''Shiloh'' is a 1996 American
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
produced and directed by
Dale Rosenbloom
Dale "Chip" Rosenbloom (born July 3, 1964) is an American filmmaker, known for '' Shiloh'', '' Across the Tracks'', and '' Fuel''. He has produced twenty-five films and television movies. He was the co-owner and vice chairman of the Los Angel ...
. It was shown at the
Heartland Film Festival
The Heartland International Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. The festival was first held in 1992, its goal is to "inspire filmmaker
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion pictu ...
in 1996, but its general release came on April 25, 1997.
The original book by the same name was 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 ...
. There are two sequels, ''
Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season'' (1999) and ''
Saving Shiloh'' (2006), both directed by
Sandy Tung
Sandy Tung is an American independent film director, writer and producer. He was born on Staten Island, New York. He received an MFA in filmmaking from New York University. His feature films include ''A Marriage'' (1983), ''Across the Tracks'' ...
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. The puppy follows the boy to his home, but is not allowed to stay with him. Marty names him Shiloh. Marty's strict father, Ray Preston, will not let Marty keep Shiloh because he belongs to Judd Travers. Judd is a mean old man that uses his dogs for hunting. Shiloh was the most mistreated in the pack. Marty hesitantly returns Shiloh to Judd, but, after Shiloh is mistreated again, the dog returns to Marty. Knowing Ray will make him take Shiloh back to Judd, Marty decides to hide Shiloh in a shed behind his house.
His secret is soon revealed when his mother, Louise Preston, comes up the hill and sees Marty and Shiloh bonding. When a German Shepherd belonging to the Baker family attacks Shiloh, Ray overhears the noise and goes along with Marty to see what's going on. 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 toward granting Marty's wish.
Eventually Marty goes to see Judd, and tells him he refuses to return Shiloh, and that, after seeing Judd try to shoot a rabbit out of hunting season, he will report it unless he agrees to sell Shiloh. The two make a deal that after Marty works for Judd for twenty hours at his home over the next five days, Shiloh will officially be Marty's dog. Marty works the next few days at Judd's, and is very excited to get his new pet. After all of Marty's hard work, Judd says that there were no witnesses to the deal, and that a contract is not valid without it. Marty fights with the beer-guzzling Judd, because he worked a lot for Shiloh. 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. Slowly, however, Judd seems to consider everything and releases Shiloh from his truck and the dog runs into Marty's arms.
Sheena Easton
Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...
sings the theme "Are There Angels" for the ''Shiloh'' soundtrack during the credits, which show Marty happily walking with Shiloh at his side.
Cast
*
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor and jazz musician. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his first acting role on American television as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 mini-series ''Holocaust'' ...
as Raymond "Ray" Preston
*
Blake Heron
Blake Christopher Heron (January 11, 1982 – September 8, 2017) was an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Marty Preston in the 1996 film '' Shiloh''. He died of an accidental drug overdose, aged 35.
Early life
Heron was ...
as Martin "Marty" Preston
*
Scott Wilson as Judd Travers
*
Ann Dowd
Ann Dowd (born January 30, 1956) is an American actress. She has played supporting roles in numerous films, including ''Green Card'' (1990), ''Lorenzo's Oil'' (1992), ''Philadelphia'' (1993), '' Garden State'' (2004), '' The Manchurian Candidate' ...
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 (born June 20, 1929) is an American actress. Her career spans 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 Edwards on the Michael Lando ...
as Mrs. Wallace
*
Rod Steiger
Rodney Stephen Steiger (; April 14, 1925July 9, 2002, aged 77) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely assoc ...
as Dr. Wallace
* Frannie as Shiloh
Reception
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
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-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, and Stephen Wang ...
it has a rating of 73% based on reviews from 11 critics.
References
External links
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{{Shiloh series
1996 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