But just don’t go into it expecting the type of Hathaway-Wayne movie magic that was still years in the making. If you’re a John Wayne fan and haven’t seen this particular film, by all means go right ahead. A cast of dozens of performers brings to life the characters as more than 40 actors and performers take the stage, live animals take part in the show (including. This movie isn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, John’s Ford’s How Green Was My Valley, also released in 1941. Harold Bell Wrights bestselling novel The Shepherd of the Hills had been previously filmed in 19 before Paramount offered the first talkie version in 1941. She is the first to figure out that Daniel Howitt is actually Young Matt’s long lost father.Īlthough some scenes in the film are far better than others, both in terms of acting and in staging, The Shepherd of the Hills really doesn’t have any memorable lines or scenes that remain ingrained in a viewer’s mind for very long. Making matters even more complicated for Wayne’s character is his begrudging love for Sammy Lane (Betty Field), a goodhearted young woman. Howitt is Young Matt’s long lost father returning to make amends. The picture was Waynes first film in Technicolor and was based on the novel of the same name by Harold Bell Wright. So when an urbane stranger from the city by the name of Daniel Howitt (Harry Carey) arrives in the Ozarks and purchases some Matthews land, it doesn’t take long to figure out that our Mr. The Shepherd of the Hills is a 1941 American drama film starring John Wayne, Betty Field and Harry Carey.1 The supporting cast includes Beulah Bondi, Ward Bond, Marjorie Main and John Qualen. For years, Young Matt has been indoctrinated with hate for his missing father and has even gone so far as to swear a blood oath to kill the man, if and when he should find him. While the film boasts a superb cast and a series of conflicts that propel the plot forward, it nevertheless comes across as both too stagey and extraordinarily dated in terms of both dialogue and subject matter.ĭeep in the Ozarks lives the Matthews family, a superstitious clan of moonshiners who believe that they’re living under a curse stemming from Young Matt’s (John Wayne) father abandoning his wife, Sarah, as she lay dying. Director: Henry Hathaway.ĭirected by Henry Hathaway and filmed in glorious Technicolor, The Shepherd of the Hills is an ambitious melodrama that, despite its best intentions, misses the mark. Hinds Andy Beeler M Marjorie Main Granny Becky W.

Based on the novel by Harold Bell Wright. Cast J John Wayne Young Matt B Betty Field Sammy Lane H Harry Carey Daniel Howitt B Beulah Bondi Aunt Mollie J James Barton Old Matt S Samuel S.

Hinds, Marjorie Main, Ward Bond, Marc Lawrence, John Qualen, Fuzzy Knight. John Wayne, Betty Field, Harry Carey, Beulah Bondi, James Barton, Samuel S.

The shepherd of the hills cast