Paramount Pictures
Not part of a collection.
The Shepherd of the Hills
He Tamed Their Wild Hearts With His Courage and Won Them With His Love
Young Matt Matthews, 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.
- Original title
- The Shepherd of the Hills
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
CinemaSerf
Feb 9, 2026 · via TMDB
Riddled with bitterness and resentment, “Matt” (John Wayne) lives in a small farming community that seems tormented, generally, by events from it’s past. Then the arrival of the kindly stranger “Daniel” (Harry Carey) causes some consternation as he makes clear he wants to buy some land. Luckily, one of the few sane folk around, “Sammy” (Betty Field) takes a liking to him after he proves quite adept at removing bullets, and so she tries to help him acquire a meadow, but it seems this transaction is only going to pour oil on the fire. From fairly early on, it is clear to us just what caused the festering sore troubling “Matt” but perhaps with the intervention of time, and “Sammy”, a sworn blood oath might be unsworn instead of acted upon? Though Wayne takes top billing, the film really belongs to Carey, Field and to Beulah Bondi as the even more troubled “Aunt Mollie” who exemplifies the toxicity caused by grief and anger when augmented with a fair dose of poverty, a young son with learning difficulties and a granny (Marjorie Main) who is as blind as a mole. It’s really this last character who ultimately shines light for all to see - literally and metaphorically, and as an evaluation of the noxious potency of ill-informed bad blood, this resonates quite well. There’s some gorgeous scenery (of California rather than the Ozarks) and this is an altogether more considered outing for Wayne that’s worth a watch.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Apple TV Store
Fandango At Home
John Wayne
Young Matt Matthews
Betty Field
Sammy Lane
Harry Carey
Daniel Howitt
Beulah Bondi
Aunt Mollie Matthews
James Barton
Old Matt Matthews
Samuel S. Hinds
Andy Beeler
Marjorie Main
Granny Becky
Ward Bond
Wash Gibbs
Marc Lawrence
Pete Matthews
John Qualen
Coot Royal
Fuzzy Knight
Mr. Palestrom
Tom Fadden
Jim Lane
Olin Howland
Corky
Dorothy Adams
Elvy
Virita Campbell
Baby
Fern Emmett
Mrs. Palestrom
Charles Middleton
Blacksmith (uncredited)
Selmer Jackson
Doctor (uncredited)
Charles Lang
Director of Photography
Natalie Kalmus
Other
Henry Hathaway
Director
Grover Jones
Screenplay
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Jul 18, 1941
