According to a production directory in the 9 Mar 1929 Exhibitors Herald-World, the starting date for Hallelujah was 16 Oct 1928.
       The 23 Feb 1929 Motion Picture News reported that King Vidor spent three years trying to convince M-G-M that a story about African-American life could have box-office appeal. After being turned down, Vidor approached Nicholas M. Schenck, head of Loew’s, Inc. Vidor reportedly agreed to defer his salary until Hallelujah was completed, and would receive a percentage of the grosses if the film was a success. With M-G-M’s participation, Vidor began production.
       The 26 Sep 1928 Var announced Hallelujah as the forthcoming “All Negro” production directed by King Vidor for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (M-G-M). Vidor, who wrote the original story, planned to travel to Chicago, IL, and New York City to select the African-American cast members, after his search in Los Angeles, CA, reportedly proved fruitless. The 1 Oct 1928 Exhibitors Daily Review stated that Vidor had arrived in NY to conduct screen and sound tests. On 6 Oct 1928, Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World indicated that King Vidor was currently in Chicago and would soon depart to a Southern plantation for exterior filming. By 15 Oct 1928, the director was en route to Memphis, TN, according to that day’s Exhibitors Daily Review, which announced the casting of Daniel L. Haynes and Honey Brown in the leading roles. Additional cast members included recording artist Victoria Spivey and Everett McGarrity, who was the only actor hired in Chicago. Haynes, Brown, and Spivey were discovered at Harlem theaters and nightclubs in New York City.
       The 17 Oct 1928 Var reported that nearly thirty African-American actors were signed to the project, and would join King Vidor that week in Tennessee, where he began filming background scenes the previous week. Shooting was anticipated to continue for a month in the South before returning to M-G-M Studios in Culver City, CA, for interiors. James Stacy was listed as assistant director, but he does not appear to have remained with the production through its completion. The Dixie Jubilee Singers, conducted by Eva Jessye, were hired to sing spirituals in the film. Lulubelle Wiseman was listed amongst the cast, but did not appear in the picture. Several traditional Negro spirituals are used throughout the film, including "Goin' Home" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." Additionally, Irving Berlin wrote two original songs for Hallelujah.
       According to the 27 Oct 1928 Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World, the picture would be produced with partial sound, using M-G-M’s Movietone technology.
       The 22 Nov 1928 Exhibitors Daily Review reported that filming had completed in the South, and Vidor was currently on his way to CA.
       A 12 Jan 1929 Motion Picture News news item announced that Nina Mae McKinney was hired to replace Honey Brown in the lead female role.
       The 2 Feb 1929 Motion Picture News indicated that production was still underway at the newly renovated M-G-M Studios in Culver City. After seeing the picture “shaping up so well,” M-G-M executives deemed that “full dialogue should be added,” prompting Vidor to reshoot interiors to accommodate for sound, according to the 16 Feb 1929 Motion Picture News. The 23 Feb 1929 Motion Picture News noted that principal photography was expected to be completed within ten days.
       The Feb 1929 Photoplay included a photograph showing scenes being filmed on the Mississippi River, and a news story in the Feb 1929 Motion Picture Classic listed Birmingham, AL, as an additional location.
       The 23 Mar 1929 Motion Picture News announced that the picture would be promoted with a trailer featuring sound and titles. Three months later, the 29 Jun 1929 Exhibitors Herald-World stated that both a sound and a silent version of the film would be produced. However, it is unclear whether or not a silent version was released.
       The 14 Aug 1929 Var announced that the world premiere would be held on 20 Aug 1929 in New York City simultaneously at two venues, the Embassy Theatre on Broadway, and at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem.
       The 25 Aug 1929 FD review lauded that King Vidor had “succeeded admirably” in portraying a cross-section of Southern African American lives, and commended his presentation as bearing a “stamp of authenticity.” The 28 Aug 1929 Var review deemed the picture “an artistic success,” and noted the “stirring” beauty of the photography.
       Var printed three reviews of the film on the same day, one based on the New York City premiere, another based on a showing before an African-American audience at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem, and another by a female staff writer to portray a “woman’s angle.”
       Hallelujah was voted one of the Ten Best Pictures of 1929 by a FD poll, as announced in its 7 Feb 1930 issue. King Vidor received an Academy Award nomination for his work on the film, at the first Academy Awards ceremony held in 1929.