The Searchers
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Movie Reviews of The Searchers
Movie Review: What is Ethan Really Searching For and What Does he Find?
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the reasons that The Searchers stands out so prominently in my mind and heart, like those soaring and almost achingly beautiful monoliths in Monument Valley, is because of what it has taught me about understanding and cherishing my own humanity, and how denying the humanity of other human beings really just degrades the degrader.
Upon seeing the movie again several years ago, I realized the importance for the first time of the fact that John Wayne's character, Ethan, came to the West after having fought as a rebel officer in the Civil War. That his commitment to fighting for the South had more to do with racism than state's rights becomes evident as soon as Native Americans enter the picture, especially as murderers of his kin and kidnappers of his young relative, Debby (played later in the movie by Natalie Wood).
This terrible event, and others in the movie, seems to justify and fuel his racism and propel and maintain him on his five-year search to find and destroy both Scar, the Comanche leader who led the raid, and Debby -- whom he now considers on a par with the Native Americans, as being less than human and not worthy of life itself.
But then there's Marty, Debby's mixed-blood brother and Ethan's companion and conscience on The Search, a figure about whom Ethan has great ambivalence, simultaneously tolerating and reviling him. I think Marty represents both a wall and a bridge between Ethan and his lost humanity, symbolized by Debby. A wall, because he physically stands between Ethan and Debby when Ethan pulls out his gun to kill her when they finally meet. A bridge, because Marty's stubborn love for his sister, his willingness to put his life on the line for her, and NOT a burning hatred for the Comanche, finally forces Ethan to fully acknowledge Marty's humanity despite his mixed blood (a change of heart that Ethan demonstrates by willing his possessions to Marty). And in granting Marty's humanity, he ultimately crosses the bridge and acknowledges Debby's humanity; when Ethan finally has the chance to kill her, he embraces her instead and takes her home.
What Ethan has found, what he has recovered, is not just a young relative who has been through great separation and pain, but his own humanity.
The brilliant and iconographic final scene of the movie, with Ethan standing in the doorway of the homestead and then walking away, alone, always left me moved, but unsatisfied. I didn't want Ethan to be alone now that he was whole again. But, then again, his being whole is the central point, not his being alone. Rather than feeling frustrated by his apparent return to solitude, I finally realized that it was fitting: as Ethan now addresses himself to the world as a complete human being, he may fight again, but never on the side of the dehumanizers. He has finally left his racism behind, just as he left his rebel uniform behind.
In closing, I was reminded of The Searchers when I read an article recently about military chaplains. I had always assumed that they were there to somehow bless the violent proceedings, to symbolize that "God is on our side." But that's not how they saw it. As a group, they saw their mission as being to preserve the humanity of the men and women in their charge -- a key part of which was asserting the humanity of the enemy. One told of walking by two pilots talking about taking out "targets." He stopped and asked if the "targets" were people. When the pilots nodded "Yes," he said "And don't you forget it." I bet that chaplain just might be a fan of The Searchers...
Movie Review: The Searchers, Slam-bang Western
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1955, John Ford went to Monument Valley to film what has since become his western masterpiece, "The Searchers". This scenic American backdrop was the perfect setting for this atmospheric story. In this film, John Wayne turns in his greatest performance as Ethan Edwards, an ex rebel soldier returning home from the Civil War under mysterious circumstances. However, his homecoming is short lived, as Reverend Samuel Clayton and his band of Texas Rangers recruit him and his adopted nephew, Martin Pawley to repel a party of Comanche Indians (Or Native Americans for the politically correct) from the neighboring ranches. Unfortunately, the raiders kill Ethan's brother and beloved sister-in-law, in addition to capturing his nieces Lucy and little Debbie. After setting out after the marauders, Ethan quickly clashes with Reverend Clayton, who questions him on his harsh tactics in fighting Comanches. In a desire to employ aggressive measures, Edwards leaves the larger group with Martin Pawley and Lucy's betrothed, Brad Jorgensen, growling, that "he is giving the orders." While hot on the path of the raiding party, Ethan notices that several Comanche's have split off from the trail. Urging Marty and Brad to wait, the older man goes to investigate the broken tracks of four riders. In a brilliantly acted scene, Wayne's character Ethan comes down the canyon and digs his hunting knife into the sand. Shaken to his core, the Confederate veteran has just