Drums Along the Mohawk

Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) is a historical war drama from John Ford you can watch online on iFILM. It was the director's first picture shot in Technicolor. Newlyweds Gil and Lana leave settled Albany for a small farm by the Mohawk River, arriving right on the eve of the American Revolution.

Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert play a couple whose move turns into a test of endurance: instead of a quiet homestead come cleared forest, ruined crops and raids. The British turn native war parties loose on the settlers, and a tiny fort at the mouth of the valley becomes the last line of defense. Edna May Oliver, as a widow who yields the enemy nothing, earned an Oscar nomination for the role.

Ford wasn't after grand battles so much as people clinging to a patch of land while the familiar world falls apart around them. Rich color, wide upstate New York vistas, and the director's trademark faith in ordinary folk. If you love classic Hollywood and Ford's early frontier work, stream Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) online on iFILM.