The Shepherd Of The Hills (1941)

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  • Hey y'all...

    Just finished watching this over the weekend. I'd never seen it before and thought it was pretty enjoyable. I liked Harry Carey and Beulah Bondi was really good, too.

    I'm a little confused as to why Duke's character needed to kill his old man. I may have missed or forgotten something, as I only had time to watch the movie in bits & pieces. They thought Harry Carey (as Duke's dad) brought a curse upon the family because he wasn't there when Duke's mom died?

    It was fun watching Duke engaged in fisticuffs with Ward Bond. Not quite a fight of epic proportions like Duke & Victor McLaglen, but still a couple of heavyweights going at it. I'll bet they had a good laugh over it offscreen.

    Duke was his usual self. I loved the scene where he comes home and senses that something's amiss (when he discovers that they've sold his mother's land). I also like the relationship he had with the mute cousin. The scene of Pete trying to catch dust motes in the sunlight was really beautifully shot.

    I know Henry Hathaway isn't as well known as Ford or Hawks, but he did a lot of Duke's films and they're all pretty solid, IMO.

  • If I remember correctly it was that dad was blamed for killing his mom, or was it someone else and that was why he wasn't there... The real driving force was the hate of the one woman, his aunt I think. (sorry it has been a while since I watched the movie)

    You can roll a turd in powdered sugar but that doesn’t make it a doughnut.

  • Plot: Young Matt Masters (John Wayne), an Ozark Mountains moonshiner, hates the father he has never seen, who apparently deserted Matt's mother and left her to die. His obsession contributes to the hatred rampant in the mountains. However, the arrival of a stranger, Daniel Howitt, begins to positively affect the mountain people, who learn to shed their hatred under his gentle influence. Still, Matt does not quite trust Howitt who turns out to be his Matt's father and bought the old family property from the wicked witch I mean aunt.

  • I agree Jen. I thought this was going to be a not so great film when first I saw it, but it really is a surprise. Very well done!

    Tbone



    "I have tried to live my life so that my family would love me and my friends respect me. The others can do whatever the hell they please."

  • I actually have this movie on DVD and have never watched it (only bits and pieces) but thanks to you good people, I may sit down and watch it tonight.

    Stay thirsty my friends.

  • It's on TV occasionally, I believe on AMC. It a good movie, some of the little superstitious things the girl does is funny.

  • I agree with all of you. Shepherd of the Hills is a very good movie, and very under rated in my opinion. Although I have to admit I'm biased, but I think it had several Oscar moments. As a side note, I have read that while on the set of Shepherd of the HIlls, Duke and Olive Carey were talking, and Duke mentioned that he didn't want to get typecast into westerns. That he wanted to branch out and try other roles. Sort of expand his acting repretoire (I'm sure I spelled that wrong!). But Olive Carey told him that the fans loved him just as he was, just as they loved Harry Carey as he was, and if Duke was smart, then he would work to please his fans, rather than become an "artsy fartsy" (my words, not hers) actor. I'm glad Duke took her advice.
    Best to All,
    Colorado Bob

    "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them" It may be time worn, but it's the best life-creed I know.

  • This is one of (in my opinion) Duke's best films. The entire cast and writers got the family lifestyle correct for the mountaineers.
    Back to your question Jen.
    The reason JW wanted to kill Harry Carey was for him abandoning the family. That's well known. If you were watching the movie in fits and starts, then you probably missed Harry Carey's explanation as to why he was not present to help.
    Watch in the scene for HC does explain, and the reason was he was in prison.
    Colorado Bob was rite in his post. I think Betty Field should have won an oscar for her portrayal. The cross she makes in the dirt before she heads onto the supposedly haunted land is just one of the little things that makes this movie special.

    Regards
    Ethan

    Don't Believe In Surrenders!!!!!

  • Thanks, everyone.

    Ethan, I got that Duke felt it was abandonment, but I guess I didn't think that seemed sufficient to warrant wanting to kill his dad, though at some level I can obvioulsy understand his hurt and anger. Anyway, I was wondering if I had missed something else.

    Yes, I remember when he explained why he wasn't there for Sarah's passing. It was while Duke was just coming out of his fog, and Betty Field & Harry Carey are talking about him while silhouetted against his canopy or whatever.

    That was the one scene in the movie, btw, that didn't seem quite right to me. It seemed a little rushed and kind of cheesy the way it all came out right there and Duke just happened to wake up and hear it. Oh well.

