Three years after the end of the Civil War, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) shows up at his brother’s Texas homestead, still wearing the gray coat and saber he donned while serving the Confederacy.
He’s welcomed back like the long-lost relative he is, but the Texas Rangers soon come calling, looking for volunteers to track down stolen stock from the Jorgensen ranch.
Ethan offers to go, urging brother Aaron to stay close to home in case the culprits turn out to be Indians on a raid.
Turns out that’s just the case. And by the time Ethan can make it back to the ranch, his brother and sister-in-law are dead; their two young daughters — Debbie and Lucy — are missing.
The Rangers, under Rev. Capt. Clayton (Ward Bond), head out to get them back, but the search party is eventually reduced to Ethan, the girls’ adopted brother Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter) and young Brad Jorgensen, who hoped to marry Lucy.
Well, Ethan finds Lucy’s body, after she’s been used by the Comanche bucks. A suicide charge by Brad reduces the search party to just two.
And as time passes, Ethan loses all hope of rescuing a white woman.
Even if Debbie is alive, she’s now a Comanch.
John Wayne as Ethan Edwards, determined to find a captured niece in The Searchers (1956)
Jeffrey Hunter as Martin Pawley, feeling a need to stay by Ethan’s side in The Searchers (1956)
Review:
Gorgeous movie filmed in Monument Valley and focused on a character obsessed with finding a long-lost relative, no matter how long it takes. And, eventually, becoming convinced that the best option should he find her is to kill both the Indian chief who made her his woman and and the soiled young woman herself.
Though the comedy sometimes seems forced, Ford manages to inject humor into what would have otherwise been an incredibly somber film. And while Wayne roams the countryside on his quest — with Martin Pawley by his side, to save his adopted sister if possible — we also get glimpses of the settlers who are forging a life for themselves in this wild country.
Natalie Wood, 18 at the time the film was released, was already a star, though her screen time is limited here. The role of Debbie as a young girl is actually played by her sister, Lana, in her very first screen appearance. You’ll also spot a young Patrick Wayne, in just his second credited screen role.
The best supporting performance just might come from Vera Mles, as Laurie Jorgensen, a young woman eager to get on with life and growing increasing frustrated with Martin Pawley’s insistence on tagging along with Ethan.
Lana Wood as oung Debbie Edwards, hiding from Indians in the family cemetery in The Searchers (1956)
Natalie Wood as Debbie Edwards, showing off Scar’s scalp stick in The Searchers (1956)
Directed by:
John Ford
Cast:
John Wayne … Ethan Edwards
Jeffrey Hunter … Martin Pawley
Vera Miles … Laurie Jorgensen
Ward Bond … Rev. Capt. Samuel Clayton
Natalie Wood … Debbie Edwards
John Qualen … Lars Jorgensen
Olive Carey … Mrs. Jorgensen
Henry Brandon … Chief Cicatriz / Scar
Ken Curtis … Charlie McCorry
Harry Carey Jr. … Brad Jorgensen
Patrick Wayne … Lt. Greenhill
Lana Wood … Young Debbie Edwards
Hank Worden … Mose Harper
Walter Coy … Aaron Edwards
Dorothy Jordan … Martha Edwards
Pippa Scott … Lucy Edwards
Beulah Archuletta … Look / Wild Goose Flying in the Night Sky
Antonio Moreno … Emilio Gabrial Fernandez y Figueroa
Runtime: 119 min.
Title tune: “The Searchers”
Henry Brandon as Cheif Cicatriz, aka Scar, the Comanche who leads the raid on the Edwards’ ranch in The Searchers (1956)
Vera Miles as Laurie Jorgenson, Martin Pawley’s long-suffering girlfriend in The Searchers (1956)
Memorable lines:
Rev. Samuel Clayton: “Well, the prodigal brother. When did you get back? Ain’t seen you since the surrender. Come to think of it, I didn’t see you at the surrender.”
Ethan: “I don’t believe in surrenders.”
Ethan, as Comanches close in from both sides: “Well, Reverend, looks like you’ve got yourself surrounded.”
Rev. Samuel Clayton: “Yeah, and I figure on getting myself unsurrounded.”
Brad Jorgensen, upon learning Lucy has been killed by Comanches: “Did they? Was she?”
Ethan: “What do you want me to do? Draw you a picture? Spell it out? Don’t ever ask me. Long as you live, don’t ever ask me more.”
Army commander, after showing Ethan the white captives he’s rescued: “It’s hard to believe they’re white.”
Ethan: “They ain’t white, anymore. They’re Comanch.”
John Wayne as Ethan Edwards with Ward Bond as Texas Ranger Capt. Samuel Clayton in The Searchers (1956)
Dorothy Jordan as Martha Edwards and Walter Coy as Aaron Edwards, the family Ethan returns to after the war in The Searchers (1956)
Pippa Scott as Lucy Edwards, reacting as Comanche raiders close in on her home in The Searchers (1956)
John Wayne (right) as Ethan Edwards with fellow searchers Brad Jorgenson (Harry Carey Jr.) and Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter) in The Searchers (1956)
John Qualen as Lars Jorgenson and Ward Bond as Cap. Samuel Clayton, helping search for the kidnapped Edwards girls in The Searchers (1956)
Ken Curtis as Charlie McCoy and Olive Carey as Mrs. Jorgenson, listening to Laurie read a letter from Martin in The Searchers (1956)
Patrick Wayne as Lt. Greenhill, reporting to Texas Ranger Capt. Samuel Clayton (Ward Bond) in The Searchers (1956)
Beulah Archuletta as Look, the Indian girl who takes a liking to Martin Pawley in The Searchers (1956)
Hank Worden as Mose Harper, providing information about Scar’s location to Etahn (John Wayne) and Martin (Jeffrey Hunter) in The Searchers (1956)
Natalie Wood as Debbie Edwards, urging Martin for flee for his own safety in The Searchers (1956)
Jeffrey Hunter as Martin Pawley, finally finding Scar’s camp in The Searchers (1956)
John Wayne as Ethan Edwards, understanding the difficulty of the task ahead in The Searchers (1956)
){kind=link}