The Hallelujah Trail

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The Hallelujah Trail ★★ 1965

Denver mining town in the late 1800s is about to batten down the hatches for a long winter, and there's not a drop of whiskey to be had. The U.S. Cavalry sends a shipment to the miners, but temperance leader Cora Templeton Massingale (Remick) and her bevy of ladies against liquor stand between the shipment and the would-be whistle whetters. Limp Western satire directed by Preston Sturges' brother, who fared much better when he kept a straight face (he also directed “The Great Escape”). Based on Bill Gulick's novel, “The Hallelujah Train.” 166m/C VHS, DVD . Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, Pamela Tiffin, Donald Pleasence, Brian Keith, Martin Landau; D: John Sturges; W: John Gay; C: Robert L. Surtees; M: Elmer Bernstein; Nar: John Dehner.