Drums Along the Mohawk is directed by John Ford and adapted to screenplay by Sonya Levien & Lamar Trotti from the novel written by Walter D. Edmonds. It stars Henry Fonda, Claudette Colbert, Edna May Oliver, John Carradine and Ward Bond. Music is by Alfred Newman and cinematography by Bert Glennon and Ray Rennahan.
Settlers on the New York frontier face up to the challenges of the Revolution and hostile forces homing in on their settlements.
In what was a stellar year for cinema, John Ford had three films released, Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln and Drums Along the Mohawk, of the three it's not unfair to say that the latter is seen as the lesser light of his 1939 output. Yet this in no way means it's a weak film, it isn't, although it has some problems, it's just a measure of the director that he was able to churn out quality more often than not.
Drums Along the Mohawk is very much a quintessential Ford movie, it's awash with sentiment, an awareness of the value of community and of course some muscular love of America. The attention to detail of frontier life - and the knowledge of the folk who fought in that first wave of the Revolution - is superb, boosted no end by the magnificent Technicolor (it was Ford's first film in colour) and the way Glennon and Rennahan (Oscar Nominated Best Color Cinematography) bring the Utah landscapes vividly to life.
The story allows Ford to produce some great moments. A battle scarred Gilbert Martin (Fonda) musing on the horrors of war holds the viewer spellbound, the edge of seat attack on Fort Herkimer that closes the picture excites and frightens in equal measure, and a chase sequence that sees Gil pursued by three Mohawks is a thing of beauty as it begins under a blood red sky and continues through the changing landscape. It's a film showcasing the strengths of the director for sure.
On the acting front the ever watchable Fonda and the Ford stock company are let down a touch by the odd casting of Colbert. Bright and cute in that Bonnet wearing kind of way, Colbert is miscast and never fully convinces as a frontier wife, though she is not helped by scripted dialogue that often borders on being twee. No such problem with Oliver, though, who is delightful as the crotchety and stoic old gal, her Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actress was well warranted.
Some misplaced humour, Colbert and twee dialogue stop it from being ultimate Ford, but it's often a thing of beauty and it has knowledge and warmth driving the narrative forward. 7/10
Settlers on the New York frontier face up to the challenges of the Revolution and hostile forces homing in on their settlements.
In what was a stellar year for cinema, John Ford had three films released, Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln and Drums Along the Mohawk, of the three it's not unfair to say that the latter is seen as the lesser light of his 1939 output. Yet this in no way means it's a weak film, it isn't, although it has some problems, it's just a measure of the director that he was able to churn out quality more often than not.
Drums Along the Mohawk is very much a quintessential Ford movie, it's awash with sentiment, an awareness of the value of community and of course some muscular love of America. The attention to detail of frontier life - and the knowledge of the folk who fought in that first wave of the Revolution - is superb, boosted no end by the magnificent Technicolor (it was Ford's first film in colour) and the way Glennon and Rennahan (Oscar Nominated Best Color Cinematography) bring the Utah landscapes vividly to life.
The story allows Ford to produce some great moments. A battle scarred Gilbert Martin (Fonda) musing on the horrors of war holds the viewer spellbound, the edge of seat attack on Fort Herkimer that closes the picture excites and frightens in equal measure, and a chase sequence that sees Gil pursued by three Mohawks is a thing of beauty as it begins under a blood red sky and continues through the changing landscape. It's a film showcasing the strengths of the director for sure.
On the acting front the ever watchable Fonda and the Ford stock company are let down a touch by the odd casting of Colbert. Bright and cute in that Bonnet wearing kind of way, Colbert is miscast and never fully convinces as a frontier wife, though she is not helped by scripted dialogue that often borders on being twee. No such problem with Oliver, though, who is delightful as the crotchety and stoic old gal, her Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actress was well warranted.
Some misplaced humour, Colbert and twee dialogue stop it from being ultimate Ford, but it's often a thing of beauty and it has knowledge and warmth driving the narrative forward. 7/10