Drums Along the Mohawk
| Drums Along the Mohawk | |
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DVD release cover
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| Directed by | John Ford |
| Produced by | Darryl F. Zanuck (executive producer) |
| Screenplay by |
Sonya Levien Lamar Trotti |
| Based on |
Drums Along the Mohawk 1936 novel by Walter D. Edmonds |
| Starring |
Claudette Colbert Henry Fonda Edna May Oliver John Carradine Ward Bond |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography |
Bert Glennon Ray Rennahan |
| Edited by | Robert L. Simpson |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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103 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | over $2 million |
Drums Along the Mohawk is a 1939 historical Technicolor film based upon a 1936 novel of the same name by American author, Walter D. Edmonds. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and directed by John Ford. Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert portray settlers on the New York frontier during the American Revolution. The couple suffer British, Tory, and Indian attacks on their farm before the Revolution ends and peace is restored. The film—Ford's first color feature—was well received, was nominated for two Academy Awards and became a major box office success, grossing over US$1 million in its first year.
In colonial America, Lana Borst (Claudette Colbert), the eldest daughter of a wealthy Albany, New York family, marries Gilbert Martin (Henry Fonda). Together they leave her family's luxurious home to embark on a frontier life on Gil's small farm in Deerfield, in the Mohawk Valley of central New York. The time is July, 1776, and the spirit of revolution is in the air. The valley's settlers have formed a local militia in anticipation of an imminent war, and Gil joins up.
As Gil and his neighbors are clearing his land for farming, Blue Back (Chief John Big Tree), a friendly Oneida man, arrives to warn them that a raiding party of Seneca led by a Tory named Caldwell (John Carradine) is in the valley. The settlers evacuate their farms and take refuge in nearby Fort Schuyler. Lana, who is pregnant, miscarries during the frantic ride to the fort. The Martin farm is destroyed by the Seneca raiding party. With no home and winter approaching, the Martins accept work on the farm of a wealthy widow, Mrs. McKlennar (Edna May Oliver).
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Wikipedia