''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American
Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
VistaVision
VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954.
Paramount never used anamorphic processes such as 2.55: 1, CinemaScope but refi ...
epic Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
film directed by
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
and written by
Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by
Alan Le May
Alan Brown Le May (June 3, 1899 – April 27, 1964) was an American novelist and screenplay writer.
He is most remembered for two classic Western novels, ''The Searchers'' (1954) and ''The Unforgiven'' (1957).Herzberg, Bob (2008). ''Savages an ...
. It is set during the
Texas-Native American wars, and stars
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
as a middle-aged
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece (
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles.
Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...
), accompanied by his adopted nephew Martin (
Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Kin ...
).
The film was a critical and commercial success. Since its release, it has come to be considered a masterpiece and
one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. It was named the
greatest American Western by the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
in 2008, and it placed 12th on the same organization's 2007 list of the
100 greatest American movies of all time. ''Entertainment Weekly'' also named it the best Western. The
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
's ''
Sight & Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' magazine ranked it as the seventh-best film of all time based on a
2012 international survey of film critics and in 2008, the French magazine ''
Cahiers du Cinéma
''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...
'' ranked ''The Searchers'' number 10 in their list of the 100 best films ever made.
In 1989, ''The Searchers'' was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
, and selected for preservation in its
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...
; it was one of the first 25 films selected for the registry.
''The Searchers'' was the first major film to have a purpose-filmed
making-of
In cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK (electronic press kit) vid ...
, requested by John Ford. It deals with most aspects of making the film, including preparation of the site, construction of props, and filming techniques.
Plot
In 1868, Ethan Edwards returns after an eight-year absence to the home of his brother Aaron in
West Texas
West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio.
No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...
. Ethan fought in the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
on the side of the
Confederacy, and in the three years since that war ended, he apparently fought in the
Mexican revolutionary war, as well. He has a large quantity of gold coins of uncertain origin in his possession, and a medal from the Mexican campaign that he gives to his eight-year-old niece, Debbie. As a former Confederate soldier, he is asked to take an oath of allegiance to the
Texas Rangers; he refuses.
Shortly after Ethan's arrival, cattle belonging to his neighbor Lars Jorgensen are stolen, and Rev. Captain Samuel Clayton leads Ethan and a group of Rangers to recover them. After discovering that the theft was a
Comanche
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
ploy to draw the men away from their families, they return and find the Edwards
homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
*Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...
in flames. Aaron, his wife Martha, and their son Ben are dead, and Debbie and her older sister Lucy have been abducted.
After a brief funeral, the men set out in pursuit. They come upon a
burial ground
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
of Comanches who were killed during the raid. When they find the Comanche camp, Ethan recommends a frontal attack, but Clayton insists on a stealth approach to avoid killing the hostages. The camp is deserted, and further along the trail, the men ride into an ambush. Despite fending off the attack, the Rangers are left with too few men to fight the Native Americans effectively. They return home, leaving Ethan to continue his search for the girls with only Lucy's fiancé, Brad Jorgensen, and Debbie's adopted brother, Martin Pawley. Ethan finds Lucy brutally murdered and presumably raped in a canyon near the Comanche camp. In a blind rage, Brad rides directly into the camp and is killed.
![The searchers Ford Trailer screenshot (22)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/The_searchers_Ford_Trailer_screenshot_%2822%29.jpg)
When winter arrives, Ethan and Martin lose the trail and return to the Jorgensen ranch. Martin is enthusiastically welcomed by the Jorgensens' daughter Laurie, and Ethan finds a letter waiting for him from a trader named Futterman, who claims to have information about Debbie. Ethan, who would rather travel alone, leaves without Martin the next morning, but Laurie reluctantly provides Martin with a horse to catch up. At Futterman's trading post, Ethan and Martin learn that Debbie has been taken by Scar, the chief of the
Nawyecka band of Comanches. A year or more later, Laurie receives a letter from Martin describing the ongoing search. In reading the letter aloud, Laurie narrates the next few scenes, in which Ethan kills Futterman for trying to steal his money, and Martin accidentally buys a Comanche wife who runs away when she hears Scar's name, later being among the dead when the two men find a portion of Scar's band killed by soldiers.
