Produced in 1939 by John Ford, the American filmmaker and director, Drums Along the Mohawk is an adventure involving the romance of a newly married couple, Lana Borst Martin and Gilbert Martin (introduced by Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda).

After their wedding, young Gilbert takes his bride to the Mohawk Valley. Mohawk is one of those lands newly settled by whites in the mid-18th century. Faced with threats from Britain’s Indian allies, in this town the young couple have no relatives and no clear idea of ​​their future. Of course, one of the most important issues there would be the presence of the Indians in the nearby lands. From the opening moments, right after the wedding ceremony sequence, the first performance of an Indian film, Blue Back (Chief John Big Tree) is accompanied by horror. Though contrived and humorous, the scene is willingly or ignorantly reconstructing the already formed image of the Indians as the embodiment of terror and discomfort; the scene where the young woman confronts Blue Back in the old lodge.

The depicted image of the Indians is dualistic, and this duality has some implication: one is the lovely Blue Back; he is a redskin in the white suit. The other is the terrifying and absolutely wild ones, who don’t have the crucial thinking ability to make decisions about how to loot houses. In one such raid on white homes, the elderly Mrs. Sara McKenna (Edna May Oliver), who has given work and supported the young couple by providing them with a place to reside, forces the two Iroquois giants to respectfully steal his “beloved” bed, “turning it over.” ”, and the two stupid Indians obey him with great surprise and appreciation. However, the former doesn’t make any more sense to the viewer in this regard. Because he is with the American people, he is usually considered to have a better role in the movie. Logically, he has accused himself of the ways of life and behavior of the settlers. He has converted to Christianity, wears American costumes like his hat; he speaks poor English and lives with them in a domestic life. Both share a lack of mental acuity.

Historically, the film’s setting is the threshold of the Revolution. The era in which there is a great deal of defiance, mutiny, betrayal and espionage between British, patriotic and loyal agents among American settlers and Indians. Another notable character is the one-eyed British Captain Morgan (Tom Tyler), a mischievous, bad-hearted fellow responsible for intriguing the Iroquois against the settlers and for burning down towns and terrorizing the people of the valley. .

The story involves the characters chronicling the aforementioned part of American history. The most populous group involved is, of course, white Americans. All types exist on the plot. The most important, after all, are the first two or three characters; Henry Morgan is the handsome, well-educated, diligent, and patriotic white lover. His wife, Lana, the pretty girlfriend, has lived the life of a wealthy family. She is unfamiliar with the new culture, but the kind people of the region embrace her warmly. One of these is Mrs. Sara McLennan, an old woman who is not so pretty, but smart and too brave of a woman.
Drums Along the Mohawks cannot be put among Ford’s fine productions, although it has received Oscars and a great deal of attention from the public. It seems that this is largely due to it being a Fordian product and not its own efficiency.

Aesthetically speaking, and in comparison to his best films such as Gone with the Wind, Young Mr. Lincoln, How Green Was My Valley, The Grapes of Wrath and so many other films, the film lacks the usual appeal and harmony. It cannot be placed exactly between one of the distinct genres like the others. On the other hand, many critics believe that it puts the Indians at the bottom of naivete, being their land; they have not received enough attention to be fully or efficiently represented on film. Although it can be said that John Ford has not put it of his own free will. In fact, he has never been involved in the racist or biased ideologies that have captured some of his colleagues.