The Shepherd of the Hills (Blu-ray)

From Henry Hathaway, the acclaimed director of The House on 92nd Street, Kiss of Death, Rawhide, Niagara, Legend of the Lost, The Sons of Katie Elder and True Grit, comes this classic adventure yarn starring screen legend John Wayne (Red River, The Searchers, Brannigan, The Shootist) as Young Matt Mathews, a hillbilly moonshiner. Burdened from boyhood by a family tragedy, Matt’s life is driven by the need to avenge his mother’s abandonment by an uncaring father. The stern family matriarch Granny Becky (Marjorie Main, Murder, He Says), in the absence of both parents, has taken over the leadership duties for the extended family of moonshiners. The arrival of a stranger (Harry Carey, Hell Bent) is cause for alarm in this small community whose main source of revenue is illegal corn whiskey. This stranger, a quiet older man, has healing ways that begin to alter the face of the community. Rejected by the locals, he is befriended by Matt’s pretty barefoot girlfriend (Betty Field, The Great Gatsby) who learns the secret of his healing powers and the curse of vengeance that torments the man she loves. The heated confrontation between the two men leads to a startling climax that threatens to tear the town apart. The stellar cast includes Beulah Bondi (The Good Fairy), Ward Bond (Canyon Passage) and Marc Lawrence (I Walk Alone).