![The searchers Ford Trailer screenshot (20)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/The_searchers_Ford_Trailer_screenshot_%2820%29.jpg)
The search leads Ethan and Martin to a military fort, and then to
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
, where a Mexican man leads them to Scar. They find Debbie after five years, now an adolescent, living as one of Scar's wives. She tells the men that she has become a Comanche and wishes to remain with them. Ethan would rather see her dead than living as a Native American, and tries to shoot her, but Martin shields her with his body and a Comanche wounds Ethan with an arrow as they escape. Although Martin tends to Ethan's wound, he is furious with him for attempting to kill Debbie, and wishes him dead. "That'll be the day," Ethan replies, as they return home.
Meanwhile, Charlie McCorry has been courting Laurie in Martin's absence. Ethan and Martin arrive home just as Charlie and Laurie's wedding is about to begin. After a fistfight between Martin and Charlie, a nervous Yankee soldier, Lt. Greenhill, arrives with news that Ethan's half-crazy friend Mose Harper has located Scar. Clayton leads his men to the Comanche camp, this time for a direct attack, but Martin is allowed to sneak in ahead of the assault to find Debbie, who welcomes him. Martin kills Scar to save Debbie, and Ethan scalps him. Ethan then locates Debbie, and pursues her on horseback. Martin fears that he will shoot her as he has promised and chases them desperately, but instead, Ethan sweeps her up into his arms and says, "Let’s go home, Debbie." She is taken to the Jorgensen ranch, and Martin reunites with Laurie. While everyone else enters the house, Ethan departs the homestead as he arrived – alone, clutching his arm – and the cabin door slowly shuts on his receding silhouette.
Cast
*
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
as Ethan Edwards
*
Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Kin ...
as Martin Pawley
*
Vera Miles
Vera June Miles (née Ralston, born August 23, 1929) is an American retired actress who worked closely with Alfred Hitchcock, most notably as Lila Crane in the classic 1960 film '' Psycho'', reprising the role in the 1983 sequel '' Psycho II''. ...
as Laurie Jorgensen
*
Ward Bond
Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Ber ...
as Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnson Clayton
*
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles.
Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...
as adult Debbie Edwards
*
John Qualen
John Qualen (born Johan Mandt Kvalen, December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was an American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles.
Early years
Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son ...
as Lars Jorgensen
*
Olive Carey
Olive Carey (born Olive Fuller Golden; January 31, 1896 – March 13, 1988) was an American film and television actress, and the mother of actor Harry Carey Jr.
Life and career
Carey was born Olive Fuller Golden in New York City, the daughter o ...
as Mrs. Jorgensen
*
Henry Brandon as Chief Cicatriz (Scar)
*
Ken Curtis
Ken Curtis (born Curtis Wain Gates; July 2, 1916 – April 28, 1991) was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the CBS western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Although he appeared on ''Gunsmoke'' earlie ...
as Charlie McCorry
*
Harry Carey Jr. as Brad Jorgensen
*
Antonio Moreno
Antonio Garrido Monteagudo (September 26, 1887 – February 15, 1967), better known as Antonio Moreno or Tony Moreno, was a Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s.
Early life and silent fi ...
as Emilio Gabriel Fernández y Figueroa
*
Hank Worden
Hank Worden (born Norton Earl Worden; July 23, 1901 – December 6, 1992) was an American cowboy-turned-character actor who appeared in many Westerns, including many John Ford films such as ''The Searchers'' and the TV series ''The Lone Ra ...
as Mose Harper
* Beulah Archuletta as Wild Goose Flying in the Night Sky (Look)
*
Walter Coy
Walter Darwin Coy (January 31, 1909 – December 11, 1974) was an American stage, radio, film, and, principally, television actor, arguably most well known as John Wayne's character's brother in ''The Searchers'' (1956).
Early years
Originally ...
as Aaron Edwards
*
Dorothy Jordan as Martha Edwards
*
Pippa Scott
Philippa Scott is an American actress who has appeared in film and television since the 1950s.
Personal life
Scott was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of actress Laura Straub and screenwriter Allan Scott; an uncle was th ...
as Lucy Edwards
*
Patrick Wayne
Patrick John Morrison (born July 15, 1939), better known by his stage name Patrick Wayne, is an American actor. He is the second son of movie star John Wayne and his first wife, Josephine Alicia Saenz. He made over 40 films, including eleven w ...
as Lt. Greenhill
*
Lana Wood
Lana Wood (born Svetlana Lisa Gurdin; March 1, 1946) is an American actress and producer. She made her film debut in ''The Searchers'' as a child actress and later achieved notability for playing Sandy Webber on the TV series '' Peyton Place'' a ...
as young Debbie Edwards
*
Robert Lyden
Robert Marinus Lyden (May 28, 1942 – January 17, 1986) was a child actor in the 1950s.
