This film is considered
by many to be the greatest western ever made and Wayne’s best role. Highly
praised, wonderfully shot, with John Wayne at his best, and with a great
supporting cast, the movie is very entertaining and touches on areas like revenge,
family, racism, trust, and industry as Wayne and his friends help find a white
girl taken hostage by Comanche Indians.
The story starts three
years after the Civil War with Wayne playing Ethan Edwards, nearing a border
home. Looking tired and exhausted, Ethan was a Confederate soldier. Ethan is
met by his family including his brother Aaron (Walter Coy), Aaron’s wife Martha
(Dorothy Jordan) and their two children, teenagers Debbie (Lana Wood and
Natalie Wood) and Lucy (Pippa Scott). Everyone is happy to see Ethan, and Ethan
brings out gifts, leftovers from the war, and they have dinner. During dinner, Martin
Pawley, played by Jeffrey Hunter, arrives. One-eighth Cherokee Indian, Martin
was adopted by the Edwards family after Ethan saved him as a child from an
Indian attack. Because Martin is part-Indian, the racist Ethan treats him with
disrespect, his eyes showing the racism he has for Indians. The next morning at
breakfast, more disruptions arrive when Sam Clayton, a reverend and a captain
of the Texas Rangers, played by Ward Bond, shows up. Sam Clayton comes to ask
Ethan’s help in tracking a neighbor’s cattle that was stolen by Comanche
Indians. Ethan makes Aaron stay with the women, while he leaves with Martin and
the Rangers. In one of the classic shots of film history, Clayton looks away on
purpose as Martha caringly gives Ethan his Confederate coat while Ethan kisses
her on the forehead. Does Ethan love Martha, his brother’s wife, making it one
of the reasons why he didn’t return after the War? As Ethan leaves with the Rangers,
Martha and Debbie look far away after them.
Ethan, Martin and the
Rangers do find the cattle murdered and see it was all a trap to get them to
leave so that the Comanches could break into Aaron and Martha’s home. When
Ethan returns home, they find the house burned, and adults murdered and Debbie
kidnapped. Furious, Ethan and Martin team up to ride through the whole west to
find Debbie from the Indians.
As they look, they
sleep long nights out on the open range, visit saloons for help, kills Indians
and robbers, and make a pit stop at the home of the neighbors the Jorgensens
(John Qualen and Olive Carey), where Martin is fallen in love with by their nervous
daughter, Laurie (Vera Miles). Despite Martin and Laurie both being in love,
his mission is more important, and he leaves her unhappy and eager to marry.
Ethan and Martin ride off again, Martin buys an Indian wife (Beulah Archuletta),
and they find the Comanche camp led by an evil chief named Scar (Henry
Brandon), who wants to avenge his sons killed by white people. Inside the camp
is now a grown Debbie. Ethan thinks she is no longer white and wants to kill
her when she sneaks into their camp, but Martin protects her, a creek standing
between him and Ethan, showing their differences. An Indian arrow stops Ethan
right in time, and he and Martin barely escapes. Back at their home, a final
battle with the Indians develops, with the goal to get Debbie from the hands of
Scar. Can Martin stop Ethan before he murders Debbie?
Movieguide said in
their review, “THE SEARCHERS was made before the days of political correctness.
The women are docile, but feisty, domestic engineers, swooning over men and
cooking. Ethan and Martin, conversely, are rough and tough. At one point,
Martin kicks his unfortunate, well-meaning Indian “bride.” Finally, the lead
Indian is played by a Caucasian, and the Indians’ presence is seen as
threatening. Unlike the recent DANCES WITH WOLVES, no attempt is made to
understand or appreciate the Indian culture, although DANCES itself is an idealized
portrait of Indians and may be considered to be a racist diatribe against white
American society of the 1800s. Yet, all these things do not diminish the
complexity, beauty and emotional pull that THE SEARCHERS displays. THE
SEARCHERS is actually a transitional film from the 1950s that makes a strong
statement against racism.”
Movieguide continues, “The
wide-open space photography in THE SEARCHERS is breathtaking, and the interiors
are detailed. Director John Ford arranges his images here in a wonderfully
unique way, a quality which has earned this film a mention by some critics as
one of the top ten cinematic masterpieces of all time. Both the lead actors and
the supporting actors excel.” The most memorable is the little crazy,
definitely silly Mose Harper, played by Hank Worden, who helps out occasionally
in Ethan’s journey. Mose nicely shows gratitude to everyone and God, even when they’re
in danger. Christian audiences will also love the hymn singing, prayers and
Scripture said at the funeral and a wedding. Movieguide credited, “John Ford is
a filmmaker who remembers his history lessons, that America was primarily
populated by practicing Christians in the past.” Even the skeptical and tired
character Wayne plays bows his head during a prayer before a meal.
Movieguide said, “THE
SEARCHERS was produced before MPAA ratings came into effect, so therefore it
uses restraint when displaying battles and attacks. The audience does not need
to see the murdered or burnt bodies of the Edwards family to know the
devastating blow it has on Ethan and Martin. Likewise, the shootouts are
primarily bloodless. While this may not be authentic, it allows THE SEARCHERS
to be accessible to a greater audience, including older children, and hence can
be appreciated by some complete families or at least more members of the
family.”
The movie has John
Wayne in maybe his best role, which he often said was his favorite. The main
story of the movie is whether his character Ethan will not go down the path of
hatred and revenge. Ethan is the archetypal Western hero who has gone through a
tragic loss and must choose if he will help his community or his own sinful
desires.
Now with that classic
looked at, check in next week for the next installment of “John Wayne Month.”
No comments:
Post a Comment