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The Shepherd of the Hills

Play trailer Poster for The Shepherd of the Hills Released Jul 18, 1941 1h 38m Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 63% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
In the Ozark Mountains a stranger, Daniel Howitt (Harry Carey), inexplicably helps several locals experiencing difficulties. Grateful, Sammy Lane (Betty Field) suggests that Daniel, who wants to settle in the area, buy land next to the Matthews family. Young Matt Matthews (John Wayne) is embittered over the stranger's suspicions concerning the mysterious death of his mother years ago. Mistrustful of Daniel, Young Matt soon learns that the older man is no stranger to his family.

Critics Reviews

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Elena de la Torre Cine-Mundial Among the films considered as true jewels, that deserves all kinds of awards and honors. [Full review in Spanish] Sep 19, 2019 Full Review Nathanael Hood The Retro Set The Shepherd of the Hills doesn't always work. But when it does, it's as pretty a bluegrass poem as has ever been written. Rated: 5/10 Dec 28, 2018 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com One of John Wayne's better films before he became a star due to Henry Hathaway's solid direction, Duke's own acting, and strong supporting cast. Rated: B Dec 28, 2007 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Well-acted, especially by Wayne. Rated: B- Sep 9, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Michael F Great Movie and character development. A must see. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/28/25 Full Review Audience Member It's a little corny, sure. But also innocent and sweet. A totally different role for John Wayne. There are some really funny moments showing how superstitious the folk of the Appalachiens were. It's a good history lesson as well. I appreciated that there could be violence without gore- imagination is enough in a film like this. I also loved watching Wayne work with his hero and father-figure, Harry Carey (Sr) - you can see where Wayne copied his upper body movements if you watch Carey carefully. It's also beautifully filmed. Kudos to Betty Field for being able to run around barefoot throughout the film! I thoroughly enjoyed it! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Not very many western movies of this age have such deeply emotional plot lines like this movie. It's obvious that the character development in this movie was very well-thought out. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member 150505: Took me a little bit of rewinding to figure out what had occurred in this story. Not a bad film. Bit predictable but not bad. Decent acting. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review ashley h The Shepherd of the Hills is an excellent film. It is about a young Ozark backwoodsman forsworn to kill his father, who years earlier abandoned his mother. John Wayne and Betty Field give fantastic performances. The screenplay is well written. Henry Hathaway did a great job directing. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the drama and adventure. The Shepherd of the Hills is a must see. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member The Duke is a bit more introverted in this than was usual, delivering a quiet strong piece of work. Solid supporting work from the rest of the cast and beautiful Technicolor photography. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Shepherd of the Hills

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Cast & Crew

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Henry Hathaway

Director

John Wayne

Young Matt

Betty Field

Sammy Lane

Harry Carey

Daniel Howitt

James Barton

Old Matt

Beulah Bondi

Aunt Mollie
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The Shepherd of the Hills

The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In the Ozark Mountains a stranger, Daniel Howitt (Harry Carey), inexplicably helps several locals experiencing difficulties. Grateful, Sammy Lane (Betty Field) suggests that Daniel, who wants to settle in the area, buy land next to the Matthews family. Young Matt Matthews (John Wayne) is embittered over the stranger's suspicions concerning the mysterious death of his mother years ago. Mistrustful of Daniel, Young Matt soon learns that the older man is no stranger to his family.
Director
Henry Hathaway
Producer
Jack Moss
Screenwriter
Stuart Anthony, Grover Jones
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Paramount
Genre
Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 18, 1941, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 5, 2019
Runtime
1h 38m