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Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)

Claudette Colbert , Henry Fonda , John Ford  |  NR |  DVD
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (114 customer reviews)

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Product Details

  • Actors: Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda, Edna May Oliver, Eddie Collins, John Carradine
  • Directors: John Ford
  • Writers: Bess Meredyth, Lamar Trotti, Sonya Levien, Walter D. Edmonds, William Faulkner
  • Producers: Darryl F. Zanuck, Raymond Griffith
  • Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), French (Dolby Digital 1.0), Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0)
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: 20th Century Fox
  • DVD Release Date: May 24, 2005
  • Run Time: 104 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (114 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0007PALM0
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,498 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Learn more about "Drums Along the Mohawk" on IMDb

Special Features

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  • Theatrical trailer

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Nineteen thirty-nine is often proposed as the movies' halcyon year, and three reasons why were directed by John Ford: Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln, and Drums Along the Mohawk. In that exalted company Drums... would have to be accounted "merely superb"--even if it's the best film ever made about the American Revolution and, oh, only about eighth-best picture of its year.

Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert play newlyweds in New York's Mohawk Valley at the time of the Revolutionary War. That war is more a distant rumor than a direct concern of people with cabins to raise, crops to harvest, and firstborn on the way. When it comes to their valley, in the form of hitherto-peaceable Indians whipped up by a gaunt Tory with an eyepatch (John Carradine), life changes as though with the passing of a cloud shadow.

In this, his first color film, Ford created indelible images of the dawning of America: a lone wagon making its way through acres of long grass rippling in the wind; the Indians, at the onset of their first raid, seeming to materialize out of the mist, out of the very trunks of trees; a ragged line of farmers with flintlocks passing along a split-rail fence, then resolving into a column, an army, marching toward a distant horizon. (Utah's Wasatch mountain country stands in persuasively for upstate New York in pioneer days.) Edna May Oliver scored a best-supporting-actress Oscar nomination as a memorably crusty frontier widow, while Ward Bond--oddly omitted from the opening credits--claimed a place of honor in the John Ford Stock Company playing Fonda's best friend. --Richard T. Jameson

Product Description

Lawless frontier. Indian attacks. Settlers protecting themselves the only way they know how-with guns and courage. In the years before the Revolutionary War, the East was as wild as the West would be one hundred years later. Henry Fonda delivers one of his most memorable performances ever as a young frontier leader protecting his family in the backwoods of New York state. Claudette Colbert so-stars as his spirited wife. With a fine supporting cast that also includes Edna May Oliver and John Carradine, this is one of John Ford's most exciting historical dramas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
82 of 87 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Revolutionary War classic June 26, 2003
Format:VHS Tape
Drums Along the Mohawk is a very good movie about a period in American history that not many movies have been made about. Set during the Revolutionary War, the story is about two newlyweds and their new life in the Mohawk Valley. The couple is trying to establish themselves with a home and farm of their own, but are interrupted when the British and the Mohawk Indian tribe begin to raid all along the valley. The settlers must deal with the raiding Indians while also trying to survive. There is plenty here for fans of Henry Fonda also. The action scenes are excellent, especially the attack on the fort. However, it is also very effective when the characters talk about a battle and how horrible it was rather than the viewer actually seeing it. An enjoyable film that is still very good!

Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert play Gil and Lana Martin, the newlywed couple struggling to survive. Both are very good and believable as husband and wife. This was a good period for Fonda when he made The Grapes of Wrath around this time. There is an excellent supporting cast, most notably Ward Bond as Adam, Gil's friend and neighbor, Edna Mae Oliver as the widow Mrs. McLenard, who puts up Gil and Lana when their house is destroyed. She has some incredibly funny scenes especially when some marauding Indians invade her house, but she refuses to leave even as they drag her out on her bed. This is an excellent movie with a great cast and excellent story. Do not miss this Revolutionary War classic!

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114 of 124 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
There are relatively few movies about the American Revolution. I think this is due to the fact that the American side lost most of the battles of that war. The battle at Saratoga, the surprise attack at Trenton, and the siege of Yorktown are part of the short list of American victories, and except for the occasion television movie or mini-series, they are rarely touched upon. Consequently, "Drums Along the Mohawk" remains the best of American movie about the revolution even though it was made before World War I and even though the redcoats are not really involved in the fight.

