the henry hathaway direct 1941 shepherd of the hill be worth see if for nothing else it color and which be a glorious and gorgeous a one will find in a film . each outdoor shot be like a landscape painting . along with go with the wind and the four feather and this be the fine use of color i have see in a movie and and it should be use a a textbook on how to shoot a film in color . otherwise and the picture be just a pleasing and old fashioned revenge tale and adapt from a now forget novel and and set in the ozark mountains at about the turn of the twentieth century . it be nicely write in the idiom of the mountain folk and and feature john wayne in an early and rare non western role and which he handle proficiently . betty field be his spunky love interest in what would now be an amy madigan part . miss field be lovely in a non conventional way while she shin as never before or since . the combination of her quiet and almost mousy beauty in an otherwise talky and assertive role be fascinate to watch . also on hand be beulah bondi and ward bond and marc lawrence and who give an amazing performance and and harry carey and whose pleasantness and plainness i find tiring and though i suppose he well cast . there a ritualistic feeling to the film and with it clearly define notion of good and evil and the almost formally informal dialect the character use and the leisurely and stroll pace by which the story unfolds and all contribute to it pastoral quality . the chief problem be that there no suspense . one sense early on how the thing be go to end and and the character behave a one would expect .