The Last of the Mohicans

Plot synopsis:
The story takes place in 1757 during the French and Indian War in the Adirondack Mountains in the British colony of New York. British Army Major Duncan Heyward arrives in Albany. He has been sent to serve under Colonel Edmund Munro, the commander of Fort William Henry. Heyward is given the task of escorting the colonel’s two daughters, Cora and Alice, to their father. He is a family friend and in love with Cora. He proposes to her before they leave, but she does not give him an answer.
Major Heyward, the two women, and a troop of British soldiers march through the rugged countryside, guided by Magua, a Huron warrior. Magua leads the party into an ambush. All of the soldiers are killed or wounded, but Heyward and the women are rescued by the timely intervention of the Mohican chief Chingachgook, his son Uncas and his white, adopted son "Hawkeye". They kill all of the ambushers except Magua, who escapes. They agree to take the women and Heyward to the fort. During the fight, Hawkeye noticed that Magua attempted to kill Cora, and asks Duncan if he knows why. During the trek, Cora and Hawkeye are attracted to each other, as are Uncas and Alice.
When they arrive near the fort, they find it under siege by the French and their Huron allies. They manage to sneak in and are greeted by Colonel Munro, who asks Major Heyward about the requested, desperately needed reinforcements. While there, Cora and Hawkeye share a passionate kiss. Heyward becomes jealous. In response, Cora finally tells him she will not marry him.
When Munro refuses to allow the militiamen to sneak away to defend their own families and homes, as he had earlier promised, Hawkeye arranges it anyway. He stays, however, and is condemned to death.
Before that happens, during a parlay, French general Louis-Joseph de Montcalm shows Munro an intercepted message which states that no reinforcements have been sent. Montcalm offers to allow the British to evacuate the fort with honor, keeping their weapons. Munro has little choice but to accept. However, Magua, a French ally, is furious at this arrangement. He harbors great hatred for Munro, blaming him for past wrongs done to him and his family.
The following day, Colonel Munro, his soldiers and their women and children leave the fort. Magua and his Huron warriors ambush them. Magua personally kills Munro. Hawkeye and the Mohicans fight their way out, leading Cora, Alice and Heyward to temporary safety. Later, however, Magua captures the major and the women.
Magua takes his prisoners to a Huron settlement and address its sachem. He is interrupted by Hawkeye, who comes in alone to plead for their lives. The sachem rules that Heyward be returned to the British, Alice given to Magua and Cora burned alive. Hawkeye, for his great bravery, may leave unharmed. Hawkeye tells Heyward, who is serving as translator, to beg the sachem to let him take Cora's place. Instead, Heyward trades his life for Cora’s. Once Cora and Hawkeye are far enough away, Hawkeye shoots Heyward to end his suffering. Chingachgook, Uncas and Hawkeye then set out after Magua's party to free Alice. Uncas races ahead and engages Magua in personal combat, but is killed. Alice chooses to step off the cliff to her death rather than go to the beckoning Magua. While Hawkeye holds Magua's remaining men at bay, Chingachgook duels Magua and avenges his son. Chingachgook prays to the Great Spirit to receive Uncas, calling himself "the last of the Mohicans".

Tags: murder

Review:
Latter day film-makers steered around Cooper's problem by ignoring him and creating a story of their own, but in doing so they lost what was fine in his work.Director Maurice Tourneur does not ignore Cooper, although he does cut through the crap.
Tourneur chooses, rather, to focus directly on the tragic romance at the novel's core, between British colonial Cora Munro and Mohican hunk Uncas.
He thereby rescues the film from becoming another "Birth of a Nation" with Wallace Beery's Magua standing in for Griffith's black-faced white men who try to rape white women.Tourneur's technique is impressive.
Barbara Bedford is restrained and natural as Cora, some might argue too restrained to be the passionate, dark-haired heroine of Cooper's novel.
So perhaps it is no coincidence that Tourneur's protégé Clarence Brown, who finished this film when Tourneur was injured, guided Garbo's early career beginning with "Flesh and the Devil" in 1926..
This is a fine movie adaptation of the classic story of "The Last of the Mohicans", for its time certainly, but in many respects it has held up at least as well as just about any other screen version of the story.
The scenario emphasizes the gist of the story, develops most of the main characters efficiently, and at the right times creates a good sense of danger and suspense.The story is by and large the one familiar from the novel, set in the Seven Years War (which in the USA is often called the 'French and Indian War'), with the British and French relying heavily on their allies among the various native tribes of North America.
