The Searchers (1956)
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The story
In 1868, Ethan Edwards, a veteran of the Civil War and the Mexican campaign, returns to his brother's home in West Texas. After a local ranch is raided by Indians, Ethan and a group of Rangers discover that the homestead has been destroyed and two girls, including Ethan's niece Debbie, have been abducted. Refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the Texas Rangers due to his past, Ethan joins a determined group to track the girls through the wilderness. The search becomes a grueling, multi-year odyssey as the men face the harsh realities of the frontier and the complexities of their own convictions.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1868, Ethan Edwards returns to West Texas and joins a group of Rangers to find his niece, Debbie, after she and her sister are abducted by Comanches. The search spans several years. Ethan and a partially Cherokee man named Martin Pawley continue the hunt even after the initial group is depleted. They eventually find Debbie living among the Comanche. Ethan is horrified by her situation and wants to force her back, while Martin tries to protect her. After several years, they return to the Jorgensen ranch just as a wedding is about to occur. A final confrontation occurs at a Comanche camp where Martin kills the chief, Scar, and Ethan finally brings Debbie home, ultimately walking away from the celebration.
- First release year
- 1956
- Runtime (minutes)
- 119
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Ford
- Writers
- Frank S. Nugent · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- John Wayne · Ethan Edwards; Jeffrey Hunter · Martin Pawley; Vera Miles · Laurie Jorgensen; Ward Bond · Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnson Clayton; Natalie Wood · adult Debbie Edwards; John Qualen · Lars Jorgensen; Olive Carey · Mrs. Jorgensen; Henry Brandon · Chief Scar
- Genres
- Western; epic; Revisionist Western
- Themes
- racial attitudes; obsession; miscegenation
- Tone and mood
- darkly profound; melancholy
- Premise and plot tags
- Western; kidnapping; revenge
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1954 novel by Alan Le May
- Reception
- The film was a critical and commercial success, considered a masterpiece and one of the most influential films ever made, frequently cited as a premier example of the Western genre.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 87% · scale: percentage · review count: 98
- Awards and nominations
- Greatest American Western · American Film Institute · 2008 · win; Best Western · Entertainment Weekly · win
- Production trivia
- The film was the first to have an intentionally filmed documentary about its making.; The film's ending in the novel differs from the film's version.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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