Director:
Ben ParkerProducer:
Jim McCulloughCinematographers:
Vincent Saizis, Ted SaizisEditor:
Marcell GrecoProduction Designer:
Sterling MerrittProduction Company:
Macco ProductionsAccording to the 27 Aug 1963 DV, principal photography was currently underway in Branson, MO, on the fourth film version of Harold Bell Wright’s 1907 novel. The cast included several newcomers, including James W. Middleton, an ordained Baptist minister, and recent high-school graduate Sherry Lynn Boucher, who was credited onscreen as Sherry Lynn. Shreveport, LA, entrepreneur Jim McCullough and his father, H. B. McCullough, formed Macco Productions to develop the project, budgeted at “under $500,000.” George White was listed as film editor. The 12 Aug 1963 LAT referred to the picture as Little Shepherd of the Hills.
The 15 Jan 1964 Var reported that the film was ready for release, through New Orleans, LA, distributor Howco International Pictures.
The picture was re-released as Thunder Mountain, with a running time of 108 min.
For information on other adaptations of Harold Bell Wright's novel, please consult the entry above for the 1919 production of The Shepherd of the Hills. That film was produced and directed by Wright and starred Harry G. Lonsdale. ...
According to the 27 Aug 1963 DV, principal photography was currently underway in Branson, MO, on the fourth film version of Harold Bell Wright’s 1907 novel. The cast included several newcomers, including James W. Middleton, an ordained Baptist minister, and recent high-school graduate Sherry Lynn Boucher, who was credited onscreen as Sherry Lynn. Shreveport, LA, entrepreneur Jim McCullough and his father, H. B. McCullough, formed Macco Productions to develop the project, budgeted at “under $500,000.” George White was listed as film editor. The 12 Aug 1963 LAT referred to the picture as Little Shepherd of the Hills.
The 15 Jan 1964 Var reported that the film was ready for release, through New Orleans, LA, distributor Howco International Pictures.
The picture was re-released as Thunder Mountain, with a running time of 108 min.
For information on other adaptations of Harold Bell Wright's novel, please consult the entry above for the 1919 production of The Shepherd of the Hills. That film was produced and directed by Wright and starred Harry G. Lonsdale.
Thunder Mountain
Daniel Howitt, a kind and gentle stranger among the mountain folk of the Missouri hills, is befriended by the Matthewses, an Ozark family. Years earlier, his son Howard deserted Old Matt Matthews' daughter, Maggie, who died in childbirth. Daniel now hopes to expiate his son's betrayal. Sammy Lane, a backwoods girl, and Young Matt Matthews are in love, but Sammy is pledged by the code of the hills to marry Ollie Stewart, a country boy turned city sophisticate. At a party celebrating his return, Ollie overhears Wash Gibbs and Jess Lane, members of the Bald Mountain gang, drunkenly brag about robbing the Roark County Bank; in the course of the crime Wash killed a teller. The sheriff, alerted by Ollie, forms a posse and surrounds the gang at their hideout. Although wounded in a shoot-out, Wash escapes and stumbles upon Pete Matthews, Daniel's young runaway grandson. As Wash holds Peter hostage, Howard emerges from the darkness and kills Wash. Fatally wounded during the confrontation, Howard tells Pete to show Daniel the gold he has mined during his years in seclusion. After confessing his son's guilt, Daniel is forgiven by Old Matt. The gold is used to help the drought-stricken community, while Young Matt and Sammy prepare to marry, having learned from Daniel that the only code that binds is ...
Daniel Howitt, a kind and gentle stranger among the mountain folk of the Missouri hills, is befriended by the Matthewses, an Ozark family. Years earlier, his son Howard deserted Old Matt Matthews' daughter, Maggie, who died in childbirth. Daniel now hopes to expiate his son's betrayal. Sammy Lane, a backwoods girl, and Young Matt Matthews are in love, but Sammy is pledged by the code of the hills to marry Ollie Stewart, a country boy turned city sophisticate. At a party celebrating his return, Ollie overhears Wash Gibbs and Jess Lane, members of the Bald Mountain gang, drunkenly brag about robbing the Roark County Bank; in the course of the crime Wash killed a teller. The sheriff, alerted by Ollie, forms a posse and surrounds the gang at their hideout. Although wounded in a shoot-out, Wash escapes and stumbles upon Pete Matthews, Daniel's young runaway grandson. As Wash holds Peter hostage, Howard emerges from the darkness and kills Wash. Fatally wounded during the confrontation, Howard tells Pete to show Daniel the gold he has mined during his years in seclusion. After confessing his son's guilt, Daniel is forgiven by Old Matt. The gold is used to help the drought-stricken community, while Young Matt and Sammy prepare to marry, having learned from Daniel that the only code that binds is love.
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