After three long years, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) returns home a veteran of the American Civil War, only to embark on a multiple year quest of revenge and retribution in hopes of finding his abducted nine-year old niece. Who’s responsible? Chief Scar (Henry Brandon) and his fellow Comanche, who have been seeking their own revenge for the murder of their people. A superb throwback to 1956 with this classic western movie, with one or two comedic moments thrown into the mix too.

Director: John Ford
Writers: Frank S. Nugent, Alan Le May
Starring: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Henry Brandon

Directed by John Ford and released to audiences in May of 1956, The Searchers is widely regarded as one of the finest western movies to hit out screens, irrespective of release date. The much loved John Wayne once stated that playing the character of Ethan Edwards in the flick was in his opinion, the best character he’d ever portrayed on-screen. An incredibly broad comment considering the actors stacked filmography.

Straight away, the one thing that impressed me with The Searchers was the stunning and picturesque cinematography, set in the heart of the Arizona desert, which I later found out to be Momentum Valley, a location used frequently in films of this nature and by the same director, John Ford. Surrounded by nothing but high canyons and wide-open space, as a viewer you’re able to truly appreciate what is put before you.

Another major strength of the picture had to come in the way the filmmakers managed to convey some genuinely suspenseful and equally as frightening moments, especially in the early stages of the runtime. Though the viewer doesn’t see much action – in the traditional sense of the word – the after-effects of several events that occur are presented to us as being dramatic and equally as shocking at the same time. Something else to note would be the way in which the story was depicted over several years, not just days, or weeks, like many westerns of this nature would. Despite the large jump in timeframe on more than one occasion, the story still manages to keep the viewer enthralled and invested with the dangerous mission undertaken by the main characters.

John Wayne adopted the role of Ethan Edwards and was impressive as the lead. Elsewhere, Jeffrey Hunter starred as Martin Pawley, Ethan’s right-hand man, and as mentioned, Henry Brandon was tasked with the appointment of Chief Scar’s character, the head of the Comanche. As with many western movies, there was an extensive support cast too, which featured the likes of Vera Miles, Natalie Wood, John Qualen, Olive Carey and many more.

On a whole, The Searchers is widely regarded as one of John Wayne’s finest accomplishments and one of the greatest westerns ever released and I’d struggle to argue against that. Hopefully soon I will explore more John Wayne classics and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they are half as good as this one was…

“That’ll be the day…”

Ethan Edwards – The Searchers