Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans

Considering when it was made in the late 50's, I found the performance of lon chaney jr. to be mesmerizing. so proud, so sad, all at once. as a child i tried to understand the unfair treatment of american indians; watching this got it across to me. cooper is not going down as the most sensitive author on this topic, but chaney claimed it as his own in my estimation. For Chaney alone it gets high high marks and a strong recommendation.

The first-run syndicated series "Last of the Mohicans" was based on the classic James Fenimore Cooper novel and was set along the New York-Canadian border during the French and Indian War. Veteran character actors John Hart starred as frontiersman Hawkeye and Lon Chaney Jr. as his Mohican blood-brother Chinachgook.The series followed Hawkeye and Chingachgook's adventures as they attempted to keep the settlers of the new frontier safe from the various warring parties.

The series was filmed in Canada so if a given episode was set in the winter, you could actually see their breath! The entire series was filmed on location so the series, though otherwise fairly routine, boasted actual outdoor locations and paid close attention to detail such the loading and use of muskets.

After its initial run the series was played endlessly in reruns for many years and is still a well remembered series.

This one year series which seemed to run in syndication for quite some time as I remember starred John Hart as James Fenimore Cooper's legendary frontiersman Hawkeye. His companion is Chingachgook, the last member of the wiped out Mohican tribe played by Lon Chaney, Jr.

In the 39 episodes of the series, I do remember that it had the same failing as the later Daniel Boone series where Boone is on everything from the defeat of Braddock and before that in the French and Indian War right up to and including Aaron Burr's conspiracy to do something. Of course Boone was a real person and the fictional Hawkeye and Chingachgook could be adapted to any situation.

John Hart did a stint as the Lone Ranger when Clayton Moore had a contract dispute and walked out on the series for a season. The show was modeled exactly like the Lone Ranger with Hawkeye and Chingachgook roaming the frontier, righting wrongs from both the white and red point of view.

The two wanderers are doing this after the action of The Last Of The Mohicans takes place. Chaney's Chingachgook has an air of incredible sadness about him, it's what I remember best of the series. He saw himself become the last of his tribe in The Last Of The Mohicans, belonging to nowhere in the Indian world and not being accepted in the white one. His only friend is Hawkeye who prefers the wilderness solitude to civilization.

Hawkeye And The Last Of The Mohicans was a good introduction for young people to check out the writings of James Fenimore Cooper. I know I did back as a lad and hope a few of my peers did as well.

John Hart, former Lone Ranger, played Nat "Hawkeye" Cutler, the lead in this series, co-starring with the legendary Lon Chaney Jr as his aboriginal half-brother, Chingachgook. The man who is still considered "the most prolific director in the American sound age", Sam Newfield directed every episode except one (the pilot, directed by colleague Sidney Salkow), while brother Sig Neufeld produced. Sig's son has a music credit in "Hawkeye" and another son is alleged to have appeared in the series.

This was an absolutely great series compared to what else was being churned out of Canada in this era, but somewhat pedestrian compared to the wealth of similar material available in the U.S. at the time. Still, it was shown all over the world, easily accessing U.S. and British Commonwealth television markets and while filmed in B&W, still a pretty good package to view on DVD today.

The outdoors scenes in the program were filmed in picturesque Pickering, Ontario, Canada in the late summer and fall of 1956. There was a movement in 2006 by some dedicated fans of the show to have a plaque erected in the vicinity of the outdoor film lot, as well as a campaign to have a Pickering street renamed "Hawkeye Drive" in commemoration of the show's fiftieth anniversary. Unfortunately, their request has been rejected by Pickering City Council.

I remember watching episodes of this series as a child, which must have been in the early 1960s. It couldn't have been earlier as a) it wasn't released in the UK until 1962 and b) I wouldn't have been considered old enough to watch it before then anyway.

I remember it as an exciting and semi-educational series - while it may not have been historically accurate, it did throw some light on the events of wars that occurred in North America in the mid-1700s. It must have made an impact as I've always remembered the names of Hawkeye and Chingachgook, the story of the 'Last of the Mohicans' and James Fennimore Cooper - how many remember him ? Montcalm, General Wolfe and Quebec Heights all became known and I still have, somewhere, a jigsaw puzzle depicting the scene.

Astonishingly, at least some of the episodes are now being repeated on British television, black and white of course, but none the worse for that. Yes, it's dated and some might say it's a bit corny but that's what television was in the 1950s as viewed through the prism of 60 years later. "Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans" wasn't half-bad in it's day and I remember it fondly. Seeing it again in 2019 hasn't changed my opinion.