Drums Along the Mohawk
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| Drums Along the Mohawk | |
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| Directed by | John Ford |
| Produced by | Raymond Griffith (associate producer) Darryl F. Zanuck (executive producer) |
| Written by | Walter D. Edmonds (novel) William Faulkner (uncredited) Sonya Levien Lamar Trotti |
| Starring | Claudette Colbert Henry Fonda Edna May Oliver |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography | Bert Glennon Ray Rennahan (Technicolor) |
| Editing by | Robert L. Simpson |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox |
| Release date(s) | 3 November 1939 |
| Running time | 103 min |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Drums Along the Mohawk is a 1939 John Ford film starring Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda and Edna May Oliver. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Edna May Oliver) and Best Cinematography (Ray Rennahan and Bert Glennon). It is also Ford's first film shot in color.
In the movie, Henry Fonda played pioneer settler Gil Martin, with Claudette Colbert as his wife Magdalena "Lana" Martin. The plot was based on an historical novel of the American Revolution written by Walter D. Edmonds. Published in 1936 and extremely popular, it was made into a film in 1939. Released one week prior to the release of the Claire Trevor-John Wayne film Allegheny Uprising, set in the same time period of history, Drums Along the Mohawk was the better received of the two.
The setting is the Mohawk River Valley during the American Revolution, which was subjected to numerous raids by the British, American Tories, and their Iroquois allies. Included in both works is a representation of the siege of Fort Dayton. Drums Among the Mohawk has an aftermath of the Battle of Oriskany of 1777.
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[edit] Plot summary
In 1776, after marrying colonist Gilbert Martin (Henry Fonda), Lana Borst (Claudette Colbert) leaves her luxurious home in Albany, New York to join her husband in the dangerous Mohawk Valley, in Deerfield, upstate New York. The young couple immediately argue with one another due to her prejudice against native American Indians, one of whom is a close friend to Martin. She threatens to return to Albany, but when her husband refuses, she decides to remain with him despite her personal feelings.
Unaccustomed to the hardships of frontier life, Lana had difficulty in adjusting, but soon is working the farm alongside her husband. In German Flats, the nearest settlement to Deerfield, Martin and Lana learn that the American Revolution has begun, and that additional British troops are being dispatched to Boston. Lana has by this time learned that she is pregnant with their first child. However, during an attack on their farm led by Tory Caldwell (John Carradine), Lana faints and miscarries, losing their child. Their farm is burned to the ground. They accept work on Mrs. McKlennar's (Edna May Oliver) farm, in exchange for lodging.
For a time, things return to normal. However, when the colonists learn of an impending attack by the local American Indian tribe, Martin and other colonial men form into a miltia to fight off the attack. Ill-equipped and poorly trained, they still manage to dispatch the Indians, but Martin returns home wounded and delirious. Lana is again pregnant, and while Martin recovers from his wounds, she gives birth to their son. For a time, things again return to peaceful. However, the Indians reform and again attack the settlement. The colonists take refuge in the fort, with the men and women fighting alongside one another to hold the Indians off. Mrs. McKlennar is mortally wounded, and ammunition begins to run short. Colonist Joe Boleo (Francis Ford) volunteers to sneak out and go for help. When he is killed, Martin takes his place. Martin makes a dash through the Indian lines, and is pursued, but escapes to the nearest friendly fort for help. Just as the Indians breach the fort walls where the colonists are holding up, Martin arrives with reinforcements, and the Indian attackers are overwhelmed and scattered. Mrs. McKlennar had willed her farm to the Martin's, and on that farm they begin building a new life.
[edit] Cast
- Claudette Colbert as Lana Martin
- Henry Fonda as Gilbert 'Gil' Martin
- Edna May Oliver as Mrs. McKlennar
- Eddie Collins as Christian Reall
- John Carradine as William Caldwell (ranger)
- Dorris Bowdon as Mary Reall
- Jessie Ralph as Mrs. Weaver
- Arthur Shields as Rev. Rosenkrantz
- Robert Lowery as John Weaver
- Roger Imhof as Gen. Nicholas Herkimer
- Francis Ford as Joe Boleo
- Ward Bond as Adam Hartman
- Kay Linaker as Mrs. Demooth
- Russell Simpson as Dr. William Petry
- Spencer Charters as Innkeeper
- Si Jenks as Jacob Small
- Jack Pennick as Amos Hartman (as J. Ronald Pennick)
- Arthur Aylesworth as George Weaver
- Chief John Big Tree as Blue Back
- Charles Tannen as Dr. Robert Johnson
- Paul McVey as Capt. Mark Demooth
- Tiny Jones as Mrs. Reall (as Elizabeth Jones)
- Beulah Hall Jones as Daisy
- Edwin Maxwell as Rev. Daniel Gros
- Robert Greig as Mr. Borst
- Clara Blandick as Mrs. Borst
[edit] Filming Locations
- Duck Creek, Kanab, Utah, USA
- Kanab, Utah, USA
- Wasatch Range, Utah, USA
