The Shepherd of the Hills is a 1941 drama film that stars screen icon John Wayne, along with Betty Field and veteran actor Harry Carey. This movie has gone down in history as being John Wayne’s first appearance in technicolor! The movie had been made before in both 1919 and 1928 and would later be remade again in 1964, but the 1941 film is the one people rave about.
The story is about a moonshiner, Young Matt Masters (John Wayne, Reap the Wild Wind) who lives in the Ozark Mountains. He has a hatred toward his father, a man whom he has never met before. He is under the belief his father left his mother for dead and has vowed to kill his dad should he ever see him again. With all that hate in his veins, he still loves Sammy Lane (Betty Field, Peyton Place) but feels he cannot have a future with her due to his anger obsession. Granny Becky (Marjorie Main, Meet Me in St. Louis) aims to be a guide for Matt, but he is dead set on revenge.
His hatred causes the entire community to have the same feelings, filled with hatred and disgust. However, when a stranger Daniel Howitt (Harry Carey, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) arrives, he slowly begins to have a positive affect the mountain people, who learn to shed their hatred. Who Howitt is will shake the very foundation of both Young Matt Masters and those around him.
I hate to say this, but I did not dig this film as I thought I would, as I thought the pacing was a bit lethargic, and John Wayne looked out of place in his role. This was not Wayne’s usual tough hombre role and I felt that it just did not work, at least in this picture. Even though Wayne was top billed, he plays a back seat to Harry Carey, who dominated the screen in the movie. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but perhaps Carey should have been top billed. On the plus side, the acting by the cast is excellent and the cinematography by veterans W. Howard Greene (The Garden of Allah, Phantom of the Opera)and Charles Lang (The Big Heat The Magnificent Seven) is fantastic,capturing all the breathtaking countryside landscapes.
The Shepherd of the Hills arrives on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. The picture quality is nice, with beautiful crisp, vibrant colors. I thought there was excellent depth and details to the outdoor scenery. It might have benefitted more with a 2K or 4K scan, but overall, the image is pleasing with great details, spot-on flesh tones and adequate black levels. No DNR or any other artificial enhancements were detected.
The English DTS-HD master audio 2.0 track is excellent. The mono audio comes in clearly without any issues detected. Dialog, the pleasant music by Gerard Carbonara and other noises sound perfectly fine without any drop-offs or hissing. English subtitles are available for this release.
There are also some supplements for The Shepherd of the Hills. This release features an audio commentary by Film Critic and Author Simon Abrams who discusses the film in detail, the production, the cast and crew.
The other extra are several trailers from Kino Lorber’s huge catalog of releases. Trailers include The Shepherd of the Hills, Seven Sinners, Reap the Wild Wind, The Spoilers Pittsburgh Legend of the Lost and Brannigan
I would recommend The Shepherd of the Hills to John Wayne completists. Those who know of and have seen the film before will enjoy the HD presentation by Kino Lorber. If you have not seen the film and are on the fence about it, I would try renting it first or look for the film online for a cost effective price, in case you do not enjoy the film. I do not think the movie will be in everyone’s taste but it is worth checking out!
The Shepherd of the Hills
Director- Henry Hathaway
Cast- John Wayne, Betty Field, Harry Carey
Country of Origin- US
Distributor – Kino Lorber
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date- 11/29/20