The Last of the Mohicans (1920) User Reviews

Film stays ahead of its time by remaining faithful to source

[mhesselius · 8/10 · 24 July 2010]

I just saw "Last of the Mohicans." I didn't expect much. I had seen other adaptations: the 1936 George B. Seitz movie and the Michael Mann remake of 1992. To me they all seem to lack the spirit of what is admittedly a rambling novel whose provocative subject matter is only partially realized. Cooper's problem was execution; he didn't understand how severely his story was compromised by unnecessary characters, needless plot devices, and ceaseless talk. 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. In a non-talking film the characters can't yap on the way they do in Cooper's fiction. Hawkeye's role is reduced. He has few scenes and is not the romantic lead Randolph Scott and Daniel Day Lewis would be in later adaptations. He is the homely, awkward, asexual woodsman Cooper describes. 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. Camera perspective, lighting, and editing are well in advance of what was being done in 1920. The action on the Eastman print I saw seems a little fast. I'm not sure if it runs at the correct projection speed. Tourneur obviously under-cranked his camera during action sequences to give actors and extras the appearance of furious motion. These are only small criticisms, however.

As in all his films Tourneur reined in the actors' exaggerated facial expressions and theatrical gestures, which is perhaps why there are so many title cards explaining the actors' motivations. Barbara Bedford is restrained and natural as Cora, some might argue too restrained to be the passionate, dark-haired heroine of Cooper's novel. But Tourneur lets Bedford's quiet beauty act as a veneer masking a volatile nature. Her defiance of social and feminine conventions – showing attraction for a Native warrior, and impulsively sacrificing herself to protect her sister in the Indian town – affects us all the more because of her stillness. In Garbo such stillness was praised as mystique. 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.

Great retelling of a classic tale

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 25 February 2008]

Good retelling of the James Fenimore Cooper story thats a pretty fine spectacle. Focusing more on the relationship between Cora Munroe and Uncas as well as the treachery of Magua this is different enough from the 1992 Michael Mann version and other versions to be not a simple retread. 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. A huge plus is the treachery of Magua. If you thought Wes Studi was evil, you have to see Wallace Beery who is as vile as they come (Hey he throws a woman's baby in the air and doesn't catch it). This is 70 minutes well spent.

A Fine Version Of the Classic Story

[Snow Leopard · 30 January 2006]

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. The Mohicans were the tribe that had occupied some of the first land to be taken by European colonists, and thus already in 1757 had almost disappeared. 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. The photography is very good, especially for 1920. It is well worth seeing for itself, and as an example of a good approach to adapting a classic novel into a movie.

Remarkable imagery, stark story

[funkyfry · 7/10 · 29 February 2008]

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. I will say that it feels much more dark and brooding than the later version. 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. Beery is way over the top but that's presumably the way the directors wanted him to be. 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. Bedford's face is really remarkable, so much expression and fragility. Roscoe is somewhat less well cast, not simply because of the racial issues but just because he looks a bit too old to be the romantic he's being described as here. His acting is good though, and the two have decent chemistry.

I watched the movie mostly to study Maurice Tourneur's technique. I hadn't realized he co-directed it with Clarence Brown, his protégé, until I saw his name on the credits. 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. Tourneur and Brown always worked together in those years officially or unofficially though is my understanding. 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. You can see variations of it in many of his films; for example in "Victory" he has this really striking shot of a fisherman on the shore, with his body and his rod pushed to the extreme edge of the frame and a large sea ship passing in the distance framed against a dark triangular rock. Also as in "Victory" of the previous year 1919, in "Mohicans" the most brutal violence is handled in a foreground silhouette, which produces a stylized effect very similar to what you would see in a modern graphic novel. 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. It's a relief not to be forced to sit through the "dialog" of these two lovers; in this particular story I think it's a lot stronger for the feelings to be left unsaid.

The Noble Savage

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 26 May 2010]

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. He was also influenced by Rousseau's ideas of the 'noble savage' who the white man with his civilization had destroyed and continues to destroy. The American Indian was the perfect example for that theory.

