Film genres are often a tricky category to describe films, especially those that are set in the great outdoors pre-1900. Sometimes "Drums Along the Mohawk" is identified as a western even though it takes place in New York state, the presence of natives an understandable cause for confusion. This is a story of the South during the restoration years, with just Chandler playing the military governor of a southern town that ironically he had participated in as a northerner in Sherman's March. He arrives while the chaos of the end of the war has caused much English, and during the trial of a man named a traitor to his community (Morris Ankrum), Chandler tries to prevent anarchy. But he can't control the populace, and there is a very violent lynching that results and a man being hanged. Ankrum's daughter, Joanne Dru, is vindictive towards Chandler but soon realizes what he is out to accomplish and turns to his side even though the town remains against him.
A complex drama that also features Julie London and Donald Crisp, it is often a violent account of the Southern States not ready to rejoin the union peacefully even though the war has been lost. You see old mansions in disarray, rebellions taking place, and chaos preventing Chandler from making accomplishments. Chandler is quite sympathetic, understanding the frustration of those left in a destroyed nation that didn't survive its Civil War, and when violence gets out of control, he has to appeal to their good sense and decency. This is not a perfect film and definitely the lack of black characters seem strange for a film set in the south with plantations in the background is odd, but it's a very interesting look back at a topic that wasn't often dramatized on film. Chandler gives one of his best performances, and veteran actor Crisp has a few commanding moments as the town elder who quietly has to become the voice of reason in spite of his resentment towards the situation. Well worth seeing.
A complex drama that also features Julie London and Donald Crisp, it is often a violent account of the Southern States not ready to rejoin the union peacefully even though the war has been lost. You see old mansions in disarray, rebellions taking place, and chaos preventing Chandler from making accomplishments. Chandler is quite sympathetic, understanding the frustration of those left in a destroyed nation that didn't survive its Civil War, and when violence gets out of control, he has to appeal to their good sense and decency. This is not a perfect film and definitely the lack of black characters seem strange for a film set in the south with plantations in the background is odd, but it's a very interesting look back at a topic that wasn't often dramatized on film. Chandler gives one of his best performances, and veteran actor Crisp has a few commanding moments as the town elder who quietly has to become the voice of reason in spite of his resentment towards the situation. Well worth seeing.