FILM REVIEWS
Shepherd of the Hills, The (1941) B
Paramount
Henry Hathaway's Shepherd of the Hills was based on Harold Ben-Wright's 1907 best-selling novel.
John Wayne plays Matt Matthews, a hotheaded mountaineer obsessed with hatred for his father, who he has never met. Believing that his father has disgraced the family's name and caused his mother's early death, Matt is determined to seek revenge.
At his mother's grave, Matt reaffirms his commitment, “one of these days I'll find him, him that never came back to you.” Matt's thirst for vengeance is an obstacle to marrying his girlfriend, Sammy Lane, (Betty Field), who will not confer her love so long as he is committed to his blood oath, but that does not halt him.
Matt learns that his father (Harry Carey) is the stranger who the mountain-folk call “The Shepherd of the Hills,” because of is kind acts for them.
At the end, however, Matt's father clears the way for his marriage, after a shootout between them, in which Matt learns that his father has always been a kind, though misunderstood, man.
The cast includes such pros as Harry Carey, Ward Bond, Beulah Bondi, and Marjorie Main.
Credits
Produced by Jack Moss.
Directed by Henry Hathaway
Camera; Charles Lang
Editor: Ellsworth Hoagland
Art Direction: Hans Dreier and Roland Anderson
Running time: 97 Minutes
Release date: June 18, 1941
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Just saw this film for the first time. Didn’t know it existed until this morning. Saw it in HD. Although a travesty of the book, the film, in its own right, is a masterpiece. Charles lang’s photography is amazing, as are the performances of John Wayne, and the rest of the cast. Can’t understand why they would film a book which was so popular, and change the characters and story so much. However, if you do not know the book, The film is a work of genius, totally out of phase with its historical situation. Congratulations to all involved -although they are probably all dead by now.