Product Details

• Actors: John Wayne, Betty Field, Harry Carey, Beulah Bondi, James Barton
• Directors: Henry Hathaway
• Writers: Grover Jones, Harold Bell Wright, Stuart Anthony
• Producers: Jack Moss
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: February 17, 1998
• Run Time: 98 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 078321541X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,859 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting and Unusual Film, May 17, 2001

By 

Mr Peter G George (Ellon, Aberdeenshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shepherd of the Hills [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Shepherd of the Hills is a fine film with wonderful colour photography of stunning mountain locations. There is a real sense of remoteness about the places filmed, which is vital for the story, for the people living in the hills have had little contact with the outside world and are thus unaware of things like personal cheques and telephones. Their lives are governed by such things as superstitions, curses and long-running feuds and they try to keep the outside world out. Thus they resent excise men, intruders and any strangers.

The story of the film revolves around the appearance of one such stranger, Harry Carey. John Wayne may be the nominal star of the film, but the larger and more important role is Carey's. Carey was once a major silent Western star, but his more familiar roles to modern viewers are smaller parts in such films as Mr Smith Goes to Washington, and later Wayne Classics The Angel and the Badman and Red River. It is a great pleasure to see him in a major part for his acting is subtle, quiet and undemonstrative. Wayne admired and learned a lot from Carey, their scenes together are some of the highlights of the film. The acting of the whole cast is in fact one of the main reasons to watch this film. There are many familiar faces giving fine performances, including Marjorie Main, as an old blind woman who regains her sight, Beulah Bondi as a vicious matriarch and Ward Bond, who sometimes seems to be in every other film made during this period. Also worthy of special mention is the beautiful Betty Field who is adorable as Wayne's girlfriend trying desperately to tame his wildness.

Shepherd of the Hills can be described as a sort of Western. It has many typical Western features, fistfights, shootouts, but it also has many elements which are unusual and surprising. This film is really worth getting for John Wayne fans and it is surprising that it is not better known, for it includes one of his best performances.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars UNKNOWN CLASSIC, February 27, 2006

By 

Buster49 (Utica, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shepherd of the Hills [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This film is one of the finest low profile American films I have ever seen. It deserves a much wider audience. Visually it is absolutely stunning. The scenery, especially that of Moanin Meadow, always makes me yearn for summer in the Adirondacks. The color is rich and lends perfectly to the visual landscape. The narrative realizes the haunting quality of its story. Every performer in this film lends exceptional support to the drama. Beulah Bondi was never better and the always enjoyable Marc Lawrence is an absolute suprise, perfect in a part you would not associate him with. The theme music, later heard as a song sung by Fuzzy Knight, has a wonderfully sentimental quality. Sadly, this film is not available on dvd as of this writing. Get the vhs copy; it is worth it. Harry Carey, John Wayne, Betty Field, Marjorie Main, the whole cast all hit the target. It just renews my spirit every time I watch it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Movie, October 15, 2011

By 

longridertoo (Abilene, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shepherd of the Hills (VHS Tape)

I came across this movie by accident - and glad I did. If you're looking for a good John Wayne flick you might look elsewhere. What makes it special is the tenderness of Harry Carey, and other country folks, throughout the movie. Harry Carey is one of my favorite actors and I think this is his best performance. The setting will also keep you spellbound. I've watched it many times now and am always mesmerized. I think those that gave the movie low ratings for not being true to the book are missing the point. The review should be of the movie not how well it compares to the book.