Watch The Last of the Mohicans For Free

Touches You

Powerful

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

As Good As It Gets

Although I am a committed movie buff of many decades experience now, I had somehow never seen this famous old adventure flick until I acquired the excellent Hen's Tooth DVD of it for Christmas. It proved to be a delightful surprise and far better than I was expecting. As an independent production, it may have lacked the big budget production values of a Warner or MGM film, but it still managed to look impressive, with some clever use of glass shots, hanging miniatures and other film tricks. It is only 92 minutes long yet packs an astonishing amount of incident for its length, all helped along by a throbbing music score that relies heavily on judicious borrowings from Max Steiner's famous score for KING KONG, which surprisingly fits the action rather well.An excellent cast of 1930s favourites is led by a young Randolph Scott who makes a terrific Hawkeye and clearly enjoys himself in the role. 1936 was an interesting year for him. Not yet typecast in "oaters", he made, in rapid succession, a big musical (Follow the Fleet with Astaire and Rogers) a sexy comedy (Go West Young Man with Mae West)and this, which was a logical follow-up to the previous year's SHE. He was a much better actor and more versatile than he is usually given credit for and in this role, he may well have found his career best.The DVD offers what is probably the best surviving print of this old movie and it is rather variable in quality, though it does get better after the 3rd reel. I would love to have seen a restored print but I am guessing this would be impossible now unless an original nitrate can be found.George B. Seitz directs the whole show with flair and keeps things moving at a considerable pace. The film easily bears comparison to better known films in the genre, such as BEAU GESTE, GUNGA DIN and THE FOUR FEATHERS.In short, it's a grand old fashioned adventure film, the kind Hollywood turned out with ease and great skill and long before the inflated budgets, running times and CGi of today. The kids back in 1936 must have been on the edge of their seats....I know I was, in 2017!

Made right after the Full Implementation of the Hays Code that Limited the Portraying of Certain types of Violence and Behavior, this Film shows Signs of Capitulation and Adherence but not Complete Surrender.There is Interracial Love making, Scalping, Torture, and other Displays of Nastiness that give this Movie a Real Feel for the Frontier Days and the Conflicts of Cultures and Countries.Quite Impressive, the Film Holds Up really well and Modern Audiences will be Surprised that this Early Hollywood effort is a Testament at how Good they could be at their Craft when everything was Clicking. It has very Little that is Dated or Embarrassing Today. Especially the Reverence and Tolerance given All Points of View from All Points of View.A good companion piece to the Michael Mann remake, this is a film that could be offered as one of the best of the early "period" films of the slowly evolving studio movie machine that would peak just a few years later.

Although I have never read the book, I have seen several movies about "The Last of the Mohicans" including those that starred Harry Carey, Michael O'Shea (Buster Crabbe as Magua), Steve Forest, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Randolph Scott as Hawkeye (Nathaniel). Also the TV program starring ex-Lone Ranger, John Hart. For me the number one is Randolph Scott. I'm not saying that the others aren't good, but he is my idea of a clean cut, all American hero whom I'd like to have as a friend especially in time of danger. Actor for actor, the 1936 version has the best cast. Nobody is better than Bruce Cabot as Magua and Robert Barrat is the greatest Chingachgook of all, even though neither one is a real Indian. The final fight to the death between the two of them is far superior than that of any other version and Barrat's homage to his dead son Uncas (Phillip Reed) brings me to tears. There is room for all of these versions, and if you can, watch all of them and pick your own favorite.

For those of us immune to the charms of James Fenimore Cooper's novels this movie is a godsend. I've never understood Cooper's plots, his characters, his appeal, his (apparent) greatness. He strikes me as nearly unreadable. The 1936 movie of Last Of the Mohicans, however, is quite good, though none of it makes much sense. It is set on the American frontier of the 18th century, which then meant upper New York state. Two sisters are involved; as are several British officers; a tribe or so of Indians, some virtuous, others not; and a chap named Hawkeye, who is exceedingly brave and an excellent shot with a long rifle. There are magnificently photographed scenes featuring forests, lakes, rivers and waterfalls. The birch-bark canoes, the costumes, the way the Indians look and act, the fort, the feeling of excitement, alternating with fear, and with it the sense that the Native Americans are quite as proficient at killing one another as the white man is of killing the whole lot of them, and maybe even better, are all conveyed with admirable realism. There is also an air of tragedy in the film, for white and red alike, though this is not dwelt on for long. The entire movie feels like a product of the period in which it is set, not the twentieth century. Many of the Indians are played by white actors, all of whom do an excellent job. Bruce Cabot's performance as Magua is the stuff of nightmares, and one's image of him lingers in the mind long after the film is over.