Cooper also knew that the Indians, the Hurons here were in the pay of the French. The British too had their allies, the Iroquois Confederation were allied with them. In the end they all got used and abandoned.

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. Outnumbered and outgunned the British agree to a surrender to the French, but the Indians all liquored up go hog wild and start killing. Magua who had the Munro Sisters captive before has a thing for Alice who has fallen for Uncas.

Given the title you know it all is going to end badly for a lot of the cast members. 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. Actually that area between the Hudson River and the Massachusetts/Vermont border is still pretty primeval. 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.

Easily the best film of 1920

[patrick.hunter · 10/10 · 4 January 2006]

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.

Tourneur loved lighting an indoor scene more than any director in the Hollywood of 1920, preferring the control of creating painterly interior scenes, so he had Brown get dirty and go camping in Big Bear and Yosemite to shoot the outdoor ones. 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. Most remakes--like the novel--make Hawkeye, the most central character. Here, however, he is a very minor person indeed, often in the background, always appearing gawky and unheroic. The most emphasized characters in this version are Cora and Uncas, whose impossible-to-fulfill relationship results in a liebestod-like tragedy. 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.

Passing Visual Style

[Cineanalyst · 7/10 · 21 May 2005]

This is well photographed, as are most of the films I've seen from director Maurice Tourneur. The framing and composition of shots are apt, except occasionally when it is theatrical. Much of the action happens outside, which helps--freeing the camera and providing scenery. There are some nice lighting effects: use of low-key lighting, nighttime photography, the flickering light against a wall to represent candlelight and such. There are some silhouette shots, which seem to be a trademark in Tourneur's films. The tinting, too, adds to the 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". There are the iris shots and actor's approaching the camera, both of which were popularized by Griffith and Bitzer. The battle scene at the fort is rather Griffith-like. Impressively innovative is the pan of the faces of Magua and Uncas and then them rushing towards the camera, as they begin fighting. 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 contentious. Clarence Brown, Tourneur's longtime assistant, is said to have directed most of the shooting, due to Tourneur being ill. In the early days without detailed shooting scripts, it's questionable as to how much of the picture was the conception and design of Tourneur, but Brown having worked under him, the issue may be moot. Perhaps, the poor use of the same set for fictionally different locations, made obvious by the successive cuts, in addition to other minor amateurish mistakes, can be blamed on inexperience.

Of worse error are Caucasians playing Indians, and the film's occasional condescension and racism, although it can be commended for its generally respectful treatment. As well, intertitles do replace some action and acting, as fellow commenter Sorsimus criticized. And, the story contrives three moments where Dark Hair faces the choice of replacing herself for Yellow Hair as Magua's captive. The film appears rather unpolished at times, as a result. These are rather minor, or commonplace, problems, though.

This is a promising early picture 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. For Brown, his films would surpass the visual brilliance of his master, with pictures such as, say, "The Flesh and the Devil". Here, it seems he wisely worked from the style of Tourneur to create some very interesting photography.

One of the better silent adventure films

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 7 October 2006]

You can't compare this version of the Cooper story to later sound versions--it just wouldn't be fair. It's like comparing apples to oranges. However, if you compare this adventure film to other similar silent films, then it comes off as one of the better ones you can find today. Not only does it do a pretty good job of sticking to the original story, but the production values and acting are superb. For a 1920 film, it was amazingly well-crafted and complex. In particular, the outdoor scenes were so realistic and beautiful. Many of the outdoor scenes (particularly at the end) were like works of art--and look very much like moving Ansel Adams photographs. The mountainous scenes are just gorgeous. The stunts were also amazing and well performed--looking every bit as good as modern stunt-work. Also, while most of the Indians are played by white folks in dark paint (a very, very common practice for the day--and which included Boris Karloff as an extra!), they at least look a lot like real Indians. 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.

