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Shepherd of the Hills
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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9780783215419
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
ISBN: 078321541X
Label: Universal Studios
Languages: English (Original Language), Analog
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Universal Studios
Release Date: February 17, 1998
Running Time: 98 minutes
Studio: Universal Studios
Theatrical Release Date: July 18, 1941
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Editorial Review:
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
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A travestry!!
Recently, I wrote a review of this movie. Unfortunately, at that time I could only find it listed here on a VHS with three others. This movie bears NO RESEMBLANCE whatsoever to the book on which it is laughingly and loosely based, except in name only. It's a wonder to me that Harold Bell Wright didn't file a lawsuit against the movie makers. The book is a true classic. It's wonderful!! Why Hollywood thought they could improve on that is beyond me. But, unfortunately, as is often true, they butchered ... Read More
Rating: - Read the book
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.
Rating: - Nothing like the movie
I too would highly recommend the book over the movie. Except for the title and the names of the characters this movie has little to do with the book.
Rating:  - The Shepherd of the Hills
I watched this movie after having read the book. Unfortunately, the movie twisted the whole story around and was not true to the book at all. I felt that the book was an uplifting story and the movie was much darker. I guess the movie is okay, if you haven't read the book, but I would have loved to see the story told as it was in the book. I would highly recommend the book "The Shepherd of the Hills" over the movie.
Rating:  - UNKNOWN CLASSIC
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 ... Read More
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