The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come

It is pretty much a shame this a much forgotten movie...Jimmie Rogers, the pop singer from the 50s and 60s made his film debut as Chad, just Chad as a sort of homeless boy who is taken in by a family during the civil war and given food, shelter and a chance to work in the family business of farming and tree cutting. Chad is not illiterate, but is not too familiar with the ways of the world at that time during the pre and first days of the civil war. Rogers is looking to build a life and basically wanders to find his place in life. He has a romantic interest in the lovely Luana Patten (Song of the South as Jenny) but roams off to Lexington, Kentucky in the final months before the civil war. Here he is sort of discovered by a wealthy businessman played by Chill Wills, who takes him into his household as a son of his own, although Wills never has had children. Rogers wants to get a college education and Wills is only happy to provide the money to send him to a prestigious university in Lexington....Rogers then falls in love with a local lady whose father is a very influential man in local circles in Lexington. With the outbreak of the civil war Rogers decides to join the Yankee army, thus rejecting his southern upbringing. After fighting in the war and becoming an officer Rogers decides to return to his original hometown and rekindles his romance with the lovely Patten. This is a sort of folk type movie with local spins, and you can really get attached to the character Rogers provides. George Kennedy plays a heavy, a nasty local landowner who thinks that Rogers owes him work since the people Rogers lived with died and left their obligations still unpaid. Pretty much a down home type western...not the greatest acting, but Rogers and Patten make a very believable couple in the end. Sad, this film has never been put on video, but recently was on the Fox movie station on television....very hard to catch on TV...filmed in brilliant technicolor and Cinemascope in it's original release. Good film for the whole family to watch, nothing objectionable.

This third version of The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come, the previous two were silent, stars pop singer Jimmie Rodgers as the kid with no antecedents and looking for roots in ante bellum Kentucky. As we know Kentucky was a slave state and its location made it of paramount importance to retaining the Union intact.

Jimmie's character an orphan kid whose foster parents die and George Kennedy in his screen debut claims his services as an apprentice to God knows what trade as payment for debts. But mountain family and Union supporting Turner family takes Rodgers in and he becomes a shepherd. Their settlement, a hillbilly Shangri-La like place called Kingdom Come.

Later on however he goes down to Lexington and starts mixing with the genteel society as typified by Chill Wills who takes him in sends the bright kid to school for some education. But war clouds gather and Rodgers is forced to make a choice Union or Confederacy.

Kentucky had plenty of supporters of both and it was quite the battleground in the early stages of the Civil War before the North nailed it down. Lots of families split on this issue and friendships were broken. The film graphically demonstrates the anguish of broken relationships.

The battle scenes by director Andrew McLaglen were also well staged for this film. Watching it I thought that this might have been something originally intended for Elvis Presley. Had he done it the film might be better remembered.

Try to catch this one when broadcast, it's a sleeper a good film that few seem to have heard of.

The best film I've seen in a little long time. This film should be on everyone's Holiday must see list along with Its a Wonderful Life. Once you see it you will Love it! It's very much the old fashioned family movie with a variety of important morals people need more of. It used to be a requirement in films that now seem to be a lost talent. We need more positive influences in our daily life and this film can help bring some of those good values back. Watching a good movie like this can remind a person of what's really important in life. As someone once said, "You slide down in your seat and make yourself comfortable. On the screen in front of you, the movie image appears— enormous and overwhelming. If the movie is a good one, you allow yourself to be absorbed". This movie does just that. True enjoyment!