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The Searchers Overview:

The Searchers (1956) was a Action - Adventure Film directed by John Ford and produced by Merian C. Cooper and Patrick Ford.

The film was based on the novel of the same name written by Alan Le May published in 1954.

SYNOPSIS

Arguably the finest western in the Ford and Wayne canon, this appears perennially on every list of the greatest American films of all time. After Comanches kill his brother's family and kidnap their daughters, better Confederate veteran Wayne sets forth on a hate-ridden quest to find his nieces (Scott and Wood) and save them from the "savages." He reluctantly brings along young Hunter, the adopted son of a family also killed by Indians. Their quest leads them hundreds of miles over seven agonizing years of dead ends and double crosses. As it becomes clear that Wood has accepted her life among the Comanches, Wayne resolves not to rescue her but to save her from disgrace by killing her, a resolve that comes to a heart-stopping, emotional climax. Ford's story of moral ambiguity lives in Wayne dense, richly layered characterization of a man whose brutal tendencies, hardened by his experiences of war and the frontier, balance with a tender, forlorn longing for home and family, expressed in his words to the frightened girl as he holds her life in his hands: "Let's go home, Debbie." The character dramatically upends Wayne's heroic archetype; it's rumored that after shooting the film, Ford, who had directed Wayne many times before, exclaimed, "I didn't know he could act!" Highly influential to a generation of filmmakers.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

The Searchers was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1989.

The Searchers BlogHub Articles:

Revisiting John Ford's The Searchers

By Rick29 on Dec 19, 2022 From Classic Film & TV Cafe

John Wayne as Ethan.A few months ago, I hosted a Classic Western Films Tournament on Twitter, in which The Searchers (in a series of close contests) was crowned champion. The outpouring of passionate support for John Ford's 1956 classic inspired me to revisit a movie I hadn't seen in several decades... Read full article

DOUBLE BILL #7: Stagecoach (1939) and The Searchers (1956)

By Carol Martinheira on Oct 10, 2017 From The Old Hollywood Garden

DOUBLE BILL #7: Stagecoach (1939) and The Searchers (1956) On October 10, 2017October 10, 2017 By CarolIn Uncategorized John Ford and John Wayne. One of cinema’s greatest and most celebrated director-actor partnerships. They made dozens of films together and they wer... Read full article

The Searchers (1956)

By Beatrice on Apr 30, 2016 From Flickers in Time

The Searchers Directed by John Ford Written by Frank S. Nugent from the novel by Alan Le May 1956/USA Warner Bros./C.V. Whitney Pictures Repeat viewing/Netflix rental #318 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Ethan: That’ll be the day. My husband said “It’s that sad West... Read full article

"...And Scene!" blogathon: "The Searchers", a silent farewell

By Caftan Woman on Jun 25, 2015 From Caftan Woman

John Ford Monument Valley Sister Celluloid presents the “…And Scene!” Blogathon running June 25 - 28. Click here for the memorable scenes that continually fascinate these movie bloggers. The scene that deeply touches me with every viewing is from John Ford's 1956 masterpiece,... Read full article

The Searchers (1956, John Ford)

By Andrew Wickliffe on Jan 19, 2015 From The Stop Button

John Ford is never trying to be discreet with The Searchers, he’s just not willing to talk down to the audience. In the first ten minutes of the film, he and screenwriter Frank S. Nugent quickly establish John Wayne’s character and his relationship with his family. Ford, Nugent, Wayne an... Read full article

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The Searchers Quotes:

Martin: I hope you die!
Ethan: That'll be the day.
Reverend Clayton: You wanna quit, Ethan?
Ethan: That'll be the day.
[Brad Jorgenson takes a small boulder and attempts to crush the skull of a dead Comanche warrior]
Reverend Clayton: Jorgenson!
Ethan: Why don't you finish the job?
[shoots out the eyes of the Comanche warrior]
Reverend Clayton: What good did that do ya?
Ethan: By what you preach, none. But what that Comanche believes, ain't got no eyes, he can't enter the spirit-land. Has to wander forever between the winds.You get it, Reverend.
Ethan: [to Martin] Come on, blanket-head!
Ethan: A fella could mistake you for a half-breed.
Martin: Not quite, I'm eighth Cherokee, the rest is Welsh and English. Least that's what they tell me.
Lars Jorgensen: It's this country killed my boy. Yes by golly I tell you, Ethan...
Mrs. Jorgensen: No Lars. It just so happens we be Texicans. Texican is nothing but a human man way out on a limb. This year and next, and maybe for a hundred more. But I don't think it'll be forever. Some day this country's gonna be a fine, good place to be. Maybe it needs our bones in the ground before that time can come.
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The Searchers Facts
Was voted the both the 13th Greatest Film of all time and the Greatest Western of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
In 2007, the America Film Institute ranked this as the #12 Greatest Movie of All Time.
According to John Wayne in a 1974 interview, John Ford hinted throughout the movie that Ethan had had an affair with his brother's wife, and was possibly the father of Lucy and Debbie. This meant Ethan's thirst for vengeance stemmed not from the murder of his brother, but of the woman Ethan had loved. This was so subtle that many viewers at the time missed it altogether.
The melody behind the opening credits is "Lorena" by Joseph Webster and Henry DeLafayette Webster, a song much favored by Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. The lyrics are the longings of a man for his now-dead wife.
Natalie Wood was still a student in high school when this film was being made, and on several occasions both John Wayne and Jeffrey Hunter had to pick her up at school on days when she was required on the set. This caused a good deal of excitement among Wood's female classmates.
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