Drums Along the Mohawk is a 1939 historical
TechnicolorTechnicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
film based upon a 1936
novel of the same nameDrums Along the Mohawk is a novel by American author Walter D. Edmonds which follows the lives of fictional Gil and Lana Martin, settlers in the Mohawk Valley of the New York frontier during the American Revolution...
by American author,
Walter D. EdmondsWalter "Walt" Dumaux Edmonds was an American author noted for his historical novels, including the popular Drums Along the Mohawk , which was successfully made into a Technicolor feature film in 1939 directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert.-Life:In 1919 he entered The...
. The film was produced by
Darryl F. ZanuckDarryl Francis Zanuck was an American producer, writer, actor, director and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors...
and directed by
John FordJohn Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
.
Henry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
and
Claudette ColbertClaudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
portray settlers on the New York frontier during the
American RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. The couple suffer British,
ToryLoyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
, and Indian attacks on their farm before the Revolution ends and peace is restored. The film—Ford's first colour feature—was well received, was nominated for two
Academy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
and became a major box office success, grossing over US$1 million in its first year.
Plot
In 1776, American colonists Gilbert Martin (
Henry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
) and Lana Borst (
Claudette ColbertClaudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
) marry and leave her luxurious home in
Albany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
for a small farm in
DeerfieldDeerfield is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 3,906 at the 2000 census.The Town of Deerfield is on the eastern border of the county and northeast of the City of Utica.- History :...
on the western frontier of the
Mohawk ValleyThe Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains....
in central
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Lana has difficulty in adjusting to frontier life, but soon is working alongside her husband.
The American Revolution begins. Lana is pregnant and
miscarriesMiscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
when the Martin farm is burned to the ground in an Indian attack led by a Tory, Caldwell (
John CarradineJohn Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
). With no home and winter approaching, the Martins accept work on the farm of wealthy widow Mrs. McKlennar (
Edna May OliverEdna May Oliver was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the best-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters.-Early life:...
).
Life returns to peaceful normality; Mrs. McKlennar and the Martins prosper. However, an attack by Tories and Indians threatens the valley, and the militia is called up. Ill-equipped and poorly trained, the settlers barely manage to defeat the enemy at
OriskanyThe Battle of Oriskany, fought on August 6, 1777, was one of the bloodiest battles in the North American theater of the American Revolutionary War and a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign...
. Gil returns home wounded and delirious. Lana is again pregnant, and while Gil recovers from his wounds, she gives birth to their son.
The Tories and Mohawks attack
German FlattsOn September 17, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, a force of Loyalists and Iroquois made an attack on German Flatts, New York .-Prelude:...
, and the settlers take refuge in Fort Herkimer. Mrs. McKlennar is mortally wounded, and ammunition runs short. Gil makes a dash through enemy lines to secure help from nearby
Fort DaytonFort Dayton is located on the North side of the Mohawk River at West Canada Creek in what is now Herkimer, New York. A fort had previously been built on the same site during the French and Indian War.-American Revolutionary War:...
. As the Indians scale the walls of the fort, reinforcements arrive from Fort Dayton. The Indians are overwhelmed. After the battle, the settlers learn the revolution has ended, and the American flag is unfurled above the fort.
Credited cast
- Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
— Gilbert "Gil" Martin
- Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
— Magdelana "Lana" Martin
- Edna May Oliver
Edna May Oliver was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the best-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters.-Early life:...
— Mrs. McKlennar
- John Carradine
John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
— Caldwell
- Ward Bond
Wardell Edwin "Ward" Bond was an American film actor whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train.-Early life:...
— Adam Hartman
- Roger Imhof — Gen. Nicholas Herkimer
Nicholas Herkimer was a militia general in the American Revolutionary War, who died of wounds after the Battle of Oriskany.-Career:...
- Arthur Shields
Arthur Shields was an Irish stage and film actor.Born into an Irish Protestant family in Portobello, Dublin, he started acting in the Abbey Theatre when still a young man. He was the younger brother of Oscar-winning actor Barry Fitzgerald. An Irish nationalist, he fought in the Easter Rising of...
— Rev. Rosenkrantz
- Chief John Big Tree
Chief John Big Tree , born Isaac Johnny John, was a member of the Seneca Nation and an actor who appeared in 59 films between 1915 and 1950....
— Blue Back
- Francis Ford
Francis Ford was a prolific film actor, writer, and director. He was the older brother of film director John Ford. He also appeared in many of John Ford's movies, including Young Mr. Lincoln and The Quiet Man.He starred in the 1912 two-reeler The Deserter by Thomas H. Ince and acted in over 400...
— Joe Boleo
- Jessie Ralph
Jessie Ralph was an American stage and screen actress, best known for her matronly roles in many classic motion pictures....
— Mrs. Weaver
- Robert Lowery
Robert Lowery was an American motion picture, television, and stage actor who appeared in over seventy films.-Early life:...
— John Weaver
- Kay Linaker
Mary Katherine Linaker, known professionally as "Kay Linaker", "Kate Phillips", and "Kay Linaker-Phillips" was an American actress and screenwriter, who appeared in many B movies during the 1930s and 1940s, most notably Kitty Foyle...
— Mrs. Demooth
- Russell Simpson
Russell McCaskill Simpson was an American character actor.Born in San Francisco, California, Simpson is best known for his work in the films of John Ford and, in particular, for his portrayal of Pa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath in 1940.Simpson reportedly prospected for gold in Alaska in his youth,...
— Dr. Petry
- Spencer Charters —Innkeeper
Critical reception
Frank S. Nugent reviewed the film for the
New York Times of November 4, 1939 and wrote, "Walter D. Edmonds's exciting novel of the Mohawk Valley during the American Revolution has come to the...screen in a considerably elided, but still basically faithful, film edition bearing the trademark of Director John Ford...It is romantic enough for any adventure-story lover. It has its humor, its sentiment, its full complement of blood and thunder...a first-rate historical film, as rich atmospherically as it is in action...Mr. Fonda and Miss Colbert have done rather nicely with the Gil and Lana Martin...Miss Oliver could not have been bettered as the warlike Widow McKlennar...Mr. Shields's Rev. Rosenkrantz...Mr. Imhof's General Herkimer, Mr. Collins's Christian Reall, Spencer Charters's landlord, Ward Bond's Adam Helmer...They've matched the background excellently, all of them."
Academy Award nominations
The film was nominated for two awards:
Best Supporting ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Edna May Oliver) and
Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
(
Ray RennahanRay Rennahan, A.S.C. was a movie cinematographer.For his work in movies, he became one of the only six cinematographers to have a "Star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The other five are: Haskell Wexler, Conrad L. Hall, J...
and
Bert GlennonBert Glennon was an American cinematographer and film director.He was nominated for three Academy Awards in Best Cinematography categories for the films Stagecoach , Drums Along the Mohawk , and Dive Bomber .Glennon worked as a cinematographer on over a hundred films for directors including John...
).