Robert Lyden made his film debut in 1949 with ''Holiday Affair'' and also played with Doris Day in the musical film '' I'll See You in My Dreams'' (1951 ...
as Ben Edwards
*
Chuck Roberson
Charles Hugh Roberson (May 10, 1919 – June 8, 1988) was an American actor and stuntman.
Biography
Roberson was born near Shannon, Texas, the son of farmer Ollie W. Roberson and Jannie Hamm Roberson. Raised on cattle ranches in Shannon, ...
as Texas Ranger at Wedding
*
Jack Pennick
Ronald Jack Pennick (December 7, 1895 – August 16, 1964) was an American film actor. After working as a gold miner as a young man, serving as a US Marine, he would go on to appear in more than 140 films between 1926 and 1962. Pennick was a ...
as Sergeant at Fort
Production
''The Searchers'' was the first production from "distinguished
turfman"
C. V. Whitney; it was directed by
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
and distributed by
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
While the film was primarily set in the staked plains (
Llano Estacado
The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...
) of northwestern Texas, it was actually filmed in
Monument Valley
Monument Valley ( nv, Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, , meaning ''valley of the rocks'') is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, the largest reaching above the valley floor. It is located on the Utah-Arizona s ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
/
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. Additional scenes were filmed in
Mexican Hat, Utah
Mexican Hat is a census-designated place (CDP) in Utah in the United States. It is on the San Juan River on the northern edge of the Navajo Nation's borders in south-central San Juan County. The population was 31 in the 2010 census, a sharp de ...
, in
Bronson Canyon
Bronson Canyon, or Bronson Caves, is a section of Griffith Park in Los Angeles that has become known as a filming location for many films and television series, especially Westerns and science fiction, from the early days of motion pictures to th ...
in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, and in
Elk Island National Park
Elk Island National Park is a national park in Alberta, Canada, that played an important part in the conservation of the Plains bison. The park is administered by the Parks Canada Agency. This "island of conservation" is east of Edmonton, alo ...
. The film was shot in the
VistaVision
VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954.
Paramount never used anamorphic processes such as 2.55: 1, CinemaScope but refi ...
widescreen process. Ford originally wanted to cast
Fess Parker
Fess Elisha Parker Jr. (born F. E. Parker Jr.;Weaver, Tom.Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde: Interviews with 62 Filmmakers p. 148 (McFarland 2012). August 16, 1924 – March 18, 2010),(March 18, 2010Daniel Boone Actor Fess Parker Dies at 85" ''CBS ...
, whose
performance
A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function.
Management science
In the work place ...
as
Davy Crockett
David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...
on television had helped spark a
national craze, in the Jeffrey Hunter role, but
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
, to whom Parker was under contract, refused to allow it and did not tell Parker about the offer, according to Parker's videotaped interview for the
Archive of American Television. Parker has said retrospectively that this was easily his worst career reversal.
As part of its promotion of ''The Searchers'' in 1956, Warner Bros. produced and broadcast one of the first behind-the-scenes, "making-of" programs in movie history, which aired as an episode of its ''
Warner Bros. Presents
''Warner Bros. Presents'' is the umbrella title for three series that were telecast as part of the 1955-56 season on ABC: ''Cheyenne'', a new Western series that originated on ''Presents'', and two based on classic Warner Bros motion picture pro ...
'' TV series.
Warner Bros. Presents
''Warner Bros. Presents'' is the umbrella title for three series that were telecast as part of the 1955-56 season on ABC: ''Cheyenne'', a new Western series that originated on ''Presents'', and two based on classic Warner Bros motion picture pro ...
''The Searchers'' is the first of only three films produced by
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
Cornelius "Sonny" Vanderbilt Whitney (February 20, 1899 – December 13, 1992) was an American businessman, film producer, government official, writer and philanthropist. He was also a polo player and the owner of a significant stable of Thorough ...
's C. V. Whitney Pictures; the second was ''
The Missouri Traveler
''The Missouri Traveler'' is a 1958 American coming-of-age period piece drama film directed by Jerry Hopper starring Brandon deWilde and Lee Marvin. It is based on the novel of the same name by John Burress. The cinematography was by Technicolo ...
'' in 1958 with
Brandon deWilde
Andre Brandon deWilde (April 9, 1942 – July 6, 1972) was an American theater, film, and television actor. Born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn, he debuted on Broadway at the age of seven and became a national phenomenon by the time he comp ...
and
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin (born Lamont Waltman Marvin Jr.; February 19, 1924August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actor. Known for his bass voice and premature white hair, he is best remembered for playing hardboiled "tough guy" characters. Alth ...
