Hallelujah is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), directed by King Vidor, and starring Daniel L. Haynes and Nina Mae McKinney. Filmed in Tennessee and Arkansas, and chronicling the troubled quest of the sharecropper Zeke Johnson (Haynes) and his relationship with the seductive Chick (McKinney), Hallelujah was one of the first films with an allAfrican-American cast produced by a major studio. Released on August20, 1929, Hallelujah was Vidor's first sound film, and combined sound recorded on location with sound recorded post-production in Hollywood. It was intended for a general audience, and was considered so risky a venture that MGM required Vidor to invest his own salary in the production. He expressed an interest in "showing the Southern Negro as he is" and attempted to present a relatively non-stereotyped view of African-American life, though the film has been criticized for prejudice and stereotyping. Hallelujah entered the public domain in 2025.Film credit: King VidorRecently featured: Saint-Gaudens double eagleThe ColonelLittle corellaArchiveMore featured pictures