No. 8 - The Searchers (1956)

The Biggest, Roughest, Toughest ...and Most Beautiful Picture Ever Made!

Rated: Not Rated, but would be rated G (General audiences)

Director: John Ford; Screenplay: Frank S. Nugent; from the novel by Alan Le May

Starring: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood, John Qualen, Olive Carey, Henry Brandon, Ken Curtis, Harry Carey Jr.

Movie Introduction:  Ethan Edwards (Wayne) returns home to Texas after the Civil War. When his brother's family is attacked by Comanche Indians, he vows to track down his two captured nieces, Lucy and Debbie, and bring them home. Accompanying him is half-breed family adoptee, Marty Pawley (Hunter), whom Edwards dislikes because he carries Indian blood. Eventually, Edwards and Marty get word that young Debbie (Wood) is still alive. The two embark on a dangerous mission to find her, journeying deep into Comanche territory. As the years drag on, the two searchers begin to ponder her fate.

Defining Moment: white captives

Ethan and Martin have been searching for the missing Debbie for years. They have chased numerous dead ends.  Finally their search leads them to a Cavalry outpost, where some white women have been captured from Indian camps. Perhaps Debbie is among them.

As they inspect the women, who now fully identify as "Indian", they appear to be childlike, mumbling gibberish, on the verge of insanity. The cavalry sergeant volunteers, "It's hard to believe they're white."  At this, Ethan turns around for one last glance, and we see the literal hate burning within his eyes. This is the film's moment where we start to realize Ethan may have other intentions for Debbie, if and when they find her.

Something subtle you might have missed:  a secret

In the film's opening scene, Ethan returns to his brother's home. Where exactly Ethan has been these many years after the end of the Civil War is a mystery, but now, he's back, and the family is glad to see him. Director Ford gives us two subtle clues that there was a relationship between Ethan and his brother's wife, Martha. We see it in how he greets her upon arrival.  Then we see it again with her handling Ethan's coat, deep in longing thought, witnessed only by Reverend Clayton, who wisely chooses not to make a big deal out of it. Perhaps the Rev. knew about it. Perhaps this is the reason Ethan stayed away so long. We can only guess.

Memorable Quotes:

"It just so happens we be Texicans. Texican is nothin' but a human man way out on a limb, this year and next. Maybe for a hundred more. But I don't think it'll be forever. Some day, this country's gonna be a fine good place to be. Maybe it needs our bones in the ground before that time can come." - Mrs. Jorgensen

"Seems like he never learns there's such a thing as a critter that'll just keep comin' on. So we'll find 'em in the end, I promise you. We'll find 'em. Just as sure as the turnin' of the earth." – Ethan Edwards

Dad's Review:

John Wayne. I can’t begin to imagine how future generations will judge this man. He was first and foremost an actor. Most of his roles exclusively exemplified the iconic American archetype, be it the tall cowboy, the romantic adventurer, or the self-sacrificing military leader. His roles were almost always "the good guy". He'd settle his disputes with a fist or a gun or a grenade. He smoked, and made it look cool. Those piercing blue eyes and cool stare, coupled with his trademark slow, purposeful way of speaking, left an impression. Men wanted to follow him. Woman swooned over him. Then he’d smile, and women wanted to marry him.

He was a top box office draw for three decades, starred in over 80 films. He was a shining symbol Americanism, and old-school Conservatives loved him. This is ironic because he thought of himself, politically, as a liberal.

As times have changed, the image of "John Wayne: American" has lost much of its luster. This is mostly due to a 1971 Playboy interview, where he shares some really dated views on people of color, Native Americans and those in the LBGT+ community. Today, that interview does not play well. It has tarnished his legacy. There are several articles, YouTube postings and other presentations that decry the sins of the horrible John Wayne. So much so, that the John Way Airport was renamed back to Orange County Airport as a result.

I can't possibly defend Mr. Wayne. But I cannot condemn him either. He was a product of his time, like so many of our parents and grandparents, and frankly, most of our country back then. What right do I have no right to judge him or his generation? All I can do is move forward, and live in my generation with a more open mind.

Cinematically, however, he had a major impact, and is featured in several films on Dad's lists. Unapologetically, I grew up in the southwest, and John Wayne is still revered there. I can tell you that John Wayne influenced who I am today. The men he portrayed were my role models; they were fair, honest men I wanted to emulate. They helped those in need. They sacrificed for the many. These are the values I still hold today.

Onto The Searchers... This brilliant Western by famed director John Ford, strives to frame the American West, and its violence, against the toll it takes on those who inhabit it. The West could be a brutal place for settlers. People were mostly self-governed. The fear of death was ever present: stampedes, bitter cold winters, snake bites, fevers. None were more dangerous than man, be it murdering robbers or raiding Natives. Many settlers died. Those that survived became hardened to that life.

It is into this world that we meet Ethan Edwards, a product of the West. He is the iconic Westerner (the lone wanderer, a leader of men, more than able to take care of himself, adheres to a strict moral code). However, Edwards is complex and damaged. The Civil War took a toll on him. He is a man who has survived a difficult past.

When he returns to his family's ranch, it appears that he's finally ready to rejoin society, maybe settle down. Then a raiding party murders his brother's family and kidnaps his two nieces. This severs his last tether to civilization, and creates within him a rage for revenge. He will find his nieces and kill those responsible.

The story follows Edwards on his epic search, year by year, to find those taken from him. The journey takes it toll, and hardens a man already hard as stone. By the end, the audience starts to wonder what he will do if he finds his nieces, now assimilated into the Comanche tribe. What will the end of his odyssey yield?

The Western Myth: Director Ford and other Hollywood directors presented a version of the West that is certainly mythical in nature. For example, the film setting is said to be Texas, however all scenes were filmed in Monument Valley, Arizona/Utah. Also, Native Americans are mostly portrayed as whiskey-crazed, murderous savages. Richard Slotkin, a prominent scholar on frontier myth wrote, "America as a wide-open land of unlimited opportunity for the strong, ambitious, self-reliant individual to thrust his way to the top." The frontier hero was created through the embellished stories about men like Daniel Boone, Dave Crockett, and Buffalo Bill Kody.

The "Old West" was enhanced, in many mediums, for the purpose of creating an interesting story and romanticizing the setting. A serious drawback of this type of fictionalized storytelling is that it only showcases white American exceptionalism, and often ignores the treatment the "others": women, people of color, the poor. Americans are always portrayed as "the good guys".

History, brutally and honestly, does not always show that as the truth.

Onto No. 9...Globe of the Gibbons