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'''''The Searchers''''' is a [[1956]] [[epic Western]] film directed by [[John Ford]], which tells the story of Ethan Edwards, a bitter, middle-aged loner played by [[John Wayne]], who spends years looking for his abducted niece. The movie was adapted by [[Frank S. Nugent]] from the novel by [[Alan Le May]].It is a very influential film, inspiring other [[westerns]] as well as [[dramas]],[[science fiction]], and even [[Bollywood]] films
'''''The Searchers''''' is a [[1956]] [[epic Western]] film directed by [[John Ford]], which tells the story of Ethan Edwards, a bitter, middle-aged loner played by [[John Wayne]], who spends years looking for his abducted niece. The movie was adapted by [[Frank S. Nugent]] from the novel by [[Alan Le May]].It is a very influential film, inspiring other [[westerns]] as well as [[dramas]], [[science fiction]], and even [[Bollywood]] films.


Much of it was filmed in [[Monument Valley]], [[Arizona]]. Additional scenes were filmed in Mexican Hat, Utah, and in Bronson Canyon in Griffith Park, Los Angeles.
Much of it was filmed in [[Monument Valley]], [[Arizona]]. Additional scenes were filmed in Mexican Hat, Utah, and in Bronson Canyon in Griffith Park, Los Angeles.

Revision as of 02:40, 6 August 2006

The Searchers
File:The Searchers.jpg
Directed byJohn Ford
Written byAlan Le May (novel)
Frank S. Nugent
Produced byC.V. Whitney
StarringJohn Wayne,
Jeffrey Hunter
CinematographyWinton C. Hoch
Music byStan Jones (title song)
Max Steiner
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
March 13, 1956 (U.S. release)
Running time
119 min.
LanguageEnglish

The Searchers is a 1956 epic Western film directed by John Ford, which tells the story of Ethan Edwards, a bitter, middle-aged loner played by John Wayne, who spends years looking for his abducted niece. The movie was adapted by Frank S. Nugent from the novel by Alan Le May.It is a very influential film, inspiring other westerns as well as dramas, science fiction, and even Bollywood films.

Much of it was filmed in Monument Valley, Arizona. Additional scenes were filmed in Mexican Hat, Utah, and in Bronson Canyon in Griffith Park, Los Angeles.


The film was shot in the VistaVision widescreen process.

Plot

Template:Spoiler The year is 1868. Ethan returns from the American Civil War, where he fought for the Confederacy, to his brother's house in rural Texas. There are hints that Ethan has been up to no good in recent years. Shortly after his arrival, a Comanche raid leaves his brother and sister-in-law dead, his two nieces abducted, and the family homestead burned down. With his brother’s adopted son, Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter), who is part Indian part white, Ethan pursues the Comanches to rescue the girls.

Ethan soon finds the raped and murdered body of the older girl, Lucy. They continue to search for the other girl, Debbie, for years afterwards. During that time, she grows into adolescence and is married to Scar (Henry Brandon), the chief of that tribe of Comanches. Scar is presented as the mirror image of Ethan from the other side of the cultural divide. At first, Ethan doesn’t want to rescue Debbie; he wants her dead for sleeping with a Comanche. Debbie is defiled in his eyes. Martin tags along to stop Ethan from killing her. After years of searching, they and the Texas Rangers find Debbie. Ethan has a change of heart and does not hurt the girl. Scar is killed by Martin. Template:Endspoiler

Influence

The Searchers has influenced films as diverse as Taxi Driver, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (the scene of the burning homestead is paralleled by Luke Skywalker's burning home near the beginning of A New Hope), Dances with Wolves and Saving Private Ryan. David Lean also watched the film repeatedly while preparing for Lawrence of Arabia (1962), to help him get a sense of how to shoot a landscape. Sergio Leone, a noted Ford admirer, mentioned it as one of his favorite films and referenced it in a key scene of his film Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), The Searchers was also referenced in a similar scene in the Bollywood film Sholay. In Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, the scene in which Anakin enters the village of the sandpeople is a direct quote from The Searchers. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist references the final shot of the film.

John Wayne's catchphrase in the film, "That'll be the day", inspired Buddy Holly to write his hit song of the same name.

