|
| Hallelujah Trail, The |
|
  (5/10)
|
Runtime: 165 |
| Public Rating: 9.30 (10 votes) |
Director: John Sturges |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Western/Comedy |
Year: 1965 |
| Writer(s): John Gay |
| Reviewed by: Vadim Rizov |
| |
John Sturges is best known for two things: his command of widescreen mise en scene (especially admired by John Carpenter), and his excellent dramas (The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven, etc.). What is less known is that he made a comedy once. That was The Hallelujah Trail, and while it has its moments, it's a good example of why Sturges didn't do comedy.
This was intended to be an epic comedy like It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Unfortunately, Sturges' determination to make a straight-faced comedy means that he gets bogged down in dramatic scenes and confusing action sequences that aren't all that funny. The funniest scenes are the early ones, which take place at a fort commanded by Burt Lancaster (surprisingly adept and funny); and, for a movie determined to be big, its funniest scene is the one where Lancaster stumbles upon his daughter and Captain Paul Slater trying to have some private time in his cabin. The confrontation between Slater (Jim Hutton, who was an amiable marathoner in Walk Don't Run and was one of the boys in Where The Boys Are) and Lancaster is hilarious, and for laughs tops everything to come.
The town of Denver needs whiskey before harsh winter sets in, and Lancaster must escort the whiskey train to town, despite the band of marauding Indians that also want some whiskey, and the abolitionists who want to stop the train in its tracks. Some confusing and boring battle scenes follow, and by the finale, an awful lot of effort, in stunts and otherwise, is put into some remarkably predictable and feeble gags.
The movie is at its best in the small scenes and the role of underrated actor Brian Keith, who delivers a gem of a performance. Otherwise, it's a long, middling movie which, while still containing that famed mise en scene, contains none of the dramatic excellence normally associated with Sturges.
|
 Printable Version
|
Do you agree/disagree with this review of Hallelujah Trail, The? Let your opinions be heard in our forum.
|
Buy the Poster of Hallelujah Trail, The (Click Here)
|
|
|
|