In the story, they are down to one father and one son, which adds considerable poignancy to events.The script in this version makes the interesting choice to deemphasize the role of the Mohicans' friend Hawkeye in the course of the story, instead portraying the two Indians, Uncas and Magua, as the primary figures in the fighting and in the ongoing battle of wits.
Cooper's novel contains many lengthy descriptive passages, and they are omitted here, replaced instead by many location shots that efficiently and effectively suggest the atmosphere of the time, without using words.Albert Roscoe (as he was billed here) stars as the courageous Mohican Uncas, Wallace Beery (always good in the role of a heavy) plays the treacherous, mean-spirited Magua, and Barbara Bedford is Cora, whose safety becomes one of the crucial issues in the conflict.While the story is largely the same, this has a much livelier pace than the novel, and it really works quite well.
It is well worth seeing for itself, and as an example of a good approach to adapting a classic novel into a movie..
Maurice Tourneur, one of the most neglected geniuses of cinema, directed most of it but, after being injured on set, he gave the great Clarence Brown his first directing assignment.
This film, in a gorgeously restored print with colour tints, is a visual treat - with its revolutionary use of shadows, changes of light, actors moving into the camera, extreme long shots and even a tracking shot.
The camera was still pretty immobile in 1920, but through quick edits and superb shot composition, Tourneur creates a sense of movement.But you'll forget all the technical brilliance once the emotion of the story grabs you - and that will be in the massacre scene, which is one of the most horrifying sequences I have ever seen.
Excellent performances from the 17 year old Barbara Bedford, in her film debut, and Alan (then Albert) Roscoe - as the inter-racial lovers.
In fact, I was very surprised that they were able to get Wallace Beery of all people to play the lead evil Indian--and he looked pretty convincing!!
A tight script and excellent direction all helped to make this a dandy bit of entertainment--well worth seeing even today.By the way, in some ways the film may seem pretty offensive (calling the natives "savages"), but for the most part it tried to convey them in a three-dimensional way.
Sure there were plenty of bad Indians, but some decent ones as well and the movie tried very hard at times to humanize them--something you rarely saw in contemporary films or even those in the 1930s, 40s or 50s..
Maurice Tourneur and Clarence Brown co-directed this version James Fenimore Cooper's classic tale of the American primeval forest, The Last Of The Mohicans.
In it we have an opportunity to see Wallace Beery get first billing in a film, possibly for the first time as the villainous Magua.Steeped in the tales of the French and Indian War growing up in the forest region of Upstate New York, Cooper knew his subject and his region well and created some unforgettable literary characters.
As bad as Magua is it's also clear he's in the pay of one faction of the white man which is how I'm sure the Indians saw it back in the day.
The noble savage is Uncas played here by Alan Roscoe, a truly magnificent tragic figure who is brought down by his love for one of the Munro sisters.The Munro sisters Cora and Alice played by Barbara Bedford and Lillian Hall respectively are the daughters of Colonel in charge of Fort William Henry in the Adirondacks.
That's all I can really say.This version of The Last Of The Mohicans was filmed at Big Bear Lake and Yosemite National Park to create the primeval forest.
The cinematography is really outstanding, the best thing about this film.This silent film after 90 years holds up very well as does Cooper's novel which is an immortal classic..
Keeping the story-line close to that of the original novel, this is perhaps the best telling of the Cooper classic.
Great photography, and what for the time,  must have been considered "under-acting"  maintain a timelessness to this version.
At that time, the "Indians" (aka Native Americans), English, and French were forming different warring alliances; mainly, they were trying to kill each other off, and gain control of the land.
The "Indians" depicted in the film are "Mohican" and "Huron" Native Americans.
The "Indians" may have been dying off due to the absence of women among their tribes, which may also explain their constant lust for "white women", as shown throughout the film.The two main Indians are "Bad Indian" Wallace Berry (as Magua) and "Good Indian" Albert Roscoe (as Uncas).
A main storyline involves the task of rescuing Bedford and her Yellow-haired sister (Lillian Hall), and returning them to the safety of their British father.Along the way, a Huron massacre is shown; this is one of the film's gruesome highlights.
Mr. Tourneur's choice of story material may be lacking, but he always knows how to make films look beautiful.