, and the last was ''
The Young Land
''The Young Land'' is a 1959 American Western film directed by Ted Tetzlaff and starring Patrick Wayne, Yvonne Craig, Dennis Hopper and Dan O'Herlihy. The cinematography was by Technicolor developer Winton C. Hoch and Henry Sharp. The film was ...
'' in 1959 with Wayne's son
Patrick Wayne
Patrick John Morrison (born July 15, 1939), better known by his stage name Patrick Wayne, is an American actor. He is the second son of movie star John Wayne and his first wife, Josephine Alicia Saenz. He made over 40 films, including eleven w ...
and
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...
.
Historical background
![The searchers Ford Trailer screenshot (4)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/The_searchers_Ford_Trailer_screenshot_%284%29.jpg)
Author
Alan Le May
Alan Brown Le May (June 3, 1899 – April 27, 1964) was an American novelist and screenplay writer.
He is most remembered for two classic Western novels, ''The Searchers'' (1954) and ''The Unforgiven'' (1957).Herzberg, Bob (2008). ''Savages an ...
's surviving research notes indicate that the two characters who go in search of a missing girl were inspired by
Britton Johnson, an African-American
teamster
A teamster is the American term for a truck driver or a person who drives teams of draft animals. Further, the term often refers to a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union in the United States and Canada.
Origi ...
, who ransomed his captured wife and children from the Comanches in 1865. Afterward, Johnson made at least three trips to Native American Territory and Kansas relentlessly searching for another kidnapped girl, Millie Durgan (or Durkin), until
Kiowa
Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and eve ...
raiders killed him in 1871.
Several film critics have suggested that ''The Searchers'' was inspired by the
1836 kidnapping of nine-year-old
Cynthia Ann Parker
Cynthia Ann Parker (October 28, 1827 – March 1871), also known as Naduah (Comanche: ''Narua''), was a white woman who was notable for having been captured during the Fort Parker massacre at about age nine, by a Comanche war band and adopted in ...
by
Comanche
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
warriors, who raided her family's home at Fort Parker, Texas. She spent 24 years with the Comanches, married a war chief, and had three children (one of whom was the famous Comanche Chief
Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker (Comanche ''kwana'', "smell, odor") ( – February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grew up among the Kwah ...
), only to be rescued against her will by Texas Rangers. James W. Parker, Cynthia Ann's uncle, spent much of his life and fortune in what became an obsessive search for his niece, like Ethan Edwards in the film. In addition, the rescue of Cynthia Ann, during a Texas Ranger attack known as the
Battle of Pease River
The Battle of Pease River occurred on December 18, 1860, near the present-day town of Margaret, Texas in Foard County, Texas, United States. The town is located between Crowell and Vernon within sight of the Medicine Mounds just outside present-da ...
, resembles the rescue of Debbie Edwards when the Texas Rangers attack Scar's village. Parker's story was only one of 64 real-life cases of 19th-century
child abductions in Texas that author
Alan Le May
Alan Brown Le May (June 3, 1899 – April 27, 1964) was an American novelist and screenplay writer.
He is most remembered for two classic Western novels, ''The Searchers'' (1954) and ''The Unforgiven'' (1957).Herzberg, Bob (2008). ''Savages an ...
studied while researching the novel on which the film was based.
The ending of Le May's novel contrasts to the film's, with Debbie, called Dry-Grass-Hair by the Comanches, running from the white men and from the Native Americans. Marty, in one final leg of his search, finds her days later, only after she has fainted from exhaustion.
In the film, Scar's Comanche group is referred to as the Nawyecka, correctly the ''Noyʉhka'' or ''Nokoni'', the same band that kidnapped Cynthia Ann Parker. Some film critics have speculated that the historical model for the cavalry attack on a Comanche village, resulting in Look's death and the taking of Comanche prisoners to a military post, was the well-known
Battle of Washita River
The Battle of Washita River (also called Battle of the Washita or the Washita Massacre) occurred on November 27, 1868, when Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's 7th U.S. Cavalry attacked Black Kettle's Southern Cheyenne camp on the Washita Rive ...
, November 27, 1868, when Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's 7th U.S. Cavalry attacked Black Kettle's Cheyenne camp on the Washita River (near present-day Cheyenne, Oklahoma). The sequence also resembles the 1872
Battle of the North Fork of the Red River
The Battle of North Fork or the Battle of the North Fork of the Red River occurred on September 28, 1872, near McClellan Creek in Gray County, Texas, United States. A monument on that spot marks the site of the battle between the Comanche India ...
