"Year Of" movie today, Drums Along the Mohawk

Okay, guys, I gotta couple of great options for you this afternoon, and I'm not talking about a post-lunch nap (as attractive as that option always is). First of all, there's the graduate school workshop on the third floor of the library at 2:00 (that's where I plan to be). But if that doesn't float your boat, the "Year Of" movie this week is the 1939 Technicolor classic from John Ford, Drums Along the Mohawk. It was nominated for two Academy Awards (in a year when the competition included such tiny little films as The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind). The movie stars Henry Fonda, Claudette Colbert, Edna May Oliver (Best Supporting Actress nominee for this picture) and John Carradine.

The movie is set in 1776. Newlywed American colonists leave a comfortable existence in Albany, New York, to settle in a small farm on the western frontier of the Mohawk Valley. When the American Revolution starts, the couple finds themselves under attack by the natives, who are working in concert with British sympathizers.

It's supposed to be an exciting, "blood and thunder"-type movie. I personally would like to hear Michael's take on it. Michael Martinez is, of course, the library director and the chairman of the "Year Of" committee. He will be at the showing today to give some historical background and lead discussion before and after the film. Show up at the Funk at 2:00, and you may win a t-shirt!

(You can take that nap afterwards).