The Searchers (1956)

I am not going to use a phrase that gets has been repeated to the point that it no longer has any meaning, but there has been a trend in recent years to try to erase much of American cinema.  It's disturbing because although quite a number of movies, especially the further back one goes in the 20th century, are going to naturally have things that don't fit in modern society.  While in many cases no one thought twice about what they were portraying on screen at the time, many of the directors and actors later on were quite aware of how things came across, even as early as the 1970s.  

Writers, directors and actors in the past were not completely oblivious to the changing times.  John Ford, John Wayne and most of the cast of The Searchers would not even be considered liberal for their own time, and definitely many of their personal views - mainstream in the 1950s, and quite out of step within the two decades following - are definitely shocking today.  Still, outright dismissing an influential movie like The Searchers solely on the characters, based on a novel by Alan Le May that was adapted by Frank Nugent, as racist completely misses the point.  In fact, it is a big reason why superhero and franchise films are more popular right now.  Controversial subjects can be brought up, but they are barely dealt with, and no one has the guts (and, I would say in many cases, the skill) to write or portray flawed characters that the audience may have questionable sympathy for.  

Ethan Edwards (Wayne) returns after an extended absence to the home of his brother Aaron (Walter Coy) and his sister-in-law Martha (Dorothy Jordan).  There is obvious tension between Ethan and Aaron, but it never comes to a head as the next day he is deputized by Capt. Samuel Clayton (Ward Bond), the local pastor and head of a division of the Texas Rangers, due to missing cattle belonging to their neighbor Lars Jorgensen (John Qualen).  It turns out the theft is a ruse to draw out most of the men in preparation for an attack on the Edwards's homestead.  Martha, Aaron and their son are killed, while daughters Lucy (Pippa Scott) and Debbie (Lana Wood) are abducted by a hostile Comanche chief named Scar (Henry Brandon).

After an abortive pursuit, Edwards, his nephew by adoption Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter) and Brad Jorgensen (Harry Carey Jr.) set out to see about rescuing Lucy and Debbie.  As the time passes, it becomes a years-long quest to find Debbie (Natalie Wood), as Martin is afraid that Ethan's hatred for the Comanche will lead him to kill Debbie once they find her.  Meanwhile, the search takes up a good chunk of their lives, causing turbulence between Ethan and Martin as well as Laurie Jorgensen (Vera Miles), who has her heart set on marrying Martin.  

The Searchers does still have some problems that are inherent in older westerns, one of those being white or Latin actors filling in for Native Americans.  Most of the American Indian extras in the movie were from the local Navajo reservation, while Beulah Archuleta, the woman who plays Look, was of mixed Native American heritage and part of the Gila River Indian Reservation.  By standards of the time it was at least a step forward, although Scar, Ethan's main adversary, is played by a white actor.  There is nothing wrong with the portrayal itself - Scar is a brilliant warrior and tactician, and doesn't fall into the worst racist stereotypes - but it is a Hollywood tradition that is not missed. 

As for Ethan Edwards, although he is the central character it is made clear that he is a relic.  There are hints throughout the movie of a turbulent past, including the death of his and Aaron's parents at the hands of the Comanche and a time after the Civil War when he fought as a mercenary in Mexico, not to mention that he fought on the Confederate side.  The opening and closing doors at the beginning and end, as well as doorway motifs throughout, have been enough to occupy film scholars for decades, but suffice it to say that the story takes place at a time when the frontiers were becoming more settled.  Although Wayne remained a major star throughout the 1960s, and many of his classic films were made following The Searchers, he increasingly played older characters and many of the movies he did make were out of step with the younger generation of the time. 

The themes throughout the film are less about cowboys versus Indians and more about how times change and how people can waste their lives on fruitless pursuits.  In the real-life situation on which this is based the girl that had been abducted by a never adjusted to "civilized" society again, as the majority of her life had been spent with what she considered her own people, even giving birth to a man who would become the tribe's chief.  Rather than any character being all good or all evil The Searchers presents all sides, and all characters, as flawed, from Ethan's outright genocidal hatred to Martin's poor treatment of Look despite often being more heroic than Ethan. 

As befitting a classic of any time, the direction is magnificent - although I'll never get over a title card saying it's Texas and then seeing Monument Valley - and all the performances, even the smaller ones, being standouts, with this being up with The Quiet Man and Stagecoach as one of the best roles Wayne ever played.  It's also refreshing to see more realistic period clothing than most westerns.  There are some anachronisms - a few of the weapons weren't made until after the events in the movie - but I had to read some trivia to find that out myself since I'm not a weapons expert.  As usual I can overlook this as The Searchers tells a story as old as those told around campfires, about friendships and journeys and what is truly essential in life.  Making snap judgments based on societal cues sells this, and many other movies, short. 

The Searchers (1956)

Time: 119 minutes

Starring: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Henry Brandon, Natalie Woods

Director: John Ford