Last Of The Mohicans (1920)

In 1757 during the French and Indian War, the daughters (Barbara Bedford, Lillian Hall) of a Colonel (James Gordon) in the British army are traveling from Fort Edward to Fort William Henry to join their father when they are betrayed by their Indian guide (Wallace Beery). They are rescued by an Indian scout (Harry Lorraine) and his Mohican friend (Alan Roscoe) but their danger is far from over as the treacherous Magua (Beery) won't stop in either his desire for the lovely Bedford or the destruction of the British. Based on the James Fenimore Cooper novel, this is the second film version of the novel. The first was filmed in 1911 and would be filmed at least another three times after this film. Co-directed by Clarence Brown (NATIONAL VELVET) and Maurice Tourneur (the father of Jacques), it's a solid and absorbing condensation of the novel. However, unlike the other film versions, the character of Hawkeye is reduced to a minor role with the emphasis on the elder daughter and her "romance" with the Mohican chief's son (Roscoe). As such, it certainly can't be seen as a faithful version of the Fenimore Cooper novel but it's so good on its own terms that one would have to be churlish to complain. The Huron attack on the English is very well done and, for its day, quite brutal. One scene has an Indian grabbing an infant out of its mother's arms and tossing it away in the air! The transfer I saw had an excellent score by R.J. Miller.