***** The Last of the Mohicans (11/21/20) Maurice Tourneur, Clarence Brown ~ Barbara Bedford, Wallace Berry, Albert Roscoe.
A new version exists now, however, with an entirely new film score by a Mohican Composer, "The 1920 Classic Myth: The Last of the Mohicans" (2003) in 5.1 surround sound, re-scored for full orchestra, and American Indian instruments.
The tinting, too, adds to the film's beauty.Some moments show a resemblance to D.W. Griffith and Billy Bitzer's work, such as "The Battle at Elderbush Gulch" and "The Birth of a Nation".
The main pictorial schema for this film, and I think it's a good one, if not entirely original, is switching from distanced views to intimate shots, thus taking in the breadth of the scenic environment and concentrating on the story's action.
This can be seen in the battle scenes, the cliff scene and pretty much every other important scene outside.I've referred to this as Tourneur's film, but that's doubtful.
In the early days without detailed shooting scripts, it's questionable as to how much of the film was the conception and design of Tourneur, but Brown having worked under him, the issue is probably moot.
These are rather minor, or commonplace, problems, though.This is a promising early film for Brown, at the peak of Tourneur's career.
Tourneur, a pioneer of the medium, dealt with a variety of stories, so from there one can't characterize his body of work easily; it's in cinematography that a characteristic style of innovation and the use of the best of film grammar known can be seen.
This movie was probably really incredible for it's time, as it has an interracal love interest, an American Indian protagonist to support and the beautiful cinematography.
From the opening scene to the last you are enthralled into this historic world, and this movie is both-sided on both the English and the American Indians, which is good.
This 1920 silent version of James Fenimore Cooper's story features a lot of nicely composed tableaux, which often illustrate the story as much as they tell it.
Last of the Mohicans, The (1920) *** (out of 4) Early adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's novel doesn't have the best of stories and has more in common with The Birth of a Nation rather than the book but overall the film remained entertaining.
The cliff scene borrows a lot from the Griffith movie and some of the battle scenes do as well but with the white actors playing Indians with paint on them (which you can see melting in a few scenes) and some of the negative stereotypes some might find it offensive.
This is considered one of the great silent films of all time.
The Last Of The Mohicans" is a great savage adventure film (quite reminiscent of the sort of thing that happens with this German Count each time he ventures beyond the Schloss grounds) based on the classic American novel by James Fenimore Cooper.
It is a perfect example of the adventure film genre as well the western film genre.This German Count must say that such efficiency and dynamism are due to the work of the great French film director Herr Maurice Tourneur and his disciple, Herr Clarence Brown.The first, Herr Tourneur (whose work this German Count is very fond of), worked in a most varied assortment of artistic disciplines (decorator, book illustrator, theatrical actor and even assistant to the French sculptor August Rodin) before beginning his film career, an artistic heritage that is well reflected in his films, especially those of the silent period.
He endows his films with high pictorial quality and exquisite visual beauty, as is the case with "The Last Of The Mohicans." The five years spent by Herr Clarence Brown as Herr Tourneur's assistant director were certainly decisive for his career.
The influence of the French director, especially the aesthetic influences referenced above, is noteworthy and can be seen particularly with regard to the extensive work of Herr Brown with the great silent diva Damen Garbo.And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must put on and perfectly adjust his stylish wig, which couldn't be more unlike the ordinary scalps that are seen in this film..
This story, possibly the most famous of all American tales (its very title has become a catchphrase), was largely envisioned in this version by a European: Maurice Tourneur.
Yes, some filmbuffs like to think the American co-director, Clarence Brown, more responsible for the movie's quality; even Brown himself (after Tourneur's death) claimed he filmed most of it.
This is a hard claim to believe because Tourneur, whose reputation was virtually second only to Griffith at the time, was the one who hired Brown, largely to shoot the outdoor scenes.
And even though Brown directed them, Tourneur, as boss, must have had control of selecting which shots were filmed.
Since Brown got his start in the industry five years earlier as Tourneur's editor and assistant, he was well-acquainted with Tourneur's style and most likely filmed shots that the Frenchman would want.The European sensibility to the story shows itself in this version's focus.
Many who like the later versions of this story might be put off by the fact that Hawkeye is not a main character, but this silent movie is beautiful..
Having only seen the 1990s version of this story and not having read the book, I can't say how true this film is to Cooper's vision so you'd have to look to other posters for that.