, in which the
4th Cavalry captured 124 Comanche women and children and imprisoned them at
Fort Concho
Fort Concho is a former United States Army installation and National Historic Landmark District located in San Angelo, Texas. It was established in November 1867 at the confluence of the North and South Concho Rivers, on the routes of the But ...
.
Reception
Contemporaneous reviews
![Monument Valley 10](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Monument_Valley_10.jpg)
Upon the film's release,
Bosley Crowther
Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
of ''
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 ...
'' called it a "ripsnorting Western" (in spite of the "excessive language in its ads"); he credits Ford's "familiar corps of actors, writers, etc.,
ho help
Ho (or the transliterations He or Heo) may refer to:
People Language and ethnicity
* Ho people, an ethnic group of India
** Ho language, a tribal language in India
* Hani people, or Ho people, an ethnic group in China, Laos and Vietnam
* Hiri Mo ...
to give the gusto to this film. From Frank S. Nugent, whose screenplay from the novel of Alan LeMay is a pungent thing, right on through the cast and technicians, it is the honest achievement of a well-knit team."
Crowther noted "two faults of minor moment":
* "Episode is piled upon episode, climax upon climax, and corpse upon corpse... The justification for it is that it certainly conveys the lengthiness of the hunt, but it leaves one a mite exhausted, especially with the speed at which it goes.
* "The director has permitted too many outdoor scenes to be set in the obviously synthetic surroundings of the studio stage... some of those campfire scenes could have been shot in a sporting-goods store window."
''Variety'' called it "handsomely mounted and in the tradition of ''
Shane
Shane may refer to:
People
* Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress
* Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946)
* iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer
* Shane (name)
Shane is mainly a masculine g ...
''", yet "somewhat disappointing" due to its length and repetitiveness; "The John Ford directorial stamp is unmistakable. It concentrates on the characters and establishes a definite mood. It's not sufficient, however, to overcome many of the weaknesses of the story."
The ''
New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...
'' termed the movie "distinguished"; ''Newsweek'' deemed it "remarkable". ''Look'' described ''The Searchers'' as a "Homeric odyssey". ''The New York Times'' praised Wayne's performance as "uncommonly commanding".
''
The Monthly Film Bulletin
''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...
'' wrote, "Though it does not consistently achieve the highest Ford standards, ''The Searchers'' is surely the best Western since ''Shane''."
The film earned rentals of $4.8 million in the US and Canada during its first year of release.
Later assessments
Critic
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
found Wayne's character, Ethan Edwards, "one of the most compelling characters Ford and Wayne ever created". Ebert writes: "''The Searchers'' indeed seems to be two films. The Ethan Edwards story is stark and lonely, a portrait of obsession, and in it we can see
Schrader's inspiration for Travis Bickle of ''
Taxi Driver
''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...
''.
..The film within this film involves the silly romantic subplot and characters hauled in for comic relief, including the Swedish neighbor Lars Jorgensen (John Qualen), who uses a vaudeville accent, and Mose Harper (Hank Worden), a half-wit treated like a mascot.
..This second strand is without interest, and those who value ''The Searchers'' filter it out, patiently waiting for a return to the main story line."
''The Searchers'' has been cited as one of
the greatest films of all time, such as in the BFI's decennial ''
Sight & Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' polls. In 1972, ''The Searchers'' was ranked 18th; in 1992, 5th; in 2002, 11th; in 2012, 7th. In a 1959 ''
Cahiers du Cinéma
''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...
'' essay,
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran ...
compared the movie's ending to the reuniting of
Odysseus
Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
with
Telemachus
Telemachus ( ; grc, Τηλέμαχος, Tēlemakhos, lit=far-fighter), in Greek mythology, is the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who is a central character in Homer's ''Odyssey''. When Telemachus reached manhood, he visited Pylos and Sparta in se ...
in
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's ''
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...
''.
In 1963, he ranked ''The Searchers'' as the fourth-greatest American movie of the sound era, after ''
Scarface'' (1932), ''
The Great Dictator
''The Great Dictator'' is a 1940 American anti-war political satire black comedy film written, directed, produced, scored by, and starring British comedian Charlie Chaplin, following the tradition of many of his other films. Having been the onl ...
