The Last of the Mohicans (1920)
During the French and Indian War, two English sisters traveling toward besieged Fort William Henry fall into the hands of the vengeful Huron scout Magua, and the frontiersman Hawkeye and his Mohican companions Chingachgook and Uncas race to save them.
Adapted from James Fenimore Cooper’s novel, The Last of the Mohicans was largely finished by Clarence Brown after Maurice Tourneur was injured partway through the shoot, launching Brown’s own directing career. Wallace Beery’s villainous Magua and location filming near Yosemite and Big Bear Lake helped make it one of the most admired frontier epics of the silent era.
Background
This adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper’s novel was largely completed by Clarence Brown after original director Maurice Tourneur was injured partway through filming, an arrangement that effectively launched Brown’s own long directing career in Hollywood. Set during the French and Indian War, the story follows two English sisters who fall into the hands of a vengeful Huron scout while traveling toward a besieged fort, and the frontiersman and his Mohican companions who race to rescue them.
What to watch for
Watch for the location filming done near Yosemite and Big Bear Lake, which gives the film a scale and naturalism unusual for a frontier adventure of the period, and for Wallace Beery’s performance as the villainous Magua, often singled out as the most memorable element of the film. It was widely admired on release as one of the finer frontier epics of the silent era, and it remains a useful early example of how Hollywood adapted American historical fiction for the screen.
