Shiloh (film)
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''Shiloh'' is a 1996 American
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
directed, written and co-produced by Dale Rosenbloom (in his sole directorial effort), based upon the original book of the same name written by
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (born January 4, 1933) is an American writer best known for children's and young adult fiction. Naylor is best known for her children's-novel quartet '' Shiloh'' (a 1992 Newbery Medal winner) and for her "Alice" book ser ...
. It was shown at the
Heartland Film Festival The Heartland International Film Festival (HIFF) is a high academy qualifying film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana, hosted by the nonprofit organization Heartland Film, Inc. The festival was first held in 1992, with the goal to ...
in 1996, but its general release came on April 25, 1997. There are two sequels, '' Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season'' (1999) and '' Saving Shiloh'' (2006), both directed by Sandy Tung and distributed by Utopia Pictures.


Plot

An abused Beagle puppy runs away from his cruel owner, Judd Travers, and meets a boy named Marty Preston, who names him Shiloh. Marty's strict father, Ray, will not let Marty keep Shiloh because he is not their dog. Having personally witnessed Judd's mistreatment of Shiloh, Marty is reluctant to return him but has no choice. After Shiloh is mistreated again, the dog returns to Marty. Knowing his father will make him return Shiloh, Marty hides him in a shed behind his house. His secret is soon revealed when his mother, Louise, comes up the hill and sees Marty and Shiloh bonding. Ray soon finds out what Marty is doing when a violent German Shepherd belonging to the Baker family savages Shiloh, and Marty is forced to call upon him for help. Ray and Marty take Shiloh to their friend Dr. Wallace to be attended to. Marty urges his father to keep Shiloh, pleading about how Judd abuses the dog. Ray initially agrees to keep Shiloh until he recovers and tries not to become attached to Shiloh. That night, when Ray thinks Marty is asleep he gives the dog a treat, and soon his heart softens. Eventually, Marty goes to see Judd and threatens to report him for trying to shoot a deer out of hunting season, unless he agrees to sell Shiloh. Judd agrees, but instead of money, wants 20 hours of Marty's work on his house as payment. After Marty has completed the work, Judd refuses to follow through, saying that there were no witnesses to the deal. He and Marty get into a fight, and Marty tells him he will never get Shiloh back. Marty keeps Shiloh for the next few days until Judd comes again to take the dog. Marty fights with Judd again about keeping Shiloh with the help of Ray. Judd then tries to kidnap Shiloh. Ray comes to the rescue and knocks Judd down, and they both fight. Judd escapes Ray, grabs Shiloh, and drives away in his truck. As he is leaving, however, Judd begins to reconsider, and eventually releases Shiloh from his truck and the dog runs into Marty's arms.


Cast

*
Michael Moriarty Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his role as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 miniseries ''Holocaust'' and a Tony Award in 1974 for his performance in the ...
as Raymond "Ray" Preston * Blake Heron as Martin "Marty" Preston * Scott Wilson as Judd Travers *
Ann Dowd Ann Dowd (born January 30, 1956) is an American actress. She has appeared in numerous films, including '' Green Card'' (1990), ''Lorenzo's Oil'' (1992), ''Philadelphia'' (1993), '' Garden State'' (2004), '' The Manchurian Candidate'' (2004), '' M ...
as Louise "Lou" Preston * J. Madison Wright as Samantha "Sam" Wallace * Shira Roth as Dara Lynn Preston * Tori Wright as Rebecca "Becky" Preston *
Bonnie Bartlett Bonnie Bartlett Daniels (born June 20, 1929) is an American retired actress. Her career spans about seven decades, with her first major role being on a 1950s daytime drama, '' Love of Life''. Bartlett is known for her role as Grace Snider Edwar ...
as Mrs. Wallace *
Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger ( ; April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Ranked as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars", he is closely associ ...
as Dr. Wallace * Frannie as Shiloh


Reception

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, calling it "a remarkably mature and complex story about a boy who loves a dog and cannot bear to see it mistreated" and that "it deals with real moral issues: with property, responsibility, and honesty, and with whether there is a higher good that justifies breaking ordinary rules". On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
it has a rating of 73% based on reviews from 11 critics.


References


External links

* * {{Shiloh series 1996 films 1996 children's films 1996 drama films Warner Bros. films American children's drama films Films scored by Joel Goldsmith Films about dogs Films based on American novels Films based on children's books Films about pets 1996 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films