A Very Good Film

[Easygoer10 · 7/10 · 12 January 2020]

I love this film. In fact, I find it closer to the novel (written by James Fenimore Cooper) than the 1936 film starring Randolph Scott. Although filmed during the silent era, I find it more "true to form" than the latter film. Wallace Beery is wonderful as "Hawkeye". Unfortunately, nether this nor the 1936 film come close to Michael Mann's thrilling 1992 film. An epic film, It is 1 of my favorite films ever made by Michael Mann. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis as "Hawkeye", with Madeleine Stowe as "Cora Munroe", Jodi May as her sister "Alice Munroe". For me, the best of all casting is the inclusion of 2 very famous Native Americans: Russel Means (as "Chingachgook") and Dennis Banks (as "Ongewasgone"). In fact, Dennis Banks was a co-founder of the American Indian Movement ("AIM"). He was 1 of the leaders of AIM's takeover of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in 1973. It was a protest against both tribal and U.S. Governments. He was arrested by the FBI. Michael Mann was thrilled when both men accepted his offer to be cast in his (1992) version of this film, which is by far the very best.

Beautiful but Dull

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 6 January 2008]

"The Last of the Mohicans" is set "in the Year of Grace 1757", in what was to become the eastern United States. 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 title gives away the fate of the Mohicans, who are depicted as a dying tribe, with a couple of remaining Chiefs. 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). Dark-haired white woman Barbara Bedford (as Cora), who "underplays" to the point of comatose, is the main object they desire. Ms. Bedford and Good Indian Roscoe enjoy an "interracial" flirtation, which is also underplayed to the point of comatose. Mr. Berry is the most romantic member of the cast, employing a funny "come hither" look during one scene. 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. "The Last of the Mohicans" main strength is that it is stunningly presented, by Maurice Tourneur. Mr. Tourneur's choice of story material may be lacking, but he always knows how to make films look beautiful. Clarence Brown, on his way to a successful career of his own, assisted.

***** The Last of the Mohicans (11/21/20) Maurice Tourneur, Clarence Brown ~ Barbara Bedford, Wallace Berry, Albert Roscoe

Historically Violent scenes of Massacre make this a must-see

[audiemurph · 8/10 · 21 November 2012]

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 explicit scenes of violence are some of the most spectacular ever filmed in black and white. There is no romanticization of war here. A baby is ripped from its mother's arms, and tossed high in the air to its presumed death. Wounded soldiers are attacked, tortured and massacred. Incredibly sickening, and it really draws you in.

The most horrifying part of the battle is how long it goes on for. We are too trained in old films to expect the cavalry, or some other hero, to arrive before it is too late, before too many have lost their lives. Not here. The bloodbath goes on and on, men, women and children being hacked to death, and we finally realize, there IS NO cavalry to save them. 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. This kind of scene, when done right, like it is here, always feels more dramatic in a silent picture, then it is with sound. 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. Remarkable indeed.

A long forgotten actress, Barbara Bedford, plays the older dark-haired sister. She is actually quite beautiful, and the eye is drawn to her whenever she is on screen. Interestingly, IMDb credits her with over 200 movie roles, but once sound arrived, almost all of her remaining 100 roles were uncredited and/or in short subjects. Long forgotten.

The movie suggests that quite a substantial number of civilians, including an surprising number of women, lived with the British soldiers in the colonies. I wonder if that is accurate. "Last of the Mohicans" really drives home how absolutely miserable it must have been to be living in the primitive forests of North America, at the whims of staggeringly extreme weather conditions, never mind the dangers posed by the Natives, thousands of miles from the comfortable, civilized, mild conditions of Britain. Interesting. And do the officers really never remove their white wigs, even in death?

A highly recommended piece of cinema history, primarily for the historic battle scenes of the second half.

"What the Great Spirit wills shall happen."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 15 October 2012]

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. Perhaps it's for the better, I thought this was a rather stunning film for it's cinematography and epic sense of adventure. Oddly, I've never read the James Fennimore Cooper classic, so now I'm inclined to add that task to my To Do List as well. What probably surprised me the most here was how graphic the violence was during the Huron's drunken attack on the fort. When Magua (Wallace Beery) grabbed the woman's baby and threw it away I literally jumped off my seat! There was also the most incredible stunt work displayed in the fight between Magua and Uncas (Alan Roscoe) with that incredible slide down the mountainside and fighting among the rocks of the waterfall. 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. What really stands out is the professionalism and quality regarding all aspects of the picture, a genuine must see film I'd readily recommend from the silent era.