discovered the mutilated corpse of his beautiful niece Lucy. Edwards initially keeps this grisly discovery to himself. When Marty asks the older man about his missing rebel coat, a dazed Ethan tells him that he "has lost it." Later that evening, the three men locate the Indian camp and Brad mistakenly believes that he sees Lucy wearing her favorite blue dress. Ethan then tells the excited young man that it is in fact a Comanche buck wearing Lucy's dress. When Brad insists he has seen Lucy, Edwards informs him that he buried her body back at the canyon, wrapped inside of his missing coat. In an act of suicidal rage, Jorgensen runs into an Indian camp to share Lucy's fate. For the next five years, Ethan and Marty myopically hunt for young Debbie, who is the captive of a Comanche chief named Scar. Along the way, Ethan manages to dispatch bushwhackers and Marty breaks up the wedding of his childhood sweetheart, in a scene brimming with comic relief. Finally, the two men rejoin Captain Clayton and his Texas Rangers to take on the Comanche's in a climatic battle, where the long-suffering Debbie is eventually rescued. For this film, the seasoned director assembled a cast of his regulars, including Ken Curtis, John Qualen, Hank Worden and Harry Carey Jr. This bunch turns in the kind of solid character acting that moviegoers came to expect from a John Ford vehicle. Ward Bond is superb as Captain Clayton and delivers some of the film's most amusing dialogue. Additionally, a lovely, teenage Natalie Wood has about five minutes of screen time playing the older Debbie. However, at the center of this great movie, is the relationship between the two searchers, played by Wayne and ably supported by Jeffery Hunter, who must ride together day after endless day in their search for the elusive Chief Scar. The chemistry between these two actors makes this film a classic of the western genre.Movie Review: What Makes a Man to Wander?
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this movie a time or two when I was a young man. I didn't really understand why it was so highly thought of until I had read a biography or two of John Ford. When I got a chance to see it later, I found myself seeing many subtle facets of what I had previously thought to a slow-moving action Western. You see, this is NOT an action movie. The fact that there are some gunfights throughout the movie probably mislead me thinking that it was about action. It is about obsession instead: the obsession of a man to save his niece from what he felt was a fate worse than death.
Ethan Edwards comes back from the Civil War and seems to be hiding a dark secret. He visits his brother's familiy and, while there, they are attacked by Indians. When Ethan returns to the site of the massacre of his brother's family, he realizes that the two daughters are missing. They had been captured by the Comanches and Ethan sets out with others to search for them. Time and distance causes most to drop out of the search and return to their own homes but Ethan continues his search over the course of a couple of years. He has a couple of young men along to help out but it is Ethan who leads the way doggedly.
As in most Ford movies, there is a community that is central to the understanding that individuals and actions are best understood in relationship to the society they come from. Sometimes, we don't share Ford's sense of purpose along these lines because we're more drawn towards Ethan Edwards sense of purpose. As a result, some scenes slow down the drama (as well as the action). The film culminates in returning to society. Edwards hasn't fit into society since he went off to war. Now that his task is over, society has no use for him and no place for him as well. In an unforgetable closing scene, Edwards knows that it's time for him to leave.
There are many unforgetable scenes in "The Searchers" in addition to the closing one. The scene in which Edwards has to break the truth to Brad Jorgenson is about the best scene John Wayne ever did (and he's had a lot of memorable scenes over his career). The team of Ford and Wayne has produced some of the best in American cinema over the years. Other than "Donovan's Reef" I can't think of a single failure but there are plenty of classic; "Stagecoach", "The Quiet Man", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence" to name a few. These two men, along with Ford's standard stock players, have given us a story of how society needs men of uncommon strength to do the hard work in society's crises. Yet, when the work is done, society often forgets and looks the other way. Whether this was an allegory about the returning veterans or just a story about the special breed of man it took to win the West, it is a compelling study of a man with a mission. Although it suffered from the accepted attitudes towards the Indians in the Western conquest, it is a story that continues to be impressive. Just don't think of it as an action Western.
Movie Review: Ford and Wayne at the peak of their powers
Summary: 5 Stars
An extraordinary Western, maybe the best ever; from the breathtaking opening shots one can see that this isn't a typical 'oater. Those who feel that John Ford/ John Wayne films are typical movies of the era (corny, naive, racist) should take a look at "The Searchers".
