The Shepherd of the Hills is a 1941 film starring John Wayne. It was Wayne's first film in Technicolor. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Harold Bell Wright. While the novel interposed fiction with portrayals of actual persons residing in the Missouri Ozarks, in the early Branson area, the film departed markedly from the book's presentations. Old Matt, a patriarch, mill owner and influential person within the community, is presented in the film as a dottering fool, henpecked by his wife, Aunt Mollie. In the novel she's a nurturing, kindly, loyal wife and friend, but in this film she is a shrill, nasty moonshiner. The "Shepherd" of the title, a cultured, sympathetic visitor from Chicago who contributes positively to the society he's visiting, in this film is an aging gunfighter with a guarded past and, in total odds with the book, is here Young Matt's (John Wayne's) father, with a shootout perpetrated by "Big John." Other characters differ as markedly from Wright's novel. Although a good representation of the Ozarks area several decades ago, a decent story in its own right, and good nostalgia, it probably represents as great a departure by a film, versus the novel it is based on, in all motion picture history.

Young Matt Masters, 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..... Written by Jim Beaver

Millions of people have read the book. Millions of people have seen the play. The picture is a masterful visualization of them both.

In the film version of Harold Bell Wright's 1907 novel, the Shepherd is attacked and wounded by the Baldknobbers. He is taken to the Matthews family cabin to recover and becomes involved in their problems. The Matthews family does not know that the Shepherd is actually the father of the young artist, Howard, who deserted their pregnant daughter years before. The daughter had died in childbirth and her son is now a mentally-disabled boy named Pete who lives in the woods. There is also a love triangle between the Matthews' son, Young Matt, the beautiful Sammy Lane, and her city fiance' Ollie Stewart. Throughout the course of the movie, there are fights, dances, a shootout between the Sheriff and the Baldknobber gang, old secrets are revealed, and lost gold is found to help the community. Written by Rick J. Gunter