffaw-funny.The comedic plot, especially for a western, teeters beyond being ridiculous.
But it's an old friend, and thus I added the DVD to my collection.If you really must see a comedic western, then do yourself a favor and buy or rent one of James Garner's excellent "Support your local Gunfighter" or "Support your local Sheriff" films.The "Hallelujah Trail" will probably leave you a little wanting in the end, but, strangely enough, satisfied in an uneven way.Watch at your own risk..
This film is a Western about the town of Denver running out of liquor and all the many conflicts that result from their bringing a wagon train to alleviate this need.
Temprance movement ladies want the wagons turned back, Indians want to steal the booze and the Irish drivers of the wagons want to go on strike.The biggest reason I decided to watch this movie was because it starred Burt Lancaster.
The problems, though, were that the actors weren't particularly adept at comedy (I love Lancaster, but "funny" isn't a word I'd use for his films) and that the script seemed rather smug and pleased with how witty it thought it was!
the best movies (to me of course) were made in the sixties...the best of these were the westerns and this one among the best of them...this movie seems like one of those lingering titles associated with musicals of that era but it endears as a comedy of views that continue today...burt lancaster was great in his apparent only comedic role...well if you don't count elmer gantry.....his regimented demeanor launches the laughs from the rest of the cast....filled with classic character actors like dub taylor and others...donald pleasance stood out as well....robert wilke was great as chief five barrels....with a name like that you know what you are in for...so don't expect avant grade...anyone who doesn't like this movie is probably boring and would rather watch reality TV.....
The Hallelujah Trail is a spoof of the type of epic Western epitomized by such movies as Cimarron (1960) and How the West Was Won (1962).The miners, headquartered in Denver, are threatened by thirst.
a very funny movie from the early 60s, but one which is extremely tame by the standards of the last 30 years or so.Among westerns, "The Hallelujah Trail" is another such example.
This after an epic battle scene involving cavalry, miners, a booze "wagon train", an Indian tribe, and a group of lady prohibition crusaders.The narration of the film adds a special touch.
Its unusual but also quite funny.There is also a very talented cast in this movie, led by Burt Lancaster, and so for that reason alone it's not surprise that the film is solid and entertaining.Is it a blockbuster caliber film?
With the likes of Burt Lancaster, Brian Keith and John Sturges involved it's difficult to imagine how it could have missed.
It stars Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, Pamela Tiffin, Brian Keith, John Anderson, Martin Landau and Donald Pleasence.
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?
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.
It's a truly classic Western parody, with hilarious dialogue, sharp satire, marvelous gags, an endless string of ridiculous supporting characters, and perfectly antagonistic performances and timing from Lancaster and Remick.
It has a solid cast but the direction has them playing stereotype roles (stern commander, intolerant temperance leader, greedy business man, etc so nothing really great -- just good.The movie does runs too long in the second half during the encampment phase (all participants in the same area) after the sandstorm and would have benefited for a shorter run time.
Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Brian Keith, Donald Pleasence, John Anderson, Pamela Tiffin, Dub Taylor, Jim Hutton, Martin Landau, Robert J.
I must also comment an the rare performance by Donald Pleasence as "Oracle Jones", this was a rather unusual but rather well played role by Pleasence, with his hilariously whiskey soaked visions and high spirits have all the makings of a great comic relief of sorts.
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.
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.
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.
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.
While Hallelujah Trail is a little long, it works if you enjoy spending a couple of hours with Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Brian Keith, Martin Landau, and Donald Pleasance dressing up in their Western outfits modes and having a good old time with some eye-popping stunts, hilariously pompous speeches, and cutting one-liners.
HT isn't as funny as Support Your Local Sheriff, a small scale, sharply done spoof on the same genre, but much funnier than John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in McClintock or any the dubious comedy westerns Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra put out at the same time.The Indians in this film, unfortunately, are the drunken, amoral layabouts, played by white actors, similar to the Indians in F-Troop.
The closest that Sturges had come to making a comedy was the Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin western "Sergeants Three," but "The Hallelujah Trail" was far from anything that "The Magnificent Seven" helmer had ever undertaken.
