Product Description

Randolph Scott heads the cast in this 1936 film adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's great tale of rousing adventure...

During the fierce French-Indian Wars in 1757, sisters Alice and Cora set out to join their father, Colonel Munro, at his beleaguered Fort Henry. Betrayed by their Huron guide, Magura (CABOT), Alice and Cora are rescued from ambush by a dashing frontier scout named Hawkeye (SCOTT).

With Magua and his renegade army on their trail, It's up to Hawkeye and his companions to lead the Munro sisters through the spectacular and dangerous wilderness of upstate New York and deliver them safely into the hands of their father.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39002 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-12-15
• Formats: Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Customer Reviews

The Last of the Mohicans 1936 Randolph Scott
The Last Of The Mohicans [1936]
I missed this item on Laserdisc as it was deleted when I went to order it. However, I viewed with interest the DVD Special Edition from a distributor I had not heard of before. I ordered and although it is not bad the quality is far below what i would have expected which is why I would give it a low rating. As a film it is fine but then I am biased as I like Randolph Scott films. By all means buy it if Scott and esterns from the 1930s are your bag but don't expect top quality like a Warner Bros restoration. This brings me to price which is too high under the circumstances when a topnotch Warner or Fox restoration can often be had for under US$10 if one searches properly.

QUITE GOOD
EDWARD SMALL, known for later smaller productions, produced for UNITED ARTISTS. The movie was shot at RKO-Pathé studios. The second unit material was directed by WALLACE FOX and shot in California, standing for the future N.Y. state. We are in 1757, as shown by the full title of the 1826 novel. GEORGE B.SEITZ had started in the industry in 1914, when he was 26 (those were the days!) with a PATHE SERIAL, 17 serials all together. He went through various studios, including MAYFAIR (I must confess that I don't know anything about it). At last, in 1933 he was at MGM for 24 movies, who will include 12 titles of the ANDY HARDY series.
He must have known his way around a studio as our movie shows, the SEITZ movies are hard to find. The film was written by PHILIP DUNNE, the great screen writer and later director
RANDOLPH SCOTT was already an established actor, thanks to his good looks and efficient modest style. He is mostly known for his later COLUMBIA and WARNER westerns, but he had starred.in B westerns in the thirties.
His parts in the two ASTAIRE/ROGERS movies had done him no harm. Great movies would serve him in the forties (MY FAVORITE WIFE, JESSE JAMES)
I am not a member of the "older is better" school but he is brilliant here in his usual unassuming way as Hawkeye. BINNIE BARNES and HEATHER ANGEL, as the two daughters of the British colonel (HUGH BECKLER) are not too good. MERLE OBERON was to star in the picture. HENRY WILCOXON, as the major in love with BARNES shows his superior acting abilities. Of course, the sweetest part is that of the heavy (Indian and French spy: two major vices). BRUCE CABOT just looked tough, he didn't have to play the part. He was outstanding as the good guy or the bad guy. He is the character you best remember from KING KONG. Thanks to the loyalty of his old friend JOHN WAYNE, he ended his career with good parts (he had acted with the Duke in ANGEL AND THE BADMAN, a great picture left to inferior transfers in DVD).
To sum it up, if you trust the transfer, buy that DVD. Later on, you may be able to catch some of the one hundred movies directed by SEITZ.

Hammy and slow-moving
The Bottom Line:

Although this version of Cooper's novel is mercifully free of the self-importance that mars Michael Mann's more recent adaptation, it's unfortunately characterized by the hammy acting endemic to lesser actors of the past, a lack of suspense, and a pace that frequently lags (it's about 35 minutes shorter than Mann's version but feels longer); all things considered The Last of the Mohicans is an obscure film that should stay as such.

2.5/4