"Drums Along the Mohawk" does not start off as a movie about the American Revolution. Instead it begins as a movie about settling the frontier, which, at that point, was upstate New York. The focus is on a pioneer couple, newlyweds, Gilbert (Henry Fonda) and Magdalena (Claudette Colbert), called Lana. Martin is a farmer who brings his bride to the Mohawk Valley where their home is burned out by Indians allied with the British. The couple are taken in by neighbors after that happens and Martin joins the militia, but the settlers are going to need more men than that to fight the Indians and save the fort from attack.

Based on a novel by Walter D. Edmonds the screenplay for "Drums Along the Mohawk" is by Sonya Levien and Lamar Trotti, although William Faulkner worked on it without receiving credit as well. Edmonds' history novels were all set in upstate New York and "Drums Along the Mohawk" is about the warfare between the settlers and the Six Nations of the Iroquois allied with the British. The Battle of Oriskany in 1777, fought in a forest, was a American victory although their commander General Nicholas Herkimer (Ralph Imhof) died of his wounds in one of the moving scenes of the film.

This was the third film that John Ford made in 1939, following "Stagecoach" with John Wayne and "Young Mr. Lincoln" with Fonda; his next film would be "The Grapes of Wrath." Colbert and Fonda are the stars, but they are upstaged by several members of the supporting case, such as Edna May Oliver as Mrs. McKlennar and Arthur Shields as the Reverend Rosenkrantz. The old lady has such an iron will that she can make Indians take her bed out, with her in it, while they are burning down her home, and the reverend has a memorable scene in which he eases the suffering of a tortured settler. Fonda is young and earnest, while Colbert comes to terms with what it means to be living on the American frontier in troubled times.

More than anything else "Drums Along the Mohwawk" is about people coming to the realization that they are Americans, an interpretation more than amply justified by the film's final scene. These are not the Sons of Liberty living in Boston and dealing with the King's troops and all those burdensome taxes. These are small families living out on the frontier for whom the idea of the United States of America was as odd as a flag with thirteen red and white stripes with a circle of white stars on a blue field. Perhaps it is because it takes place off the main stage that "Drums Along the Mohawk" manages to hit the right notes.

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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars HISTORICAL ADVENTURE COMES TO LIFE March 8, 2005
Format:DVD
Apple-cheeked Claubert and tall and gangly Fonda are so young, they're a pleasure to watch. All performances, including Ward Bond and Edna May Oliver, are exceptional and the color is amazing. "Drums Along The Mohawk" is an epic of the frontier that you'll want to watch again and again. Although the film takes place in upper New York State, viewing the terrain, it was probably shot in northern California. No matter. The film begins with hope alive and better things to come yet is dashed by the realities of the frontier and war. Battle scenes between indians and settlers can be a little frightening so I'd recommend that if you're going to let small children see this, an adult should sit with the child. A perfect film.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars what a great movie
i bought this movie because it is one of my favorites.
i love the primary and supporting actors and the story line
Published 8 days ago by lana smith
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie
This movie recaptures the beauty and ruggedness of pioneer times and feels like a real slice of American history. Really good.
Published 15 days ago by Mac McDaniel
5.0 out of 5 stars A timeless classic
This is a story that never grows old. A brilliant cast and Henry Fonda looks so young and the color is spectacular.
Published 22 days ago by D. Morris
4.0 out of 5 stars Oldie, but still a goodie
Simply an entertaining old movie in the "good versus evil" mode. This is a "classic" movie that will help you pass some time but don't expect it to meet "21st... Read more
Published 29 days ago by Michael Ramage
5.0 out of 5 stars Great classic
good to have a way to view classic movies especially those that are at the top on my watch list.
Published 29 days ago by V
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed it as a youngster n still do
Great classic John Ford Western with a touch of history too. This movie has it all Romance,action,revolutionary politics, history of our nations birth. Read more
Published 1 month ago by DVD Dave
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful old movie
I enjoyed watching this movie with the actors from my youth. I had been along time since I had seen it and would recommended it to all age groups.
Published 1 month ago by Jack
4.0 out of 5 stars Funny
Great to learn how people fought to get their freedom. I even like how some of the lines were funny to make light but got the message across.
Published 1 month ago by Michelle Freeman
5.0 out of 5 stars Great movie
This movie gives a glimps of what life must have been like during the revolution.
This was a great movie.
Very refreshing after the junk they produce today.
Published 1 month ago by D. Hardman
5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic
This movie is one of the classics. Henry Fonda and Cludette Colbert are perfectly cast in this historical drama. I loved it.
Published 1 month ago by Rick
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