The Searchers
Directed by	John Ford
Produced by	C.V. Whitney
Written by	Alan Le May (novel) Frank S. Nugent
Starring	John Wayne Jeffrey Hunter Natalie Wood
Music by	Stan Jones (title song) Max Steiner
Cinematography	Winton C. Hoch
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	March 13, 1956
Running time	119 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Searchers is a 1956 epic Western film directed by John Ford, which tells the story of Ethan Edwards, a bitter, middle-aged loner and Civil War veteran played by John Wayne, who spends years looking for his abducted niece. A highly influential film, it has inspired other Westerns as well as dramas, science fiction, and even Bollywood films. The Searchers has also been recognized by the American Film Institute as the 12th greatest film in the history of American cinema. Image File history File links The_Searchers. ... For other persons named John Ford, see John Ford (disambiguation). ... C.V. Whitney, 2000 book cover Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (February 20, 1899 - December 13, 1992) was an American businessman, film producer, writer, and government official, as well as the owner of a leading stable of thoroughbred racehorses. ... Alan Le May (January 3, 1899 - April 27, 1964) was an American novelist and screenplay writer most remembered for the novels upon which the motion pictures The Searchers (1956) with John Wayne and The Unforgiven (1960) with Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn were based. ... John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979) was an iconic, Academy Award-winning, American film actor. ... Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (November 25, 1926 - May 27, 1969) was a film and television actor. ... Natalie Wood (July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was a three time Academy Award nominated American film actress. ... Stan Jones was an American songwriter. ... Maximilian Raoul Walter Steiner (born May 10, 1888 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary; died December 28, 1971 in Hollywood, California) was an Austrian-American composer of music for theater production shows and films. ... “WB” redirects here. ... is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Epic Western is a sub-genre of the Western movie. ... For other persons named John Ford, see John Ford (disambiguation). ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979) was an iconic, Academy Award-winning, American film actor. ... Broncho Billy Anderson, from The Great Train Robbery The Western movie is one of the classic American film genres. ... This article refers to the art form. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Bollywood (Hindi: , Urdu: ) is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry in India. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with AFIs 100 Years. ... American cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. ...

The film, while a modest commercial success in its initial release in 1956, was not initially regarded as a classic. Remarkably, it was not even nominated for a single Academy Award. But time treated it quite kindly, and it became generally regarded as not only the most highly regarded western of all time, but also one of the great movies of all time.^[1][2] Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...

In 1989, the United States National Film Registry's first year of selecting films for preservation, The Searchers was one of the twenty-five films to be deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ...

Plot

The year is 1868. Ethan returns from the American Civil War, where he fought for the Confederacy, to his brother's house in rural Texas. No one knows what he's been doing for the past three years (since the war ended), but despite hints that Ethan has been up to no good, no one asks, though the local Ranger Captain, (who is also the local preacher) dourly observes "you sure fit a lot of descriptions." (on wanted posters) Shortly after his arrival, a Comanche raid leaves his brother and sister-in-law dead, his nephew dead, his two nieces abducted, and the family homestead burned down. With his brother’s adopted son, Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter), who is part Indian, part white, Ethan pursues the Comanche to rescue the girls. Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem (none official) God Save the South (unofficial) The Bonnie Blue Flag (unofficial) Dixie (unofficial) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Religion... For other uses, see Comanche (disambiguation). ... Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (November 25, 1926 - May 27, 1969) was a film and television actor. ...

The unspoken love between Wayne's Ethan and his brother's wife Martha and his obsession with avenging her drives the film.