At the beginning of The Searchers, Ethan Edwards is introduced to the audience, as he returns from war. This is the same for High Noon, as Will Kane is introduced to us at his wedding. In both cases the storylines conform to the theory, with a pursuit, a combat between hero and villain and in The Searchers, Ethan Edwards returns home, and in High Noon, Will Kane moves away to start a new life with his new wife. The main difference is the time frame: The Searchers covers a span of years while High Noon is precisely paced and takes place over less than 90 minutes.

Real life inspiration

The movie is undoubtedly influenced by the kidnapping of nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker on May 19, 1836 by a large force of Comanche warriors who raided her family's home at Fort Parker. Her family's search for her probably inspired this movie.

She was "rescued" twenty-five years later, also by Texas Rangers. Unlike her brother, who was ransomed, Cynthia Ann lived with and married into the tribe. Unlike the movie, where the girl is glad to be rescued in the end, Cynthia Ann Parker's "rescue" was horrific for her and her family. She had married Peta Nocona, who, like Scar in the movie, was a war chief of the Comanche, and the two eventually had two sons, Quanah Parker and Pecos, and a daughter, Topsannah, who was taken back to white society with her.

Cynthia Ann was never reconciled to living in white society and made several unsuccessful attempts to flee back to her Comanche family. After three months at Birdville, her brother Silas took her to his Van Zandt County home. She afterward moved to her sister's place near the boundary of Anderson and Henderson counties. She was often locked in her room to keep her from running away. In 1863, Cynthia received word that her son Pecos had died of smallpox, and only a few months later, her daughter died of influenza. Topsannah's death was the final blow for Cynthia Ann. Often refusing to speak or eat, she died in 1870 of influenza at the age of 43.

Critical response

Analysis

The Searchers can be viewed as a simplistic action story about two men’s hunt for Debbie and revenge for the death of their family. The film begins with a frontier cabin door opening to the wilderness, this scene presents the visual motif of the framed doorway and threshold between the two worlds. The interior represents civilized values and the settled family, whereas the outside represents that of a man’s world. The black silhouette of a woman moves from the darkness, with a shot from a forward-tracking camera, through to the door to see the sunlit landscape. She notices a man approaching, in the center of the frame, riding in from the desert. This type of shot is typical for a Western. Furthermore, as Ethan Edwards arrives home the background soundtrack Lorena is playing. This song is rumored to be a favorite of civil war soldiers and is also a reminder of the lost love they have left behind during the wartime. Its use in the film is symbolic, given the plot of the film, since it has a reference to the family members who have died during the Comanche raid.

Moreover The Searchers conforms to the codes and conventions of a Western, with the desert landscape, small close-knit community and also the point that cowboys live in an age that, whether good or bad, one follows a strict code of honor in which one always tells the truth, never cheats an honest fellow, and tip a hat to the ladies. This film deals with themes that include racism, individuality, the American character, and the opposition between civilization and the untamed wilderness.

In The Searchers, the protagonist, Ethan Edwards has his own strong beliefs. ’Living with the Comanches ain’t being alive’ he insists and sees no moral dilemma in murdering the kidnapped girl once he finds her. The film's greatest virtue is the single-minded determination of Ethan (Wayne) in his quest for Debbie (Natalie Wood). Propelling Ethan on his 5-year journey is a volatile mixture of his hatred of the Comanche and the knowledge that Debbie presents the final obstacle to Ethan's gaining clear title to his late brother's cattle. "There's more at stake here than your sister!" Ethan says near the end of the film as he prepares to attack the Comanche encampment where Debbie and Scar are located, indicating that this is not, and never has been a simple rescue mission.

Certainly a contributing factor to The Searchers' popularity is the fact that Ford's trademark calm style and wide shots are almost thrown to the wind in this film: it contains perhaps Ford's most radical camera movements and setups. Peter Bogdanovich said of The Searchers that "the bold, vigorous strokes of The Searchers...require more artistry than the direction of The Informer." Another powerful factor is the famous depth of character, the best example being John Wayne's actions in the twist ending.

The film can be interpreted as a subtle critique of the sort of Westerns that Wayne normally appeared in (although Wayne himself would probably have disagreed). Wayne's character, Ethan Edwards, is shown as a brooding and disturbed racist. The West is shown as a threatening, even slightly sinister place. However, unlike some revisionist Westerns of the 1950s (e.g. Broken Arrow) the Native Americans are shown in a negative light, massacring white settlers, sexually assaulting them, and abducting their children.

Primary Cast

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