Burt Lancaster, who starred in Sturges' first big western "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral,"owed United Artists a picture and took top billing as Colonel Thaddeus Gearhart.
This sprawling western brings together all these parties for an incredible finale in a swamp.John Gay's complex screenplay based on William Gulick's lightweight western novel concerns the efforts of desperate Denver merchants inspired by 'Oracle' Jones (Donald Pleasance of "The Great Escape") to get a wagon train of liquor to them before they exhaust their supplies for the winter.
Sadly many of the actors are no longer with us, Donald Pleasance, Burt Lancaster and Lee Remick to name a few but they all appeared to be having a blast in this film.
Mix in ladies of the temperance movement, a tribe of native Americans looking for some fire water, the US Cavalry charged with escorting the women and whiskey to Denver as well as a local profiteer, played by Brian Keith and finally a town militia and you have the recipe for comedy.
The DVD I purchased is an excellent release of this film complete with 5.1 surround sound and Elmer Bernstein's excellent musical score including entrance music, intermission and exit music and you have a fun filled viewing of a classic comedy western..
The wagon train heads out, under the direction of company owner Frank Wallingham (Brian Keith), regarded as a "a taxpayer and a good Republican." This cargo then becomes the target for several diverse groups, each with their own leaders and plans.
Paul Slater (Jim Hutton) of the United States Cavalry is assigned by Fort Russell commander Col. Thaddeus Gearhart (Burt Lancaster) to escort the Wallingham Wagon Train, and merely wishes to carry out his orders.
Crusading temperance leader Cora Templeton Massingale (Lee Remick) and her followers, informed of the alcoholic cargo, wish to intercept the train and destroy its contents; the group is escorted by a second cavalry division under the command of a reluctant Col. Gearhart.
Inevitably, the various groups converge, and the ensuing property struggle is played out through a series of comic set pieces and several diplomatic overtures by an increasingly weary Gearhart.Overlong but very funny at times, with Lancaster as the frustrated straight man who just wants to get on with the proceedings and the lovely Lee Remick as the liberated woman who wins his heart..
Jim Hutton, Donald Pleasance, Brian Keith, Dub Taylor, and Martin Landau all have great comic credentials, and Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, and John Anderson have also done serviceable comic bits in their long, illustrious careers.
What emerges is perhaps the 'biggest-feeling' western comedy ever made, one that is even better seen in a large theater, where the pace allows time for the viewers' laughs that, by my personal experience, were sure to come.
The acting by Burt Lancaster as the Colonel, Lee Remick as Cora, Jim Hutton and Pamela Tiffin as the young lovers and Martin Landau as Walks Stoops Over is very good indeed.
Others in the cast who shone included Brian Keith as Frank Wallingham, Donald Pleasence who is Award caliber as Oracle Jones, Whit Bissell as Editor Hobbs , Helen Kleeb as a temperance group officer, John Anderson as the Colonel's second, Robert J.
Consulting an old Indian guide named Oracle (Donald Pleasance) they place an order immediately.That order is being shipped to them by one Frank Wallingham (Brian Keith) who reminds all he comes in contact with that he is a "taxpayer and a good Republican" (which while perhaps funny is repeated far too often).
Paul Slater (Jim Hutton) allowed to happen at the coercion of his daughter Louise (Pamela Tiffin) he's in love with doesn't help matters.Word then reaches the fort that they are to escort the whiskey wagon train and insure that it arrives in Denver unharmed.
There is little doubt that all concerned parties will cross paths in the dust filled desert while the wagon train makes its way to Denver.Made in 1965 the film was released in a large screen Cinerama version that toured the country as well as an Ultra 70 Panavision version that played wide.
When watching this film my thoughts were that perhaps it's not a question of the film not being up to the standards of those viewers but of Olive Films having the availability to offer anything better than what we see here.As I said if you're a fan or Lancaster, Remick, Hutton or director John Sturges (who directed such classics as BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN and THE GREAT ESCAPE) then you'll want this film in your collection.