American Playhouse (TV Series) Hallelujah (1993) User Reviews

An entertaining surprise

[SDavis16 · 9/10 · 7 September 2008]

I found this movie last Friday night when I was bored at home. I decided to look through my pile of thousands of VHS tapes. It was on a tape with Sister Act 2 that my mom video taped from t.v. a long time ago. It said Black Christmas on the label and I thought it was the 1970's version of Black Christmas, but when I popped this baby into the VCR it was this film. I was upset at first because I didn't know it was this film. But it immediately caught my attention.

This story is about a 16 year old girl who's pregnant and has no one to rely on but her grandfather when she moves out her house around Christmas time. The only thing is that she has never met the man before and can't get in touch with him and she had came a long way from home. She meets people who get the wrong idea about her and she meets a new preacher of the church her grandfather went to and he lets her move in with him and his son. She hides a dark secret about her pregnancy but she inspires people along the way. The preacher goes through his own problems with being judged by the towns people and his own son, there's also some loving characters throughout the movie. This is a story about unconditional love and honesty. Its a heart felt movie and its entertaining. If you can get a hold of it over the internet or any where then watch this!! You'll be glad that you watched it.

Reverend Sherman can preach to me any day!

[mark.waltz · 10/10 · 11 December 2021]

Tiger Haynes is a complete charmer in this holiday drama set in Washington DC at Christmas time that won me over from the very first moment. He's a young minister going from a small country church to the big city where he has to face the committee, led by a modern Miss Gulch who gives him two days to come up with a sermon to give them the confidence to hire him officially. He's got another instant issue with the arrival of pregnant teenager Tracy Douglas, down and out but still filled with a glow, very similar to the one that Haynes has. Suzzanne Douglas plays Haynes' assistant, praying for Jesus to take the wheel the minute that the committee shows up to wait for the late Reverend Sherman. They are not pleased by the fact that he is late and even more displeased that the is younger than they expected and has an illegitimate son.

Among the neighbors in the area of the church is the atheist James Earl Jones, a cranky old man who views Humanity with contempt it looks on in awe at the pregnant Douglas when she asked a simple question and stands up to him politely because of his rudeness. The rudeness of the city is very prevalent with an angry woman pressuring her to get off the pay phone only moments after she's picked it up and dialed, a street preacher claiming that the world is finished, and right after that, peddler Keith David who sympathizes with her predicament and recommends the church as a sanctuary.

It is not surprising to me that this outstanding Slice of Life drama with a beautiful story was created by Charles Lane, the independent black filmmaker who wrote and directed the excellent film "Sidewalk Stories". That film expressed such an angelic heart witnessing a cruel world, and he presents the same theme here. Douglas shines a light on every person she needs, especially Haynes' cynical teenage son, played with great care by the young Deon Richmond. I would have liked to have seen more of the great Ruth Brown as Haynes' mother.

Even though this is a film to make you very happy and restore your face, it is still a gritty look at city life, and it's obvious that Lane was greatly influenced by such classic filmmakers has Frank Capra and Preston Sturges. This is probably the best Christmas movie I have never heard of, and one where the preacher's wife has not been found yet, but it's obvious to me from the start who it is going to be. The Washington D. C. location footage goes beyond the area surrounding Capitol Hill, taking the viewer into the gritty slums of our capital. This American Playhouse episode is perfection in every way, shape and form.