'' (1940), and ''
Vertigo
Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
'' (1958). The 2007
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
100 greatest American films list ranked ''The Searchers'' in 12th place. In 1998, ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'' ranked it 18th. In 2008, the American Film Institute named ''The Searchers'' as the greatest Western of all time. In 2010,
Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss (March 6, 1944 – April 23, 2015) was an American film critic and magazine editor for ''Time''. He focused on movies, with occasional articles on other subjects.
He was the former editor-in-chief of ''Film Comment' ...
noted the film was "now widely regarded as the greatest Western of the 1950s, the genre's greatest decade" and characterized it as a "darkly profound study of obsession, racism, and heroic solitude".
The film currently maintains a 94% approval rating on the review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 53 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The site's critics' consensus reads: "''The Searchers'' is an epic John Wayne Western that introduces dark ambivalence to the genre that remains fashionable today." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 94 out of 100 based on reviews from 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
The film has been recognized multiple times by the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
:
*
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies – number 96
*
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – number 12
*
AFI's 10 Top 10
''AFI's 10 Top 10'' honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute (AFI), the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008. In the special, various acto ...
– number 1 Western Film
On "They Shoot Pictures Don't They", a site which numerically calculates critical reception for any given film, ''The Searchers'' has been recognized as the ninth-most acclaimed movie ever made. Members of the
Western Writers of America
Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include historian ...
chose its title song as one of the top 100 Western songs of all time.
Scott McGee stated, "... more than just making a social statement like other Westerns of the period were apt to do, Ford instills in ''The Searchers'' a visual poetry and a sense of melancholy that is rare in American films and rarer still to Westerns."
Glenn Frankel
Glenn Frankel is an author, academic and winner of the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. He spent 27 years with ''The Washington Post'', where he was bureau chief in Richmond (Va.), Southern Africa, Jerusalem and London, and editor o ...
's 2013 study of the film calls it "the greatest Hollywood film that few people have seen".
[As cited in ]
Critical interpretations
Race relations
![The searchers Ford Trailer screenshot (9)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/The_searchers_Ford_Trailer_screenshot_%289%29.jpg)
A major theme of the film is the historical attitude of white settlers toward Native Americans. Ford was not the first to attempt this examination cinematically, but his depiction of harshness toward Native Americans was startling, particularly to later generations of viewers; Roger Ebert wrote, "I think Ford was trying, imperfectly, even nervously, to depict racism that justified genocide."
At the heart of ''The Searchers'' is Wayne's performance as the angry, vengeful Ethan Edwards. From the beginning of his quest, he is quite clearly less interested in rescuing Debbie than in wreaking vengeance on the Comanches for the slaughter of his brother's family.
[Frankel, Glenn. "''The Searchers'' was influential film in its day and still resonates today", ''The Washington Post'', July 4, 2013](_blank)
In a 1964 interview with ''
Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
'', Ford said, Film scholar Ed Lowry writes, "
ile the Comanches are depicted as utterly ruthless, Ford ascribes motivations for their actions, and lends them a dignity befitting a proud civilization. Never do we see the Indian commit atrocities more appalling than those perpetrated by the white man.
"Wayne is plainly
Ahab
Ahab (; akk, 𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍 ''Aḫâbbu'' 'a-ḫa-ab-bu'' grc-koi, Ἀχαάβ ''Achaáb''; la, Achab) was the seventh king of Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), Israel, the son and successor of King Omri and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, ...
", wrote cultural critic
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics.
Biography
Marcus wa ...
. "He is the good American hero driving himself past all known limits and into madness, his commitment to honor and decency burned down to a core of vengeance."
For Brenton Priestley, Ford indicates that Scar's cruelty is also motivated by revenge ("Two sons killed by white men. For each son, I take many... scalps.")
![The searchers Ford Trailer screenshot (18-crop)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/The_searchers_Ford_Trailer_screenshot_%2818-crop%29.jpg)
The theme of
miscegenation
Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...
also runs through the film. Early on, Martin earns a sour look from Ethan when he admits to being one-eighth Cherokee. Ethan says repeatedly that he will kill his niece rather than have her live "with a buck", that "living with the Comanche ain't living". Even one of the film's gentler characters, Vera Miles's Laurie, tells Martin when he explains he must protect his adoptive sister, "Ethan will put a bullet in her brain. I tell you Martha would want him to." This outburst makes it clear that even the supposedly gentler characters hold the same fear of miscegenation.