Many reviewers see a powerful, albeit unspoken, factor in the plot. These reviewers maintain that Ethan Edwards is clearly in love with his brother's wife Martha. These same reviewers state it is this love (clearly mutual, as witness the scene in which Captain Clayton notices Martha stroking Ethan's coat) which drives Ethan initially both toward rescue and toward revenge. In terms of the dramatic action of the film, these reviewers maintain it is by far the strongest initiator of behavior on the lead character's part. Those espousing this theory allege that the most startling part of this plot undercurrent is that there is not one word of dialog alluding to the relationship and feelings between Ethan and Martha, despite the importance of those factors to the plot. Every reference to this relationship is visual.^[3][4][5] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Ethan soon finds the murdered body of the older girl, Lucy, and Lucy's fiance dies in a fruitless attempt to avenge her. Ethan and Martin continue to search for the other girl, Debbie, a search that lasts for five long years afterwards. During that time, she grows into adolescence and is married to Scar (Henry Brandon), the chief of the Nawyecka band of Comanche. Scar is presented as the cultural mirror image of Ethan. He hates whites every bit as much as Ethan hates Indians. Once Ethan realizes Debbie's relationship with Scar, he undergoes a change. He no longer wants to rescue Debbie; he wants her dead, believing that being a Comanche's "squaw" is worse than death. Martin tags along to stop Ethan from killing the girl. Eventually Ethan, Martin, and the Texas Rangers find Debbie. Martin kills Scar and Ethan scalps the dead chief. Martin tries to prevent Ethan from killing Debbie, but it is Ethan himself who realizes how close he has come to tragic action. Instead of killing Debbie, he lifts her in his arms just he did when she was a child. Ethan brings Debbie to the safety of friends and then walks away. The film, which opened with a near-identical shot of another doorway, slowly revealing silhouettes that fill out into the film's character, finishes with a reversal: the film's players enter the darkness within the doorway, and the door closes, just before the end title, leaving Ethan isolated outside where he turns and wanders away from the home and family he can have no part in. Henry Brandon (June 8, 1912 – February 15, 1990) was a character actor in over 100 American films, famous for playing Indian, Arab, Persian, Turkish, Native American and East Asian roles, usually villains. ...

Production

The film The Searchers was originally produced by C.V. Whitney, directed by John Ford, and distributed by Warner Brothers. The film starred John Wayne, who was the only actor Ford ever considered for the lead in the movie. C.V. Whitney, 2000 book cover Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (February 20, 1899 - December 13, 1992) was an American businessman, film producer, writer, and government official, as well as the owner of a leading stable of thoroughbred racehorses. ... For other persons named John Ford, see John Ford (disambiguation). ... Warner Bros. ... John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979) was an iconic, Academy Award-winning, American film actor. ...

Ford from the onset strove to make a movie unlike any made before it in Hollywood. Wayne had played outlaw characters before (the Ringo Kid in Stagecoach), but never one as driven and borderline psychotic as Ethan Edwards - indeed, Edwards is played as hovering on the verge of a complete breakdown. Jonathan Lethem said of Wayne’s portrayal of Edwards that he was “tormented and tormenting. . . his fury is righteous and ugly, at once, resentment branded as a fetish.”^[6] His racism and hatred are so open that they sear the viewer, and Ford intended it so. His own comments make clear he is seeking to portray the racism of white America that led to the genocide practiced against Native Americans .^[7] Lethem also writes of his first look at The Searchers, “Weren’t Westerns supposed to be simple? This film was anything but, lush and portentous.”^[6] Stagecoach in Switzerland A stagecoach is a type of four-wheeled enclosed passenger and/or mail coach, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, widely used before the introduction of railway transport. ...

While the movie was primarily set in the staked plains (Llano Estacado) of Northwest Texas, it was actually filmed in Monument Valley, Utah. Additional scenes were filmed in Mexican Hat, Utah, and in Bronson Canyon in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. Shaded Relief Image of the Llano Estacado Llano Estacado (or Staked Plains) is a region in the southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. ... Monument Valley from the valley floor. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Mexican Hat Rock Mexican Hat is a census-designated place located in San Juan County, Utah, USA. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total population of 88, a significant decrease from the 1990 figure of 259. ... The famous cave opening at Bronson Canyon Bronson Canyon is a location in Griffith Park, California that has become famous as the setting for an astounding number of movies and TV shows filmed throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. ...

The film was one of the first shot in the VistaVision widescreen process. A VistaVision 35 mm horizontal camera film frame. ...

