The Searchers

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The Searchers

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The Searchers

Henry Brandon, Jeffrey Hunter, John Qualen, John Wayne, Natalie Wood, Olive Carey, Vera Miles, Vera Ralston, Ward Bond

As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.

Id: 10981703

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The Searchers Recent Reviews
  • benjaminguilbert2
    January 12, 2009
    benjaminguilbert2
    I never quite understood John Ford. I mean yes, the whole thing's beautiful, some shots are brilliant, but still the actual interest of this type of westerns totally eludes me.
  • stopitgoaway
    January 10, 2009
    stopitgoaway
    The Searchers(1956) has been reflected to death by many filmmakers in their own work with main ideas, situations, and plot as guide. Many elements of The Searchers(1956) influenced film directors ranging from Brian De Palma, George Lucus, Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, and Sergi...( read more)o Leone. There are scores of other movie makers whom I cannot list at the top of my head that were affected by this one film. Obvious film influences are Once Upon a Time in the West(1968), Obsession(1976), Taxi Driver(1976), Star Wars(1977), and Hardcore(1979). It shows that great works of cinema are also able to inspire many admirers and disciples. Only films(stories) by Akira Kurosawa has been reflected more often by film directors than The Searchers(1956).

    John Wayne was legendary American film star and big box office draw by 1956. The Searchers(1956) lends creedence to John Wayne being an exceptional actor enforced by his multi-layered performance. In a career that spanned five decades, The Searchers(1956) is the efflorescence of John Wayne. John Wayne gives a complex/flawed portrait of a man looking for redemption and salvation. One fine moment that examplifies the multi-layerness of John Wayne's performance is the look on Ethan Edwards face as he feys over what will happen to his brother and family. The Searchers(1956) was to John Wayne's career what Treasure of the Sierra Madre(1948) was to Humphrey Bogart and Vertigo(1958) was to James Stewart.

    Story is about drifting, trying find something which is self-meaningful. Ethan Edwards is such a drifter who is always in search of a purpose. The Searchers(1956) is really about drifting in the American Frontier and search for self-discovery. There were many drifters like Ethan Edwards in the Old West especially in the wake of the Civil War. The Cowboy drifter in the Old West is almost the equivalent of the Samurai ronin in Tokugawa Japan Era. These drifters were men who were on the go, had temporary employment, and always wondered about their existence in life.

    Rare individualistic motion picture in the old studio system days when many Hollywood films were studio controlled. The Searchers(1956) defies the typical 1950s Hollywood film presentation because its a director's picture. Excells on a visual level with interesting camera placement. Camera framing also plays a psychological and visual role in representation of two conflicting worlds(Civilized West and Wild West). Helped by crisp and flawless editing that flows the plot along effortlessly. Shades of Homer's THE ODYSSEY are penetrated into the heart of the story with irony.

    Deals with racial prejudice with honest and truthful gusto. Racial prejudice in The Searchers(1956) is filmed in terms of emotional and psychological depth. The racial prejudice of the protagonist echos the prejudice of many white people in the Old West felt towards native Americans. The relationship between Ethan Edwards and Martin Pawley is met by distrust, prejudice, and sarcasm. Only towards the end does Ethan Edwards begin to show some sign of acception and respect for Martin Pawley. Shows that people are willing to change if they are willing to confront the dark side of humanity.

    John Ford was the one director who was able to channel the talents of John Wayne to full heights. He made it possible for John Wayne to become an American film star by casting him in Stagecoach(1939). The other major director John Wayne had great success with was Howard Hawks. The Searchers(1956) is the greatest film of the Ford-Wayne tandem. Each are at their highest and most professional peak as film artists. In film working relationship they were halves of one and one of halves.

    Ethan Edwards fullfills the requirements of hero and villain in narrative plot structure. This makes him an anti-hero with human strengths and flaws so typical of this type of protagonist. Its funny that John Wayne detested Italian Westerns and yet played a character in The Searchers(1956) who fits the mold of the Spaghetti Western anti-hero. Ethan Edwards is the closet thing to a villain John Wayne played in the movies. At the beginning Ethan Edwards lives only for hate and revenge. By the end he becomes merciful and forgiving.

    On-location photography gives the film its rugged character. Monument Valley is depicted with beauty, mystery, and savagery. The people in the story are represented by their environment and location. Monument Valley was a favorite film location of John Ford who was obsessed by its untamed and individualistic nature. Monument Valley site is explored on a physical, psychological, and social level. Scenery is an important character of the Classic American Western and none so more true then in The Searchers(1956).

    Another major motif in The Searchers(1956) is redemption. The path of hate and vendetta is replaced by compassion and forgiveness. Its this motif as well as others that makes the story a subtle Catholic driven tale. Redemption is the saving grace for a destructive and negative character like Ethan Edwards. Revenge until the climatic moment takes importance over everything else in Ethan Edwards life. Redemption is one motif from The Searchers(1956) that influenced Scorsese and Schrader.

