The Searchers (movie) - Definition and Overview

The Searchers is a 1956 epic Western film which tells the story of a man who spends years looking for his niece who was taken by "Indians". It stars John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond and Natalie Wood.

The movie was adapted by Frank S. Nugent from the novel by Alan Le May. It was directed by John Ford. The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

This is an interesting film, since it could be interpreted as a subtle critique of the sort of Westerns that Wayne normally appeared in (although Wayne himself would probably have disagreed). Wayne's character, Ethan Edwards, is shown as a brooding and disturbed character. The West is shown as a threatening, even slightly sinister place. However, unlike some revisionist Westerns of the 1950s (e.g. Broken Arrow) the Native Americans are shown in a negative light, rather disturbed characters themselves, massacring white settlers, and even sexually assaulting them and abducting their children.

John Wayne's catchphrase in the film, "That'll Be the Day," inspired Buddy Holly to write his hit song of the same name.

External link

• The Searchers (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049730/) at the Internet Movie Database