The Searchers
Composite Score: 87.13
Starring: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood, John Qualen, Olive Carey, Henry Brandon, Hank Worden, and Lana Wood
Director: John Ford
Writer: Frank S. Nugent
Genres: Adventure, Drama, Western
MPAA Rating: Approved
Box Office: $1,071 worldwide
My take on Watching This Film:
The Searchers is John Ford’s film adaptation of Alan Le May’s novel of the same name about a Civil War veteran who spends five years searching for his kidnapped niece in the wilderness of West Texas and New Mexico. The film stars John Wayne as Confederate vet Ethan Edwards across from Jeffrey Hunter as his adoptive nephew and fellow searcher Martin Pawley, who is himself one-eighth Native American. The film follows both men as they seek to rescue Debbie (played first by Lana Wood and then by Natalie Wood) from her Comanche captors while also coming to terms with their own demons in the face of the increasing likelihood of her death or assimilation into the Comanche tribe that kidnapped her. The film explores, if imperfectly at times, themes of racism and xenophobia, seeking to lend some understanding to the animosity between western American settlers and the Native Americans they encountered there. It is considered by many to be the greatest American western ever made, and certainly, Ford’s beautiful presentation of the landscapes of the American southwest certainly lends itself to that descriptor. Certain factors in the film’s handling of its more difficult subject matter and a goofy romance subplot might hold it back for some audiences, though.
Obviously, there are many levels to the portrayal of Native Americans, and specifically the Comanche, in The Searchers. On the one hand, the film takes care to show little violence on their part, instead focusing on the violence turned against them by the white settlers, specifically Wayne’s vengefully racist Ethan. At the same time, they are still presented as the villains of the film, and while it’s clear that Ford was seeking some nuance in the portrayal, the Comanche Chief Scar is played by a white German actor, and it’s difficult to see the character as much beyond a villainous caricature in a modern light. The complexities of Debbie’s situation, while hinted at and alluded to, never get fully fleshed out even in the film’s final act, leaving some of the actual nuance and discussion that could be had about the interplay between Native Americans and white settlers in America on a distant backburner. Finally, though, the portrayal of Ethan as an overtly racist character bent more on vengeance than rescue does make for a striking examination of the United States’ treatment of the Native Americans, punctuated by a poignant sequence when Ethan and Martin come upon a herd of buffalo. Wayne plays his antihero incredibly well, helping the audience see how a human could come to those conclusions without ever making the conclusions themselves into sympathetic stances. It’s a tough subject to explore, even for modern filmmakers, and it’s safe to say that, while imperfectly handled, The Searchers does a decent enough job that it still warrants a watch.
The visuals of The Searchers and Wayne’s chilling lead performance have made it a film that stands the test of time as one of the greatest westerns ever made. At the same time, not every aspect of the film has aged perfectly (nor should we be surprised at that), and some aspects of the story aren’t deeply engaging even within its context as a classic western. Still, its willingness to portray the flaws of humanity and the evil and good inside us all makes for a compelling film that’s definitely worth checking out. If you’d like to, you can currently find the film to rent on most streaming platforms.
