Customer Reviews

Shepherd of the Hills [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Loved it. My grandfather was a baldknobber so I love Shepherd of the hills. I would give this movie a 5 star

As I stated in a comment to another reviewer, this is not a film "adaptation" of the wonderful book.

It is a "perversion" of the story, nothing more.

My wife teaches a class on this. After reading the book, she uses this film to show her students WHY you need to read books and not blindly think that "seeing the movie" is the same thing. Her eighth grade students actually get angry when they see what Hollywood did to this story.

Shame on you, John Wayne! You really whored yourself out on this one. Your star is greatly tarnished by your participation and allowing it to be made with this story.

"Shepherd of the Hills" is such a good film it's surprising that most people have never heard of it. It's even more surprising since the cast is outstanding - John Wayne, Harry Carey Sr., Beulah Bondi, Ward Bond, Marjorie Main, Marc Lawrence, John Qualen, and Fuzzy Knight. Moreover it's directed by Oscar winner Henry Hathaway. One can only conclude that its appearance in 1941 and the unusual nature of the content conspired to keep this film a secret.

The film takes its title (but little else) from the 1907 novel by Harold Wright. It was adapted to the screen by Stuart Anthony who wrote several westerns as well as Ozark films ("Girls of the Ozarks", 1936) and Grover Jones who worked with director Hathaway on previous projects ("The Trail of the Lonesome Pine", 1936). Fans of the novel need to put it aside and look at the film as a separate piece of work.

The novel was put to film in 1919 with the collaboration of Harold Wright. It was originally scheduled to be filmed in Branson, but cost factors made the decision to shoot in California. The original was closer to the novel than the 1941 version.

The film focuses on 3 people - John Wayne (who plays the son of a woman who was abandoned by her husband), Betty Field (his girlfriend), and Harry Carey Sr. (a stranger to the Ozarks who buys the land on which Wayne's mother is buried).

John Wayne (1907-79) was a bankable box office draw at the time. He'd made nearly 100 films by 1941, although most of them had been forgettable B westerns. Then in 1939 he made "Stagecoach" with John Ford, and his career improved. Stagecoach earned 5 Oscars including Best Picture. Wayne followed up with "Dark Command" (1940) directed by Rail Walsh, and then a series of war movies (e.g., "Flying Tigers" in 1942, "The Fighting Seabees" in 1944, "Back to Bataan" and "They Were Expendable" in 1945) and his classic westerns including "3 Godfathers" (1948), "Fort Apache" (1948), "Red River" (1948), "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949, "Rio Bravo" (1959), and "The Alamo" (1960) . Wayne was nominated for Best Actor for "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949) and he would finally earn an Oscar for "True Grit" (1969), which was directed by Henry Hathaway who directs this film.

In "Shepherd of the Hills" we get to glimpse the last vestiges of the old Wayne. He is on his way to big time movie stardom, but we get can still see the old B actor in many scenes. It's quite charming and nostalgic.

Harry Carey Sr. (1878-1947) was one of the first western stars of the silent film era, and we have him to thank for getting John Ford his first few jobs. Over a 40 year career he appeared in more than 200 films and was nominated once for "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939). Carey was a hero to the young John Wayne, and Carey's son, Harry Carey Jr., was virtually adopted by the Duke and appeared in dozen of Wayne's films beginning with "Red River" (1948). Carey's wife, Olive, also appeared in several Wayne films, most notably in "The Searchers" (1956) that also prominently featured her son.

FWIW - Wayne was so thrilled to be working with Carey and Hathaway he called this one of his "finest" films.

With powerful actors since as Wayne and Carey, it's remarkable that young Betty Field steals the show. Field is best remembered for her body of work on Broadway, but she made more than a dozen films including Mae in "Of Mice and Men" (1939), incest victim Cassandra in "Kings Row" (1942) and Nellie in "Peyton Place" (1957).

If Betty Field (1913-73) is a standout as the well meaning good hearted girl, Beulah Bondi shows her chops as an evil elder with nothing but venom in her heart. Bondi was nominated twice for Best Supporting Actress ("Of Human Hearts" in 1938 and "The Gorgeous Hussy" in 1936) and won an Emmy in 1977. She is best remembered for playing Granny in 1948s "So Dear to My Heart" in which she plays the polar opposite of her role as Aunt Mollie in this film.

Ward Bond (1903-60) was a football player at USC with his life time friend, John Wayne, and together they appeared in nearly a dozen films including "They Were Expendable" (1945), "Fort Apache" (1948), "3 Godfathers" (1948), "The Searchers" (1956), "Wings of Eagles" (1957), and "Rio Bravo" (1959). Without Wayne, Bond was also a staple in Ford's stock company and appeared in "Young Mr. Lincoln" (1939), "Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)", "My Darling Clementine" (1946), and "The Grapes of Wrath (1940) among the 25 films they made together. He's probably best remembered for his role as Major Seth Adams on the TV series "Wagon Train" (1957 - 1961), based on the 1950 film "Wagon Master" in which he appeared. Bond was in more Top 100 AFI films (7) than any other actor, and appeared in 11 films that were nominated as Best Picture. His part in "Shepherd" is small: he plays Wayne's cousin and the two have a big fist fight in the middle of the film.