The rape of captive white women by the Commanche is an unspoken theme. No actual rape scene is depicted, but Alexandra Heller-Nicholas in her study of ''Rape-Revenge Films'' says, "the abduction, captivity, and implied rape of Debbie (Natalie Wood)... drives the narrative"; and Edward Buscombe points out a scene in which
"
than
''Than'' is a grammatical particle analyzed as both a conjunction and a preposition in the English language. It introduces a comparison and is associated with comparatives and with words such as more, less, and fewer. Typically, it measures t ...
turns off the trail to penetrate a narrow crevice in the rocks, and when he emerges, his savage stabbing with his knife seems to mimic a violent sexual act, drawing us 'a picture' of the act of rape which obsesses him." Glenn Frankel writes that in real life, "Rape was a fact of life for many captives, although it was seldom discussed by those women who escaped or were ransomed back to the white world."
Randy Roberts and James Olson write that Ethan Edwards:
:"...is also an obsessed maniac. White settlers are not simply the advanced vanguard of civilization; they are racists. Indians are not just noble savages; they are savage killers. The frontier is not a place of opportunity; it is a wasteland.... In the character of Ethan Edwards, John Wayne had extended the Western hero to the border of evil.
Ethan and Martha
![The searchers Ford Trailer screenshot (12-crop)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/The_searchers_Ford_Trailer_screenshot_%2812-crop%29.jpg)
An important plot undercurrent is the obvious mutual attraction between Ethan Edwards and his brother's wife, Martha. Although no dialogue alludes to it, many visual references to their relationship are seen throughout the film. Some critics have suggested that this unspoken passion implies that Debbie—who is specifically described as eight years old, as Ethan returns from an eight-year absence—may be Ethan's daughter. Such a situation would add further layers of nuance to Ethan's obsessive search for Debbie, his revulsion at the thought that she might be living as a Native American, and his ultimate decision to bring her home—and then walk away. Beyond the ostensible motivations, it might depict a guilt-ridden father's need to save the daughter he made by cuckolding his brother, then abandoned.
Influence
''The Searchers'' has influenced many films.
David Lean
Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River ...
watched the film repeatedly while preparing for ''
Lawrence of Arabia
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
'' to help him get a sense of how to shoot a landscape.
The entrance of Ethan Edwards in ''The Searchers'', across a vast prairie, is echoed in the across-the-desert entrance of Sherif Ali in ''Lawrence of Arabia''.
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic ''The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institute ...
referenced the aftermath of the massacre and the funeral scene in ''
Major Dundee
''Major Dundee'' is a 1965 American Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Charlton Heston, Richard Harris, Jim Hutton, and James Coburn. Written by Harry Julian Fink, the film is about a Union cavalry officer who leads a contentiou ...
'' (1965), and according to a 1974 review by
Jay Cocks
John C. "Jay" Cocks Jr. (born January 12, 1944) is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is a graduate of Kenyon College.[Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' () is a 1974 Mexican-American neo-Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah, co-written by Peckinpah and Gordon Dawson from a story by Peckinpah and Frank Kowalski, and starring Warren Oates and Isela Vega, w ...]
'' contains dialogue with "direct tributes to such classics as
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...
's ''
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'' and John Ford's ''The Searchers''."
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
's 1967 film ''
Who's That Knocking at My Door
''Who's That Knocking at My Door'', originally titled ''I Call First'', is a 1967 American independent drama film written and directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Harvey Keitel and Zina Bethune. It was Scorsese's feature film directorial deb ...
'' features a sequence in which the two primary characters discuss ''The Searchers''. In 2012, in a ''Sight & Sound'' poll, Scorsese listed ''The Searchers'' as one of his all-time favorite films.
Scott McGee, writing for
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...
, notes "
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
, Martin Scorsese,
John Milius
John Frederick Milius (; born April 11, 1944) is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer. He was a writer for the first two ''Dirty Harry'' films, received an Academy Award nomination as screenwriter of ''Apocalypse Now'' (1979), a ...
, Paul Schrader,
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docum ...
, Jean-Luc Godard, and
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
have all been influenced and paid some form of homage to ''The Searchers'' in their work."
Wenders'
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
-winning 1984 film ''
Paris, Texas
Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020.
History
Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River Co ...
'' in particular has been cited for similarities.
The film influenced several aspects of George Lucas' film saga ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
''.
The scene in which Ethan Edwards discovers the flaming wreckage of his family homestead is reflected in 1977's ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'', wherein the character
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
finds that his homestead has been burned and destroyed by
Imperial Stormtroopers
Stormtrooper are soldiers in the fictional ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Introduced in '' Star Wars: A New Hope'' (1977), the stormtroopers are the shock troops/space marines of the autocratic Galactic Empire, under the l ...
