The Hallelujah Trail (1965)

In 1867 Colorado, a small mining town fearing a cold winter without whiskey arranges to have a shipment of 40 wagons of whiskey to be delivered. But it's not that easy as a group of temperance crusaders plot to destroy the cargo and a group of Sioux Indians attempt to obtain the whiskey for themselves. Based on the novel by Bill Gulick and directed by John Sturges (BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK). This is one of those "epic" comedies along the lines of IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD and THE GREAT RACE, two hours and 40 minutes worth including an overture, intermission and entr'acte. However, unlike those two films, it's not remotely funny. The film has a stellar group of actors but none of them are known for their comedic talents except for Jim Hutton and there's not much he can do with the material. It may be Lee Remick's worst performance, it's certainly Brian Keith's! It's not comfortable watching such talented actors yelling and floundering in a desperate attempt at being funny. I could carp about the offensive racial stereotyping of the Indians but truth to tell, everybody comes off looking badly and the film is just as sexist as it is racist. The large cast includes Burt Lancaster, Pamela Tiffin, Donald Pleasence, Martin Landau, John Anderson, Robert J. Wilke and Dub Taylor.