Marc Lawrence (1909-2005) plays against type as a simpleton who lost his voice when struck by lightning. Pock faced Lawrence was best known for his gangster roles in films like "This Gun for Hire" (1942), "Dillinger" (1945), "Key Largo" (1948), and "The Asphalt Jungle" (1950). He was victimized during the McCarthy era and his film roles shrunk.

John Qualen (1899-1987) was part of the Wayne/Ford stock company. He made nearly 200 films, 9 of them directed by John Ford and 4 with Wayne but not Ford - "Shepherd of the Hills", "The High and the Mighty" (1954), and "North to Alaska (1960) directed by Hathaway, and "Donovan's Reef" (1963). My favorite John Qualen role was as Lars in "The Searchers" (1956). Qualen has a small role as one of the mountain people.

Fuzzy Knight (1901-76) made nearly 200 films, many of them as the comic sidekick in westerns, often with Tex Ritter or Johnny Mack Brown, although he was also utilized by such comedy stars as Mae West and W.C. Fields. He used a characteristic stutter to gain comic edge, but in fact he had no stutter and had a beautiful singing voice which is on display in this film (reminiscent of another Wayne favorite, Ken Curtis). Fuzzy has a small part as a mountain man. This was his only film with Wayne, as Wayne rarely used sidekicks.

Marjorie Main (1890-1975) has a brief role as a blind woman whose sight is restored. We know her best as Ma Kettle from the "Ma and Pa Kettle" film series (1947 - 1957). She was nominated for an Oscar for "The Egg and I" (1947) and a Golden Globe for "Friendly Persuasion" (1956) and appeared in more than 50 films as diverse as "Dead End" (1937) and "The Harvey Girls" (1946). Her role is small, but she does a terrific job, and the key plot point belongs to her.

Henry Hathaway (1898-1985) directs. Hathaway and Wayne worked together on several films, including "North to Alaska" (1960), "Sons of Katie Elder" (1965) and "True Grit" (1969). Hathaway specialized in westerns from his earliest films - "Heritage of the Desert" (1932), "Wild Horse Mesa" (1932) - to his later films - "Shootout" (1971), "5 Card Stud" (1968), yet curiously enough his only nomination for an Oscar was for "Lives of a Bengal Lancer" (1935), and his best known films are non-Westerns (e.g., "Of Human Bondage", "Call Northside 777", "The Desert Fox"). He once said "To be a good director you've got to be a bastard. I'm a bastard and I know it."

"Shepherd" is a follow up to Hathaway's earlier Ozark film, "Trail of the Lonesome Pine" (1936), which was also in Technicolor (in fact, Hathaway won an Oscar for his use of color). The earlier film was co-written by Grover Jones who co-wrote "Shepherd" and features Beulah Bondi and Fuzzy Knight, both of whom are in this film. Many of the supporting actors (e.g., Samuel Hinds, Hank Bell, Jim Corey, Charles Middleton) appear in both films. Both films had principal photography in Big Bear and Cedar Lake. "Shepherd" also shot in Branson Missouri.

This was Wayne's first Technicolor film and the photography by Charles Lang (1902-98) is beautiful. Lang was nominated more times for an Oscar than any other Director of Photography (18 times), but won only once - "A Farewell to Arms" (1934). The nearly 150 films he photographed differed in content and style, as Lang was an eclectic. He lensed such diverse films as "Wait Until Dark" (1967), "How the West was Won" (1962), "Some Like it Hot" (1959), "The Big Heat" (1953),"A Foreign Affair" (1948), "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" (1947), and "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" (1935).

The NY Times said the film was "sentimental mush", "gummy emotionalism", and "an obvious attack on the tear-ducts," but they praised Wayne and Field as "gifted", noted that "Harry Carey as the shepherd is invariably more convincing than his material....and Marc Lawrence gives an occasionally surprising performance as the dumb-stricken boy."

1941 was a terrific year for films - "Citizen Kane", "The Maltese Falcon", Sergeant York", "How Green Was My Valley", Meet John Doe", "Buck Privates", "They Died with Their Boots On", "The Sea Wolf" "High Sierra", "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", and "A Yank in the RAF".

See this film. Fans of Wayne will enjoy it thoroughly. The acting from everyone is superb throughout, the photography is breath taking, and the direction is taut. This brief peak at the life in the early 20th century Ozarks is really instructive.

I highly recommend the book with the uplifting story. Except for the title and the names of the characters this movie has little to do with the book. An ordinary "John Wayne" movie.

Shepherd of the Hills was a great movie and John Wayne is always the best in anything he does!

I am very happy with this movie. It is a great old story and I was near Branson, Mo. where they have a place called "Shepherd of the Hills". A wonderful story.

Perhaps Shepherd of the Hills- The Movie could have stood on its own legs using a different title or maybe not. One thing is certain: this John Wayne vehicle bears absolutely no resemblence to a piece of classic American literature under the same name. As it stands, the movie uses only the book's title and character's names and nothing else.

I would love to see a "re-make" of Shepherd of the Hills which follows the beloved storyline.