    Martin Pawley goes with Ethan Edwards on revenge pledge as way of following path of fealty. The moment of Ethan picking up his niece and holding her with compassion is a tender one. Jeffrey Hunter as Martin Pawley provides a nice foil to John Wayne's Ethan Edwards. Cinematography in The Searchers(1956) is forceful and graceful. In time The Searchers takes place, drifters like Ethan Edwards are dime a dozen but by the period depicted in films of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinaph, they are nearly extinct. The Searchers(1956) is a milestone in both American and World cinema.
  • bort16
    November 7, 2008
    bort16
    Politically Incorrect? Yes. Hammy, sometimes bad acting? Yes. Silly? Yes. Melodramatic? Yes. One of the greats? Absolutely. John Ford's films are something of a mystery to me. Nearly all of them suffer from overly dramatic acting and cheesy period writing. Nearly all of them seem...( read more) to bounce from tense dramas to slap stick comedies at a moments notice without necessity or merit. Yet despite what should be complete casualties of time the many of them are some of the great American movies, and those apparent casualties have become endearing. The Searchers, Ford's greatest western, is a prime example.
    John Wayne, the patron saint of American toughness, gives one of his greatest performances as Ethan Edwards, a man who spends years searching for his niece, captured by Comanches after they raid the family ranch and kill of the other family members. He's returned after a long absence following the civil war, perhaps fighting in Mexico. Apparently Wayne also thought this was his best work - he named a son Ethan after this character. Jeffrey Hunter plays Martin Pawley, the 1/8 Cherokee adopted nephew of Ethan, who comes along for the years long journey. Together they search and search. After a while, Martin confides that he continues on not so much to find his adopted sister alive, but to make sure that when Ethan finds her alive, she stays that way. Edwards is a man so consumed with hate for the Comanches that he shoots them as they carry their dead, and kills buffalo in fields just so they can't eat them. After all these years, it's likely that Debbie has been totally adopted into the Comanche way of life - something that to Ethan means she may as well be dead.
    As with most of Ford's films, there's a myriad of other characters and their own little storylines. As usual, there is the stock Swedish family. Their daughter Laurie is madly in love with Marty, despite him leaving her side to search along side Ethan for years. After a time, and after Martin reveals he accidentally got married to a young 'squaw,' he gets competition in the form of Charlie McQuarie, the regions letter carrier. This plot point leads to some of the film's most memorable moments of comedy. There's also old Mose Harper, the crazy old rocking chair loving friend of the family. He's got the brunt of the film's slap stick pay off.
    Pointing out just how great John Ford's direction is is analogous to beating a dead horse. Each shot is perfectly composed, simple but elegant. Of course, shooting in Monument Valley is difficult to make look poor. It's one of those great filmmaking environments. It's a stunning location, beautiful in its rugged stacks and jutting rock formations.
    Without a doubt, some of the acting in The Searchers is silly by today's standards. Jeffrey Hunter is sometimes unintentionally hilarious. John Qualen, doing his trademarked Swedish shtick as Lars Jorgensen is at times endearing but at other times annoying and cringe-worthy. But that hardly matters, the thespian stage belongs entirely to John Wayne as Ethan Edwards. It's easy to write off Wayne in memory as an over-the-top tough guy, but seeing performances like this one reminds us that he really was a very good actor. His performance is outstanding, embodying all that a man like Ethan Edwards must. He plays Edwards as a spiteful and bitter man, who's joys seem to only rise to the level of bittersweet. His hatred of the Comanches seems to be straightforward racism, unless you're one of the few to notice a split second prop early on in the film that explains his bitterness. That Wayne was 20 years too old to play the part is entirely inconsequential.
    Although The Searchers is not exactly a politically correct film, that does little to really harm the film's reputation. Ford was aware of the nature of the film he was making, and maintained that the intent was never malicious. It's certainly nowhere near the level of bigotry shown in Griffith's Birth of a Nation. It's a product of its time, which means that it's all that more of a success considering how great it is today over 50 years later.
  • bradwest
    October 7, 2008
    bradwest
    For me this is the greatest result of the Ford/Wayne combo. Wayne's character Ethan is obsessive and at times borderline psycho, but he has moments, especially at the end, that pack an emotional waloop.
  • PvtCaboose91
    October 1, 2008
    PvtCaboose91
    "Figure a man's only good for one oath at a time; I took mine to the Confederate States of America."


    John Ford and John Wayne forged one of the greatest director-actor partnerships in cinematic history. Their collaborations are now frequently regarded as classic addi

    ...( read more)tions to the Western genre; from Stagecoach to The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance to over 10 other titles...memorable celluloid can always be found within. The Searchers is classic filmmaking of the highest order. It's a multi-faceted and gratifying Western, marking one of the greatest products of the Ford/Wayne partnership. The two "Johns" reinvented the genre and invented a majority of the clichés. Ford was the first director to take Westerns outside studio back-lots to film on location. As a result, Ford's Westerns are classic in every sense of the word. Atmospheric, fun, humorous and memorable - this is the kind of stuff an eager audience would lap up as kids during Saturday afternoon matinees throughout the 1950s.