  • Hi Jen,

    Yes I will admit that the scene with the explanation seems somewhat clumsy, but for lack of a better explanation the director probably thought it was an ideal scene to end with.
    You must remember that studios in those days limited production to only so many days, and or, so many feet of film to be shot. It's quite possible that's why they ended it like they did. If Matt had gotten healthy that would have led to increased production and as everyone knows studios were hard pressed by WWII to stay in the black.

    Regards
    Ethan

    Don't Believe In Surrenders!!!!!

  • I'm way more than a day late and a dollar short here, but just thought I'd mention that I understand how Hollywood was in those days and movies sometimes just don't come out quite the way we'd like them to (even today).

    Reminds me a bit of the end of Red River. Joanne Dru gives the boys a good talking to and suddenly a raving madman maniac is best friends with his surrogate son again. :wink_smile: It's a bit of a blight on an otherwise perfect (or nearly perfect) film.

  • I though that young Matt (Duke) was told all his life that he had to kill his father for leaving his mother and bringing upon them a curse that will only be lifted with his father's death.

    I also loved the book by Harold Bell Wright. It is different than the movie (characters are the same, but story line differs), but well written and hard to put down. I recommend it to the readers on this site. You can sometimes find a copy of it on ebay pretty cheap.

    Mark

    "I couldn't go to sleep at night if the director didn't call 'cut'. "

  • I though that young Matt (Duke) was told all his life that he had to kill his father for leaving his mother and bringing upon them a curse that will only be lifted with his father's death.

    I also loved the book by Harold Bell Wright. It is different than the movie (characters are the same, but story line differs), but well written and hard to put down. I recommend it to the readers on this site. You can sometimes find a copy of it on ebay pretty cheap.

    Mark


    I think that came about from his witch of an aunt or whatever she was to Wayne, turned him against his Pa and he swore to kill him if they ever met. I liked that movie, Granny getting her eyesight back, Harry Carey Sr., Ward Bond both were great. Although I think Bond only had a couple lines.

  • Yes, I really liked the scene with Granny Becky getting her vision. It was beautifully shot and very touching. And it does make sense that his aunt kind of poisoned him against his father. As we learn after Pete gets his gift of speech back (a parallel to Granny Becky?), the aunt was the real curse.

    Thanks for the recommendation on the book. I've meant to look for it.

    Cheers!

  • Hello, everyone. I'm a newby. I very much appreciate this particluar thread on this site. When I was scrolling about as a "guest" and saw this thread, I knew I had to join. I very much like this movie and consider it an underappreciated film by the general classic movie-seeing public. I Think, "The Shepherd..." is a wonderful film.

  • I just watched this movie again the other day, thanks to this thread. The reason the aunt turned Matt against his pa was superstition. They pass over it kind of quick, when Matt’s uncle is drunk and speaking his mind at the table he states why. The aunt saw Matt’s mother die and one that sees death will be the next one to die, unless the one that caused the death dies first, or something real close to that. So it seems that the aunt was motivated by fear that she was going to die next. Each time I watch this movie I seem to find subtler story lines than I noticed the time before. This move is moving up my favorites list…

    You can roll a turd in powdered sugar but that doesn’t make it a doughnut.

  • Hello Jen; I too really enjoyed this film and like Dukefan1 says you should read the book.I got the book and the movie on vhs about 5 years ago off of e-bay and I think I got a small treasure. The book is a bit different but not disapointingly so.Hollywood has based alot of movies on books and some were horrid.I think the root of Matts problem (and most of the hill folks) was aunt Peg.Her superstitions and ignorance spilled over the whole mountain but that just my slant on the film.I am still in awe every time I watch this film with the beautiful scenery and vistas.It looks very rugged and remote.Anyone know where it was filmed and is it still as beautiful???.If you get the chance Jen,or any other fan,Read the book.You will enjoy it.Harold Bell Wright is the author.Did he wright any other books that movies were based on???Enough for now...SaddleTramp...

  • It was filmed at:


    Big Bear Lake, California
    Branson, Missouri
    Cedar Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California


    Hollyweird usually does a poor job of going from book to the big screen, they really abort the Stephen King books.


    If you ever want filming locations, or just more info on a movie, check out imdb.com for all sorts of movie information. Just ignore the comments, there seem to be a lot of kids with nothing to do except mess with the movies and their ratings. You can also find info out at Hollywood.com for most movies as well.