''The Last of the Mohicans'' is a 1971 BBC serial, based on the 1826 novel of the same name by

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought ...

, directed by David Maloney. It was shown during the Sunday tea time slot on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, which for several years showed fairly faithful adaptations of classic novels aimed at a family audience. In 1972 it was shown in America as part of the '' Masterpiece Theatre'' series. The serial consisted of eight 45-minute episodes. Near the start, Chingachook introduces his son Uncas, saying "Uncas is the last of the Mohicans". After Uncas is killed, the final line in the serial is Chingachgook saying in a sad voice, "I am the last of the Mohicans". The serial was responsible for popularising the term "Mohican hairstyle" for what is known as a

Mohawk hairstyle The mohawk (also referred to as a Mohican) is a hairstyle in which, in the most common variety, both sides of the head are shaven, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair in the center. It is today worn as an emblem of non-conformity. The ...

in the US, although it was actually worn by the

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawato ...

s not the Mohicans in the serial. This production was released on DVD, distributed by Acorn Media UK.

Sequel

In 1973 the BBC made a sequel ''Hawkeye, the Pathfinder'', also with Abineri as Chingachook but with Paul Massie as Hawkeye. It was produced for North America by 20th Century-Fox Television and broadcast by ABC in the United States.

Cast

*Colonel Munro: Andrew Crawford *Major Duncan Heyward: Tim Goodman *Hawkeye: Kenneth Ives *Magua:

Philip Madoc Philip Madoc (born Philip Arvon Jones; 5 July 1934 – 5 March 2012) was a Welsh actor. He performed many stage, television, radio and film roles, and was recognised for having a "rich, sonorous voice" and often playing villains and office ...

*Chingachgook:

John Abineri John Abineri (18 May 1928 – 29 June 2000) was an English actor. Born in London, he attended the Old Vic drama school and described himself as "Well educated from the age of five to eighteen". He spoke a number of languages (including Germ ...

*Uncas:

Richard Warwick Richard Warwick (29 April 1945 – 16 December 1997) was an English actor. He was born Richard Carey Winter, the third of four sons, at Meopham, Kent, and made his film debut in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in the r ...

*Cora Munro: Patricia Maynard *Alice Munro:

Joanna David Joanna David (born Joanna Elizabeth Hacking; 17 January 1947) is an English actress, best known for her television work. Life David was born in Lancaster, England, to Davida Elizabeth (''née'' Nesbitt) and John Almond Hacking. In 1971, she ...

Reception

It is considered by some people to be the most faithful and the best of the various film and TV adaptations of ''The Last of the Mohicans'', as well as one of the best of the BBC's Sunday adaptations. Compared with some other adaptations of the novel it was made on a relatively low budget (much of it was shot in the studio, although there were scenes shot on location in Scotland) and it included some dated elements (the American Indians were all played by white actors in make up). However it was praised for the quality of the acting, particularly the performance as Magua by

, an experienced Welsh TV actor who often played

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. '' Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a charact ...

s, and

as Uncas. In a contemporary review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' John J. O'Connor criticized the "natural handicap of vocal accents" of British actors portraying Native Americans. He summarized; "The over‐all production, complete with forest battles and canoe joustings, is excellent. The color photography is first‐rate. And most of the performances, in the B.B.C. tradition, are superb."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Last of the Mohicans (TV series), The BBC television dramas Television shows based on American novels Films based on The Last of the Mohicans 1971 British television series debuts 1971 British television series endings