    Out of all the films John Wayne made throughout his career, he stated that The Searchers is his personal favourite. It isn't hard to see why. The film is mainly blessed with wonderful photography. The locations are remarkable, and cinematographer Winton C. Hoch beautifully captures said locations. The opening and closing shots are both memorable and influential. It's the cinematography that ensures the film is anything but an ordinary Western.

    In The Searchers, John Wayne plays John Wayne at his very best. He's embittered Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards. He returns rather belatedly from the Civil War to the Texas farmstead of his brother Aaron (Coy) and sister-in-law Martha (Jordan) whom he secretly loves. Ethan is an openly racist man who despises the Comanches (that is, Indians). He's idolised by Aaron's children who admire his status as a war veteran. But Ethan's return coincides with a visit from the Comanche Indians. The men are drawn away when cattle are stolen, only to find the cattle brutally slaughtered. In a primal scene (famously restaged in 1977's Star Wars), Ethan returns to his brother's farmstead to find it burning. The two girls are missing, all others have been massacred. Ethan puts in motion a search for his nieces with his "nephew" Martin Pawley (Hunter) by his side. Ethan refuses to surrender to hunger, thirst, or the elements. And in his five-year search, he encounters something unanticipated: his own humanity. As the years elapse and the search intensifies, Ethan begins to question his motivations: was he going to rescue his nieces or kill them?

    John Wayne will always remain the quintessential Western image. His rugged face, deep voice and infamous posture have grown iconic over the decades. Never mind that he became hopelessly type-cast...these are the sorts of roles he was born to play. It's also a given that Wayne's acting skills aren't exactly amazing. However when he's a gruff Western hero he suits the part perfectly.
    Jeffrey Hunter appears alongside Wayne. His performance is filled with intensity and passion. Although he occasionally comes across as slightly annoying, his performance is quite incredible here.
    Vera Miles is another worthy addition to the cast. She plays a woman with feelings for the character of Martin Pawley. Her character suffers at home for five long years waiting for an indication from Martin that he does love her and that she should wait for him.
    Also joining the cast is Natalie Wood. Her career may have been short, and her role in this film is rather insignificant, but she places forth a truly memorable performance.

    The Searchers is a fine example of an essential Western. It remains a fascinatingly multi-layered film filled with memorable images and beautiful cinematography. The script is also extremely good: it's witty, filled with memorable quotes and contains some wonderful scenarios. John Wayne is particularly good when he delivers quotable dialogue such as "That'll be the day!" among others. He even shoots a dead Indian. "What good did that do you?" asks a friend, to which Wayne replies with "By what you preach, none".

    Everyone familiar with the fun adventurous Saturday afternoon matinees will be aware of the typical stereotype of cowboys as the goodies and Indians as the baddies. While The Searchers predominantly shows Indians in a bad light, the film is quite special for showing both sides of the story: that white men were the invaders, that the Native Americans were defending their land, and that both sides had their good and bad individuals. The movie never flinches in its display of the savagery committed by both sides. It was a novel movie idea at the time...especially when it was John Wayne playing one of the "bad" people.

    Now it's time to put together a very mild list of negatives: first of all, the love story concerning Jeffrey Hunter's Martin and Vera Miles' Laurie seems unnecessary. It slows down the feverish pace and the film's tension with the sappy dialogue and the "I love you / I hate you" situations. Secondly, there are too many red herrings that extend the film to a pretty excessive length. What could have been a brisk Western is married by over-length.

    For the die-hard fans of The Duke (i.e. John Wayne) The Searchers is an absolute must. For those who adore the Western genre cannot afford to miss this one. And for those who appreciate fine filmmaking in general must see this film as soon as possible. The Searchers is a great in-depth character study of a racist, bitter war veteran and his questionable agenda. Wayne may be seldom taken seriously as an actor, but despite relentless parodying he proves here (and in countless other films) that his often-ridiculed speech mannerisms and walk could generate an unforgettable performance.

    All in all, The Searchers is certainly worth a watch despite a few flaws. The imagery throughout is frequently eloquent and marvellous to behold. Even if Westerns aren't normally your thing, this movie is worth a viewing. The film is a popular choice when it comes to discussions regarding the greatest cinematic Westerns. There's also the fact that this has been voted into the National Film Registry in the United States, meaning it is one of the important cultural assets in the history of American cinema.
  • fluturash
    October 1, 2009
    fluturash
    i'd take john wayne any day. and this one is really fantastic.
  • ElCochran90
    September 20, 2009
    ElCochran90
    Absolutely fantastic. Best John Wayne western ever, and one of the finest of the genre as well.

    95/100
  • crdodson
    September 20, 2009
    crdodson
    A different role for John Wayne but he carried it great.
  • Jriff87
    September 18, 2009
    Jriff87
    John Wayne's has the performance of a lifetime, in what may be one of the Five Best US movies ever. Wayne and Hunter are the lead players in a tale of racism, misguided honor and family, amidst the epic backdrop of the white man's conquest of the West. Touching, gloomy, exiciting...( read more) and funny, it is a marvelous film.
  • jscottcorley
    September 5, 2009
    jscottcorley
    2nd best western ever. Chew on it, Rohan!!!
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