Maurice Tourneur's visuals are wonderful, taking in the vistas of the West and framing the drama of the characters on an appropriately vast scale.Here we have the story of 2 sisters, dark haired and resolute Cora (Barbara Bedford) and fair haired and similarly gentle in demeanor Alice (Lillian Hall), who are caught up in the violence of the French and Indian War because their father (James Gordon) commands a fort on the frontier.
Cora finds her protector in a Native Mohican hunter named Uncas (Alan Roscoe) who manages to rescue her from the clutches of the conniving Magua (Wallace Beery).
There is treachery on the part of both the English and the Indians, and the film takes pains to show that the Indians are not inherently evil but mislead by greedy white men and the unscrupulous Magua.The performances in this film, with the exception of Wallace Beery, are for the most part very restrained and emotive as opposed to some of the more expressive styles of silent acting that you saw a lot in the late teens.
There's one shot where he completely goes ape-wild and jumps at the camera with his mouth and eyes wide open, the total "savage" image designed apparently to startle audiences who'd rather keep a character like Magua at arm's length.
His acting is good though, and the two have decent chemistry.I watched the movie mostly to study Maurice Tourneur's technique.
I can't really assess what kind of role Brown played because the film doesn't show any kind of divisions and most of the visual style that I picked up on were things that I recognized from previous Tourneur films.
Twice in the film we see what is the most distinctive type of shot that Tourneur uses at least in his silent American films, a dark silhouette framed by a triangular shaped cave opening behind which sprawls an epic landscape.
The same type of shot was used to great effect in his version of "Treasure Island" and has been imitated or payed homage to in dozens of films.
Generally speaking, Tourneur was a master at shooting perspective in the outdoors, and the photography that Philip Du Bois and Charles Van Enger did in what looks like Yosemite Valley is some of the most impressive that you will see in any film.I can't hugely recommend the movie because it's so tragic and I'm just not crazy about that type of story, although I think it was done in a less melodramatic and more impressionistic way than in the other version I've seen.
Good retelling of the James Fenimore Cooper story thats a pretty fine spectacle.
Great looking with a wonderful sense of place this feels like up state New York and three hundred years back in a way that no other version has matched.
While the first half of the "The Last of the Mohicans" is rather run of the mill, the second half, beginning with the attack of the mass of drunken Indians against the British and French soldiers and civilians, is nothing less than astonishing.
The scenes of piles of corpses are amazing and captivating; I can't remember seeing anything quite like it in early cinema.The massacre scenes by themselves are enough to make this film memorable, but there is more: an incredible series of outdoor long-shots of a nightmarishly high cliff, with the tiny figures of the heroine and bad-guy Indian Wallace Beery on top, struggling, fighting, terrifyingly near the edge.
The fight between Beery's Magua and the good Indian Uncas, quick as it is, also has an epic feel, taking place over a quick series of spectacular and varying landscape shots, down immense hills and titanic waterfalls.
Silent film with stunning action scenes.
Michael Mann claims that this film, rather than the novel it was based on, was the central influence on his version of the "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992).Filmed in 1920 and directed by Clarence Brown and Maurice Tourneur, this silent film is admittedly very dated.
There's no sound, the images are at times washed out (due to poor restoration work?) and the portrayal of the Native American Indians quite racist.But on a purely visual level, this film is extraordinary, especially the action sequences, which are all virtually replicated by Mann in his remake.
It's ironic that my first taste of this great American novel adapted to film should be the 1920 silent version instead of a more modern day remake like the early Nineties film starring Daniel Day-Lewis.
Having seen a number of silent films to date, I thought the use of inter-title cards at the beginning of the story seemed somewhat overdone, whereas they virtually disappeared during the latter part of the picture.
The principal players were uniformly good in their portrayals, and the inter-racial romance at the heart of the story had a poignant quality that didn't need to be the dominant focus for the film to work.
The use of white actors in Indian roles (which Hollywood was still doing even in 1999) was much criticized at the time of the film's release.
Uncas challenges Magua to a duel for the sisters' freedom.This 1920 silent film was the first of four adaptations of the novel by Fenimore Cooper & by far the best of the bunch.
The film was originally directed by Maurice Tourneur but when he became too ill to continue, Clarence Brown stepped in to finish the production.The film, like most other silent features of the era, is filled with pioneering shots, although it is still technically crude in some respects (this was 1920, after all – the cinema was still in its infancy at the time).