DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK

This 1939 adaptation of the 1936 bestseller is directed by John Ford, and a prime piece of Fordian mythmaking it is to be sure.

The film covers the period from 1776 to 1781, which takes us from the Declaration of Independence to the surrender of the British.  These historic events form the backdrop to the story of a community in the Mohawk valley in upstate New York, and in particular a newlywed couple of Gil and Lana (Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert) who are creating a home for themselves.

Things seem to be going swimmingly (after a shaky start) until the day when the rest of the community is at their farm to help clear the land for cultivation, when out of the blue a party of Native Americans attack, destroying Gil and Lana's home. 

This sets the dynamic for what follows: the community trying to get on with their lives, punctuated by attacks, and by the menfolk going off to war.

Henry Fonda is the perfect actor to portray the virtues of resilience, decency and stoicism which according to this film the entire community (and by extension the entire republic) possess.  And of course he is a fine actor, as evidenced in a scene where he returns to his home traumatised by an incident he has experienced in the war.

Unfortunately the portrayal of Native Americans is not great.  With one minor exception they are all on the side of the British and are simply agents of destruction and mayhem whereas my understanding is that in reality Native Americans allied themselves to both sides in the conflict.

The British in fact don't appear in the film at all (all attacks are by Native Americans) which might seem perverse but for the fact that 1939 was not a good time to show the Brits as the bad guys.

Instead the Native Americans are shown as being directed by a sinister Loyalist played by John Carradine, who makes odd brief appearances.

Ford is of course in his element in the scenes of the colonists coming together, whether in church (the reverend is quite a character) or at times of celebration, and the whole film is perfect in its own way.

There's an odd moment at the end, when the victory over the British has just been joyfully announced, when I was sure the score included the tune of the British National Anthem.  It was only some time later when I discovered that for nearly a century up to 1931 the American anthem was 'My Country 'Tis of Thee' which indeed uses the same melody as 'God Save the King'.  That's one mystery solved although given that it was written in 1831 it shouldn't really appear in this film.