John Wayne delivers an outstanding performance, ranging from easygoing (when visiting his brother's family) to gruff (when he sees part-Indian Martin) to shellshocked (after finding out about his niece Lucy's fate) to psychotic (from shooting buffalo to prevent Comanches from eating to his determination to kill niece Debby, considering her already dead once the Comanches started raising her.
Unlike modern Westerns, this film doesn't beat you over the head with its messages; one can easily see some of the points that Wayne and Ford were trying to make about racism versus Native Americans (further explored by Ford in "Cheyenne Autumn"). That message is delivered subtly throughout the film, possibly due to Ford feeling his '50s audience was not yet ready to accept a more obvious depiction of racial hatred/injustice. To Ford's credit, though, he does take a bit of time showing us a likeable comic-relief type Comanche bride for Hunter, only to show her later shockingly slain, possibly by the U.S. Cavalry, something quite unexpected in a film from this period.
Jeffrey Hunter serves as the moral center of the film. He's a bit naive and anxious, but always seeks to do what is right. The adopted stepbrother of Debby is determined to find her every bit as much as Wayne is. Later, he is also determined to keep Wayne from killing her. Wayne at first despises him due to his part-Cherokee heritage and that opinion only gradually changes over the five years they both spend looking for Debby. By the end, Wayne is still somewhat rough on Hunter, but in a more brotherly sort of way.
The film sometimes gets slow, due to the subplot involving Hunter's on/off courtship with Vera Miles' character and some corny comic relief (though its still fairly amusing, not roll-your-eyes hokiness from typical cowboy fare), perhaps that stuff is needed though to break some of the dark tension. It also helps that the supporting cast is very strong, including the great Ward Bond as the Preacher/Ranger Captain and comedy sidekick Hank Worden. Monument Valley is also a major supporting character, helping give the film its awesome look
Unlike many Westerns that deal with actions and reactions (bad guy does bad, good guy chases him around for 2 hours), "The Searchers" deals more with universal issues; honor, perserverance, mercy, and perhaps most of all bigotry. John Wayne is not your typical protagonist here. His character is plainly, sometimes crazily racist, though that makes the climactic scene so powerful.
Movie Review: West's best
Summary: 5 Stars
By the time this movie came out, John Ford, its director, was already a legendary filmmaker. With a career reaching back to the mid-teens, he had already nabbed his four Oscars and solidified a legacy of being perhaps the greatest directors of all time, and this film certainly proves him to be at the pinnacle of his artistic mastery. It also represents the incredible resiliency of its star, America's number one war hero and cowboy, John Wayne, (and I should say also his public's loyalty), who previously in the same year made one of the worst movies of anybody's career, The Conqueror, in which he portrayed Genghis Khan. Taken from Alan LeMay's 1954 novel of the same name, The Searchers explores the emotionally complex story of a perilous, hate-ridden man called Ethan Edwards (John Wayne), and his Homeric-style odyssey of self-discovery following a Comanche massacre, while also diving into the themes of racial prejudice and sexism.
Ford lures us from the beginning into this simultaneously gorgeous and volatile desert world as Ethan emerges from the sand and the buttes, a drifting, lonely man on horseback returning to his family after a three year absence. During Ethan's stay with the family, a group of Comanches attacks the frontier home while he and the other men are away, killing everyone except his two nieces who are kidnapped: a teenager named Lucy (Pippa Scott) and a ten-year-old named Debbie (Lana Wood, later played as a teenager by Natalie Wood). From here, it becomes a meandering tale that probes the inner psychological turmoil of this fiercely independent man obsessed with revenge and hatred, who, along with his half-Cherokee nephew Marty (Jeffery Hunter), searches for his nieces for over five years.
Obviously the western has waned in popularity in the last two decades - Open Range ended a decade-long drought - but it is really the one true distinctive American genre, the oldest, and also the most abundant. The Searchers is regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time. Rightly so. It's epic, it's complex, with moments of humor, visually-gorgeous, reflecting Ford's training as a painter, and it's John Wayne's greatest performance, ever. His favorite, too - he even named his son Ethan. And the most stirring part of the film is probably this visual motif of a framed doorway: it begins with a door opening, and ends with a door closing, but in both scenes, on this threshold between two worlds, John Wayne stands alone. In the end, John peers briefly back through the doorway into the home, wherein lies the warmth of a settled family, a civilization he can never know, before turning back into the savage and threatening glare of the western frontier that has and always will be his home.