REGENT THEATRE.

Evening Post, Issue 86, 8 October 1936, Page 6

REGENT THEATRE.

"The Last of the Mohicans."

Once again the producers of "The Count of Monte Cristo" translate to the screen a story that is a favourite one with every generation. They have chosen this time "The Last of the Mohicans," James Fenimore Cooper's immortal classic of the hand-to-hand struggle for a nation yet unborn, and have turned out a memorable picture, lavishing on it all their great resources and making it a production of the- first magnitude. Hawkeye, Chingachgook, Major Hey ward, Cora arid Alice, the famous characters who moved adventurously through the pages of the book, are now brought to vivid life upon the screen. The grandeur, the excitement, and adventurous sweep of this remarkable story have '■ been captured with stirring realism. The picture cannot fail to prove to appeal to the millions of lovers of the book as well as those unfamiliar with the stirring story of the pioneer men and women who faced death and danger and exciting adventure for the glory of a brave new world carved from a trackless wilderness. Brilliant performances are given by Randolph Scott as Hawkeye, the primitive man of the forest whom Cooper made his herd; lovely Bmme Barnes, who is ideally cast as Alice Munro, the British colonel's daughter, who loves him; Henry Wilcoxon, who plays the gallant Major 'Duncan. Heyward, Hawkeye's rival for the heart of Alice; Bruce Cabot, who, with, shaved scalp and scalplock, makes a perfect Magua, the renegade Indian spy; pretty Heather Angel as Cora, the sister of Alice, whose death leap from the heights of Lovers' Cliff is one of the big thrills of the picture; and Phillip Reed as Uncas, the "last of the Mohicans." Others who are outstanding are Robert Barrat as Chingachgook, the Mohican chief, Hugh Buckler, as Colonel/Munrq, and Willard Robertson as the colonial Captain Winthrop. Unforgettable moments are the canoe chase, with Uncas guiding Cora to safety through a shower of. enemy arrows; the French attack .on Fort William Henry, last stronghold of the British and Americans; and the savage war dance of the Huron tribe. George B. Seitz has treated "The Last of the Mohicans" with his usual brilliant direction, the. photographic effects achieved by Robert Planck are breathtakingly grand, and the musical backi ground by Nathaniel Shillcret is thrillI ing and impressive.