Halleluyah

In 1929, MGM began the process of converting to sound. They were almost the "latecomers" of sound conversion compared to their competitors over at the Warners lot; Warners' Vitaphone was pretty much in full swing by 1929 after having experimented with orchestral sound on film in 1926 in "The Better 'Ole" and "Don Juan" and then with actual voice embedment on film in "The Jazz Singer" the following year.

Even for such a major film studio like MGM, the cost was almost prohibitive, so Louis B. Mayer was skeptical about financing a major film epic featuring an all black cast. In the first half of the 20th Century, the major film studios catered mostly to white audiences, so a project of this nature was almost unheard of. Director, King Vidor was personally convinced that this film would be a success at the box office that he offered to match MGM dollar for dollar in producing this film. That said, the executives at MGM agreed, reluctantly, to take on this project.

I was totally surprised by the candidness of the material. From the way the major studios depicted black people as individuals of little or no importance, usually portraying them in a very negative way, I was at first skeptical. I expected more singing, dancing and stereotyping. Little did I know what a surprise I was in for! MGM could not have done a better job at portraying individuals with such humanistic qualities. As with most backdrops featuring blacks, it takes place in the cotton fields of the South; the motion picture industry failed miserably to depict black urban or middle class life until decades later.

Amazingly, most, if not all, of these actors were untested individuals on the screen or stage. Vidor's direction, along with these actors' willingness to succeed on the screen, created a work of art for the cinema. A huge box office success, "Hallelujah" was an oasis in an otherwise all-white world of big business cinema. It is a shame that the movie moguls at the time did not take further advantage of the acting talents of minorities.

Leonard Maltin could not have put it more succinctly when he said about Hallelujah: "King Vidor's early talkie triumph, a stylized view of black life focusing on a Southern cotton-picker who becomes a preacher but retains all-too-human weaknesses." Definitely a home run! A must see!

There's something hypnotic about good preaching. All that passion, all that energy, whether it's in film or in person, has a cumulative power. It's hard to doubt the spreading power of religion when you see Daniel L. Haynes (this film) or Robert Duvall ("The Apostle"), or read the sermon at the end of "The Sound and the Fury." Feverishly, they try and communicate God's word. They rant, they rave, they speak quickly and with an undeniable amount of integrity. They get the crowd going, usually in whoops and outbursts, and one man's conversation with God becomes a community event. (Indeed, the power of a worked-up crowd is a powerful tool in and of itself).

That's what's so terrific about King Vidor's "Hallelujah." Everyone's up in arms about one thing or another in this movie, whether it's money, sex, or Jesus. Early in the film there's a rather ludicrous scene where the hero's brother is accidentally killed, due to the hero's folly and hubris. That's his Sin, for which he must Redeem Himself Before God. There's also a woman who represents Temptation, who leads him astray time and time again. In the end there's an extended chase through a swamp, that would be done again in Kurosawa's "Stray Dogs."

All of that's well and good, but the film really peaks during the sermon sequences. Done wrong, sermons in movies usually pass by unnoticed, or are used as a clothsline to hang lame jokes about apathetic churchgoers. Done right, as in this film, "The Apostle," and the most unusual ones in "Beloved," they can be as captivating as if you were really in attendance. It's a testament to the power of the motion picture.

"Hallelujah!" is fascinating from a film history perspective. King Vidor created the first Hollywood film with an all-black cast, and depicted in almost documentary fashion what life was like for poor blacks living in America's deep South. Alas, any interest the film held for me was purely academic -- as a film, it's otherwise rather boring.

The nominal plot focuses on Zeke, who lives with his large family and helps with their cotton-picking business. We watch him struggle with the demons that plague mortal man -- like gambling and horniness -- give into them, repent, give into them again, repent, and so on, until he comes back at the end to the family who loves him. Indeed, family and religion are the two dominant pillars around which these poor folk anchor themselves, much as they are in any culture. Much of the film consists of long scenes depicting a sermon, a baptism, a local dance. There are countless scenes of characters lifting their hands to heaven, praying to Jesus to guide them. It's all rather dramatically inert, and the film is too long. If you are religious yourself, I imagine these scenes might have a certain power to them. I found all of the weeping and wailing tiresome after a while.

Credit must go to Vidor, though, for even bothering to make this film at a time when much of America didn't care all that much about the black people. The movie is a memento of the role film can play in leading cultural progress.

Grade: C+

I want to thank TCM for showing this movie and all others that wouldn't see the light of day. Yes this movie is crude in all phases of a movie coming together today. Since it took place in 1928 it's wonderful. My mother grew up down south in N.C. so yes a lot of Blacks were poor,picking cotton,living in shacks and finding release in either the church and or what was called the "devil's business" ,vice. The first time I saw this movie I wanted to cry, everything was so sad,and ugly but it held my interest. I hated how Zeke abandoned his family and I wanted them to hate him too.The "hootchie mama" Chick was very pretty and had a natural performing talent. I felt sorry for her when she died since she only wanted to be free. Funny thing about the movie is all over the U.S. the same story about Church,Sin, the Man of God, and the Heathen Woman is still going on.I love old movies with shaky film,missing dialouge,unskilled actors and all. It's a walking, talking bit of history unfolding before your eyes. I think as I watch the movie, did any of the actors make something of themselves? was anyone shunned for even doing this? did any church come out for the movie since I know many churches probably were against it. I saw the remark about it being racist and I disagree. It's a fact that Blacks sang as a release from the real world and all the misery that awaited them day after day. What would have been racist is if the actors had been White but in blackface. TCM showed this yesterday 10/5/04 and it's the 4th time I've seen it.I rate this 8/10.

"Hallelujah" is a very interesting film. For that reason alone, it should be seen. It has an all-black cast and it was released in 1929, just as sound was first being used in films.

However, it is a very uneven production. We should give it some slack because of when it was produced, but not to mention its deficiencies would be dishonest. The acting, the lighting, the sound--all are uneven. Sometimes it is distracting, sometimes not.

Zeke (Daniel L. Haynes) is the central character. He lives with his large family, growing cotton. When the crop is harvested, he and his brother have it processed and baled. They deliver it to the riverboat and sell it on the dock. There in the city, with the money burning a hole in his pocket, he is introduced to some unscrupulous characters. He is naïve and obviously unaware of some basic rules of life and film: Never shoot with another man's dice. Never take a knife to a gunfight. And never, never go for a woman who gives her attentions to the highest bidder.

The story is filled with clichés and stereotypes, and it frequently drags. It has its compelling moments, like a chase through a swamp. But what bothers me most is the overly-dramatic acting. This is partly due to the fact that many of the scenes were couched in religious fervor. There are revival scenes, baptism scenes, scenes of general praying. In fact, the entire film is presented as a religious parable. Often when the characters speak, it is as if they are preaching. This interferes with the authenticity of the action, making some characters seem more caricatures than real people.

"Hallelujah" is a musical. Songs accent almost every scene. Most of them are gospel/spirituals. But the two best songs were written by Irving Berlin ("At The End of the Road" and "Swanee Shuffle").