Product Details

• Actors: John Wayne, Betty Field, Harry Carey, Beulah Bondi, James Barton
• Directors: Henry Hathaway
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: February 17, 1998
• Run Time: 98 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 078321541X
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,254 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  Video > Drama > Family Life > Fathers & Sons

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Director Henry Hathaway never hesitated to return to a picturesque location that had served him well. There's no more striking example than his sequel-in-spirit to the enchanting early-Technicolor Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936). This time, the enchantment is darker, just as Charles Lang Jr.'s stunning cinematography represents a quantum leap in sophistication over Trail's pleasant pictorialism. The long-running Appalachian feud of the earlier film is replaced by a spooky familial curse that has almost literally poisoned one Ozark household and could perpetuate a tragic cycle of violence and vengeance in another.

John Wayne would win an Oscar under Hathaway's direction three decades later (for True Grit), so it's all the more noteworthy that his performance in this singular yet neglected film--as a son sworn to kill the father he has never met--was his most complex to date. Perhaps Wayne was challenged by the company he was keeping, including New York stage veterans Betty Field (as his tomboy love), James Barton, and Marc Lawrence (cast against type as the mute, lightning-struck cousin who dotes on Wayne's every move). Or maybe it was the prospect of sharing the screen with that old lion and premier Western role model, Harry Carey. There's also powerful work by Beulah Bondi, who as a matriarch from hell all but gives off sulfur fumes, and by the amazing Marjorie Main, playing a blind woman who sees for the first time on a mountaintop above the clouds. Get ahold of this movie, and it will get a hold on you. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 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)

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.

3 of 3 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 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:

3.0 out of 5 stars Read the book, February 2, 2007

By	E. Hoeft (Hot Springs Village, AR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book is a classic. A wonderful story. ... However, in regard to the movie, outside of the same locale and characters, any similarity is purely coincidental. ... Read the book.