.
''The Searchers'' was also an influence on the 2002 prequel film in the series, ''
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones''. In the film,
Anakin Skywalker
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...
learns that one of his family members has been abducted by a group of
Tusken Raiders
Tusken Raiders (informally referred to as "Sand People") are fictional creatures in the ''Star Wars'' universe created by George Lucas. They are characterized as a nomadic race who live on the planet Tatooine. They first appeared in the 1977 film ...
(though the character's mother is kidnapped, rather than a niece). Anakin massacres the kidnappers in vengeance, much like ''The Searchers climactic battle in the Comanche camp.
The opening scenes of ''
Rogue One
''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (or simply ''Rogue One'') is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards. The screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy is from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It was produced by Luc ...
'' mirror those of ''The Searchers'': the piggy-tailed character of
Jyn is hidden by her parents when their homestead is attacked in the same way little Debbie is saved by her parents when they are attacked by the Comanches.
The 2007 film ''
Searchers 2.0
''Searchers 2.0'' is a 2007 road film directed by Alex Cox. It stars Del Zamora and Ed Pansullo. Described by Cox as a "microfeature," it was shot on digital video in 10 days for a budget of $180,000. Lacking distribution, it featured a very limi ...
'' by
Alex Cox
Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with ''Repo Man (film), Repo Man'' and ''Sid and Nancy'', but since th ...
includes many discussions of ''The Searchers'' as well as other revenge films. In the film, the characters attend a screening of a remake of ''The Searchers'' directed by
Ted Post
Theodore I. Post (March 31, 1918 – August 20, 2013) was an American director of film and television. Highly prolific, Post directed numerous episodes of well-known television series including '' Rawhide'', ''Gunsmoke'', and ''The Twilight Zone'' ...
and starring
James Mitchum
James Mitchum (born May 8, 1941) is an American actor.
Mitchum was born in Los Angeles, California, the elder son of actor Robert Mitchum (whom he closely resembles) and his wife, Dorothy Spence. His brother is actor Christopher Mitchum, and he i ...
as Ethan Edwards and
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...
as Chief Cicatriz (Scar), though no such remake was ever made in reality (Ted Post had actually directed a remake of John Ford's ''Stagecoach'').
''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'' creator
Vince Gilligan
George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is known for his television work, specifically as creator, head writer, executive producer, and director of AMC's ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2 ...
stated that the ending to the show's final episode, "
Felina", was influenced by the film.
The 2016 Canadian film ''
Searchers'' is a partial remake of the film, in which an
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
man in 1913 finds his wife and daughter have been kidnapped. However, co-director
Zacharias Kunuk
Zacharias Kunuk ( iu, ᓴᖅᑲᓕᐊᓯ ᑯᓄᒃ, born November 27, 1957) is a Canadian Inuk producer and director most notable for his film '' Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner'', the first Canadian dramatic feature film produced entirely in Inu ...
discarded the original's plot about conflicts between white people and indigenous peoples, instead using only Inuit characters. Kunuk explained racism was not an intended theme of his film.
Kunuk said he watched Western films in the Igloolik community hall as a boy, and declared ''The Searchers'' star John Wayne "was our hero".
John Wayne's repeatedly used line "that'll be the day" inspired Buddy Holly to write the song "That'll Be the Day" after seeing the film in a theater in Lubbock, Texas.
Comic book adaptation
* Dell Comics published an adaptation of ''The Searchers'' in ''Four Color, Dell Four Color'' #709 (June 1956), written by Leo Dorfman and drawn by Mike Roy. The comic book downplays Ethan's racism and omits the final iconic scene of the film.
See also
* John Ford filmography
* John Wayne filmography
* List of American films of 1956
* List of films considered the best
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
excerpt and text search*
*
Primary sources
* ''The Searchers: Screenplay'', by Frank S Nugent, Alan Le May, John Ford. Published by Warner Bros, 1956.
Online Version'
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Searchers
1956 Western (genre) films
American epic films
American Western (genre) films
Films about kidnapping
Films about missing people
Films about Native Americans
Films adapted into comics
Films directed by John Ford
Films scored by Max Steiner
Films set in Texas
Films set in the 1860s
Films set in the 1870s
Films shot in Arizona
Films shot in California
Films shot in Colorado
Films shot in Edmonton
Films shot in Utah
Revisionist Western (genre) films
United States National Film Registry films
Warner Bros. films
1950s English-language films
1950s American films