Handsome, faithful and well acted, and kind of dull

[donrogers42 · 5/10 · 19 August 2005]

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. It is well acted by most of the cast, with Wallace Beery and Harry Lorraine surprisingly convincing and non-stereotypical as, respectively, the Indian villain and hero. The female lead, Barbara Bedford, is quite pretty, and underplays a part where you would expect to see mass histrionics.

Overall, to be honest, this adaptation commanded my respect more than my interest.

5 stars out of 10

Astonishing, breath-taking masterpiece!

[David-240 · 3 August 1999]

This is truly a magnificent film. It goes way beyond nostalgia in its appeal - it is a sublime work of art. 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. And it's easy to see where Brown learnt a lot of the visual stylings that he became so famous for. 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. And the film's finale on a cliff-top is awesome. Excellent performances from the 17 year old Barbara Bedford, in her film debut, and Alan (then Albert) Roscoe - as the inter-racial lovers. They create an eroticism together that'll have you panting - it's not surprising that the pair later married in real life. And Wallace Beery is menacingly evil as the man who comes between them.

It's an astonishing picture politically too - very contemporary in its treatment of racial issues. The Native Americans, the English and the French are all portrayed as both good and bad - the massacre being blamed primarily on the French giving the Native Americans alcohol. And the inter-racial love is respected by the film-makers and most of the characters.

Don't miss this one - it deserves a place with the great achievements of cinema.

perfect example of the adventure film genre as well the western film genre.

[FerdinandVonGalitzien · 6/10 · 11 May 2006]

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. This vibrant film is as beautiful artistically (the film's natural locations are magnificent) as it is efficient technically (cinematography, film narrative). 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.

The first adaptation of a classic novel.

[DigitalRevenantX7 · 6/10 · 12 July 2017]

The year is 1757 during the French & Indian War in the New World. The British fort of Fort Edward is being targeted by the French & their Native American allies the Hurons. Captain Randolph, a cowardly British officer decides to defect to the French after discovering that the fort is fitted with weapons that are basically useless & after his girlfriend Cora Munro, the eldest daughter of the fort's colonel, rebuffs his advances & instead falls for Uncas, the last of the Mohican tribe. The Hurons' chief runner Magua, who also desires Cora, leads the Hurons to massacre the inhabitants of the fort & kidnaps Cora & her younger sister Alice for himself. 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. It is also the most faithful of the adaptations & correctly depicts the nasty side of the war at the time. 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). The film is a bit stagy in some parts but there are no superfluous shots to be found. The acting is good & the film is reasonably exciting. The film is also watchable for the fact that it correctly depicts the New World (later to become the USA) as filled with good Indians, bad Indians, bigoted whites, romance between white women & Indians & the simple message that war is indeed a form of hell.

Perhaps the best rendering of the Cooper Classic

[bux · 9/10 · 28 June 1999]

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. It is interesting to see a somewhat slim Wallace Beery as the villain Magua. While the 1936 Randolph Scott version is good, this one is the best, much more so than the Daniel Day Lewis atrocity produced in the 90s!!!

The Last of the Mohicans review

[JoeytheBrit · 7/10 · 29 June 2020]

Wallace Beery, sprayed in a striking light-and-dark paint combo, takes on the role of Magua, the treacherous Indian in this silent adaptation of J. Fenimore Cooper's novel from Maurice Tourneur (with help from his protégé, Clarence Brown). Although improbably cast, Beery makes an agreeably boo-able villain whose sole purpose in life seems to be to ravish at least one of the fetching Munro sisters as they make their perilous way to their father's encampment. Plenty of incident and action in this briskly paced flick that builds to a literally cliffhanging finale.

A timeless masterpiece.

[nzswanny · 10/10 · 19 October 2018]

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. The Michael Mann movie pales in comparison to this movie, as the Michael Mann movie had less substance to it and most things were on the surface and were forced, while everything in this movie is powerful,, natural and controversial for it's time. Of course, people were obviously prepared, because it was based on the book of the same name, but this movie is fantastic and will even astound those who only watch modern movies. 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. Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone.

