The Searchers

1956

1h 59m

IMDb RATING

7.7/10

1.5K

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Western

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

Directors

John Ford

Writers

Frank S. Nugent(screenplay by)

Alan Le May(novel by)

Stars

John Wayne

Jeffrey Hunter

Vera Miles

See production, box office & company info

Top cast

Ethan Edwards

Martin Pawley

Laurie Jorgensen

Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton

Debbie Edwards

Lars Jorgensen

Mrs. Jorgensen

Chief Cicatriz (Scar)

Ken Curtis

Charlie McCorry

Harry Carey, Jr.

Brad Jorgensen

Antonio Moreno

Emilio Gabriel Fernandez y Figueroa

Mose Harper

Look

Aaron Edwards

Martha Edwards

Lucy Edwards

Lt. Greenhill

Younger Debbie Edwards

Directors

John Ford

Writers

Frank S. Nugent(screenplay by)

Alan Le May(novel by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

_**Overrated Wayne Western with a young Jeffrey Hunter**_ Released in 1956 and directed by John Ford, "The Searchers" chronicles the story of Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) who returns from the Civil War to his brother's ranch in the Southwest; and to his brother's wife, whom he secretly loves. After the ranch is raided by Comanches, Ethan and his 1/8 Indian nephew (Jeffrey Hunter) search for the band of Indians to get his captive niece back (Natalie Wood). As time passes and the niece assimilates with the Natives it's not certain if Ethan intends on rescuing the girl or killing her. Touted as a masterpiece and one of the greatest Westerns, I've seen "The Searchers" twice now and was disappointed each time. Sure, the Monument Valley locations are breathtaking and the cast is great, but the story leaves a lot to be desired. The plot's excellent, but the way the story is told isn't interesting and so there's very little momentum. On top of this we get sequences, characters and dialogue that seem to be stabs at amusement, which (1.) aren't funny, (2.) are awkward because the main story is a serious drama/adventure in a Western context, and (3.) make some of the characters out to be dimwits (note to the writers: just because someone lives in the wilderness it doesn't automatically make them doofuses). Give me "Stagecoach" (1939), "The Horse Soldiers" (1959), "The Alamo" (1960), "North to Alaska" (1960), "True Grit" (1969), "Chisum" (1970), "The Cowboys" (1972) and "Rooster Cogburn" (1975) any day over this mediocre Western. Heck, I'll even take "The Comancheros" (1961), "El Dorado" (1966), "The War Wagon" (1967), "Rio Lobo" (1970), "The Train Robbers" (1973) and "The Shootist" (1976). The movie runs 119 minutes and was shot in Arizona, Utah and Colorado. GRADE: C-

Wuchak13 Apr, 2021