![]() In total odds with the book that had served as source material, he is Young Matt’s father. The “Shepherd” of the title, a cultured, sympathetic visitor from Chicago who contributes to the society he’s visiting, is in this film an aging gunfighter with a guarded past. In the novel she’s a nurturing, kindly, loyal wife and friend, but in this movie, she is shrill and nasty. Old Matt, the community’s patriarch, mill owner and influential person, is presented in the movie as a fool henpecked by his wife, Aunt Mollie. The film departed markedly from the book. Sammy interferes, but inadvertently swings a flower sack at Matt (instead of Wash), knocking Wayne down with a bewildered look on his face. The tension between Matt and Wash leads to a well-staged brawl between the two amidst a flock of sheep. Ward Bond provides some necessary comic relief as Wash Gibbs, a man angry at the decline of sales of moonshine liquor, caused by Hewitt. Matt represented one of Wayne’s richest characters to date, calling for a psychological transformation from an inarticulate and immature guy, blinded by his need for revenge, to a more mature and thoughtful man, who declares at the end, after recovering from a near-fatal wound, “I ain’t lost from nobody no more,” thus restoring peace and stability to the community. ![]() Though set among the superstitious mountain folk of the Ozarks, Wayne, assisted by Hathaway’s aproval, insisted on wearing (anachronistically) a Western costume–cowboy hat, suspenders, and all. ![]() It turns out that Howitt has killed a man for which he was sent to prison, thus preventing him from returning home to Moaning Meadow. Turning point occurs when a blind woman (Marjorie Maine) is given back her vision, which leads to her observation that the two men have similar faces.Īt the end, however, Matt’s father clears the way for his son’s marriage, after a shootout between them, in which Matt learns that his father has always been a kind, though misunderstood, man. It’s Sammy who first notices the physical resemblance of father and son. Matt learns that his father (Harry Carey Sr.), now called Daniel Howitt, is the stranger who the mountain-folk call “The Shepherd of the Hills,” because of his kind acts for them. However, Matt’s thirst for vengeance is an obstacle to marrying his girlfriend, Sammy Lane, (Betty Field), who will not confer her love so long as he is committed to his blood oath, but that does not halt him. Believing that his father has disgraced the family’s name and caused his mother’s early death, Matt is determined to seek revenge.Īt his mother’s grave, Matt reaffirms his commitment, “one of these days I’ll find him, him that never came back to you.” John Wayne plays Matt Matthews, a hotheaded mountaineer obsessed with hatred for his father, who he has never met. The supporting cast includes such talented pros as Harry Carey Sr., Ward Bond, Beulah Bondi, and Marjorie Main. Made at Paramount, Henry Hathaway’s The Shepherd of the Hills was based on Harold Bell-Wright’s 1907 best-selling novel, though the scenarists took many liberties in their adaptation (see below). Due to shortage of male stars during WWII, John Wayne, who was not drafted, was able to get better roles and more work for bigger studios (Paramount) than Republic–under the helm of more skillful directors.Īmong other qualities, Shepherd of the Hills was Wayne’s first film in Technicolor, and viewers were able to see how handsome he was at the time.
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