Slow Aside From The Massacre

[iquine · 6/10 · 9 February 2019]

(Flash Review)

Yes, I watched this because of its title and the more prominently known modern version. This is a fairly dry film with the exception of a very brutal massacre that I imagine was very bold for the era and even for today to some degree. It was a little hard to follow each story line and there were quite a few title slides meaning less was conveyed through emotion and acting. Onto the plot: two women try to find their father, who is a British officer, during the French and Indian war. There is, for the time, a risky romance between a white woman and a Native American man and that vicious attack on a village that is actually hard to watch at times. Overall the story was stunted by a dry and stiff story and character charisma. I have yet to see the Daniel Day Lewis version. Time to compare.

Beware, this is not cinema

[Sorsimus · 1/10 · 5 November 2000]

Many of the best films ever made were made during the silent era. Titles such as Nosferatu, Sunrise and The Crowd are all stunning examples of how mature an art form silent cinema actually was.

Literary adaptations made up most of the earliest cinema. As films were perceived as a cheap form of entertainment it seemed crazy to actually pay someone to write when you had hundreds of books to film.

Last Of The Mohicans is (obviously) an adaptation. Sadly it is not a good film. Actually it makes me think whether it is a film at all. All of its storytelling happens in the captions. At times you get several captions following each other telling what the characters do. They are followed by panoramic shots of American nature not necessarily relating to the captions in any way. At best you get Images depicting what has just been expressed verbally in the last caption. Murnau made "Der Letzte Mann" without any captions and managed to tell a story ten times more complicated in a lucid and coherent fashion.

All in all this is a very disappointing film that should be forgotten.

New Film Music Score Available

[BrentMDavids · 8/10 · 9 April 2005]

This review is not about the inaccuracies of the film, nor in the original novel; but, it is about the film music. A new edition of this film is available now with an entirely new film music score. The film itself has been remastered from a french nitrate master copy, by George Eastman House. The Slingshot and Miramax releases added a rather poor film score, with flute and synthesizer. 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. Search for the newer version, and definitely check out this film!

My deepest apologies. i give this film a 3 star rating, i never do unless I had too.

[Manami_Miku28 · 3/10 · 29 April 2023]

I'm sorry. I had to give this movie a 3⭐⭐⭐ review which, I rarely to never do unless other wise. I gave it a 3⭐⭐⭐ almost a 2⭐⭐ all cuz, it was fast pace & it also, felt as the film was abit rushed & it didn't give viewers who do watch it, such as myself, enough time to read the words b'tween scenes cuz, it jump to the scene & the ppl in the film did not speak at all though 20mims i tried to watch but, i lose interest in it very quick. It just wasn't for me. I clearly understand, this was filmed in the 1920's or around 1920's & they may not have had wat film makers/directors have today's world 2023 but, they should have done a remake of this movie 1920's film w/ ppl talkin' & had it play in a decent & just rite pace. I'll b completely honest here, i felt that this 1920's film was only & mainly intended for the use & purposes for schools around the world, as a History lesson, a class assignment &/or a History project. It could b of good use in the Deaf & Mute school's as well, i think. But, tbf i b'lieve that The Last of The Mohicans 1992 film, starring Daniel Day-Lewis film of Last of The Mohicans was the best just this film doesn't match w/ the 1992 film, i don't think. They need to make a 2024 remake version of this 1920's film version, some how, i feel. I just didn't like this version of The Last of The Mohicans, at all. My deepest apologies.

Silent film with stunning action scenes

[tieman64 · 20 February 2010]

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. The epic showdowns on the mountain cliffs, the waterfalls, the suicidal leaps, the columns of troops being ambushed in the forest, the battles at the fort, those muscular action poses struck by the Indians...they're all here and one can see why Mann cites this film as a favourite. It's an incredibly visual film, packed with action and bodice ripping romance.

7.5/10 - I can't see this film appealing to modern audiences. Me, I like it for its raw violence, its huge sets and for the comparisons it offers with Mann's remake.