The film stressed the incredible vastness of the fabled Comancheria, including the Staked Plains, Llano Estacado

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Real-life inspiration

Several film commentators have suggested that The Searchers was inspired by the 1836 kidnapping of nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker by Comanche warriors who raided her family's home at Fort Parker, Texas.^[8] She spent twenty-four years with the Comanches, married a war chief, and had three children, only to be "rescued" against her will by the Texas Rangers. James W. Parker, Cynthia Ann's uncle, spent much of his life and fortune in what became an obsessive search for his niece, like Ethan Edwards in the film. In addition, the "rescue" of Cynthia Ann, during a Texas Ranger attack on the village where she lived, resembles the rescue of Debbie Edwards when the Texas Rangers attack Scar's village. (See the Battle of Pease River.) Cynthia Ann Parker and her daughter in 1861 Cynthia Ann Parker, or Naduah (also sometimes spelled Nadua and Nauta), was an Anglo-Texas woman of Scots-Irish descent who suffered being kidnapped twice in her lifetime - once from her natural family at the age of nine by a Native American... Combatants Texan Rangers Militia Comanche Noconi Band Commanders Sul Ross Peta Nocona reported killed by Sul Ross, but this is strongly denied by his son Quanah Parker Strength 60 men Unknown, but the best guesses are 20 in the band, including 16 women and 2 children Casualties 3 reported. ...

Parker's story was one of 64 real-life cases of 19th-century child captivities in Texas that author Alan Le May studied while researching the novel on which the film was based. His surviving research notes indicate that the two characters who go in search of a missing girl were inspired by Brit Johnson, an African-American teamster who ransomed his captured wife and children from the Comanches in 1865.^[9] Afterward, he made at least three trips to Indian Territory and Kansas relentlessly searching for another kidnapped girl, Millie Durgan (or Durkin), until Kiowa raiders killed him in 1871.^[10] Alan Le May (January 3, 1899 - April 27, 1964) was an American novelist and screenplay writer most remembered for the novels upon which the motion pictures The Searchers (1956) with John Wayne and The Unforgiven (1960) with Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn were based. ...

In the film, Scar’s Comanche group is referred to as the Nawyecka. The more common names for this Comanche division (with whom Cynthia Ann Parker lived) are Nokoni or Nocona.

Some film critics have speculated that the historical model for the cavalry attack on a Comanche village, resulting in Look’s death and the taking of Comanche prisoners to a military post, was the well-known Sand Creek massacre of 1864. The sequence also resembles the 1872 Battle of the North Fork of the Red River, in which the 4th Cavalry captured 124 Comanche women and children and imprisoned them at Fort Concho. Combatants United States of America Cheyenne, Arapaho Commanders John M. Chivington Black Kettle Strength 800 soldiers 500, mostly elderly, women and children Casualties 15 killed, 50 wounded 150-184 killed The Sand Creek massacre (also known as the Chivington massacre or the Battle of Sand Creek) was an incident in... The United States 4th Cavalry Regiment was a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage is traced back to the mid-19th century. ... Fort Concho is a National Historic Landmark in San Angelo, Texas, and is owned and operated by that city. ...

At one point in the story, Ethan Edwards and Martin Pawley receive information about Debbie's whereabouts from a trader named Jeremiah Futterman, who is portrayed as venal. However, several real-life frontier traders, including Marcus Goldbaum and Jesse Chisholm, attempted to recover kidnapped children without expectation of reward. Jesse Chisholm Jesse Chisholm (1805-1868), a mixed blood Cherokee trader, became famous for the trail he scouted to supply his various trading posts among the Plains Indians in what is now western Oklahoma. ...

Critical interpretations

Themes

Ford made an effort in this movie to examine the issues of racism and genocide towards Native Americans. Ford's was not the first film to attempt this, nor the most polished as regards the effort, but it was startling (particularly for later generations) in the harshness of its approach toward that racism. Ford's examination of racism starts with the racism of his hero. (That "hero" is hardly conventional.) Indeed, Wayne's Ethan Edwards hates practically everyone, but reserves a special bile for Indians.^[11] And it is this openly virulent hatred of Native Americans by the lead character which opens the door for the movie to examine racism as an excuse for the genocide of the Indians. Emmanuel Levy says "It's a rare attempt to deal head-on with the problem and roots of racism in American life."^[12] The movie has evolved steadily over the years, or the perception of it has, as people more willingly examine as a society the horrific treatment of Native Americans by the white culture. Roger Ebert says in a somber analysis of this movie: "In The Searchers I think Ford was trying, imperfectly, even nervously, to depict racism that justified genocide."^[13]

John Ford, as his interviews give evidence, unquestionably felt strongly about the plight of the Native Americans, and the way that white society had smashed their culture and thrown them aside. His landmark work The Searchers was an attempt to examine how this plight had come to pass, and how racism had turned into genocide.^[7]

Ethan felt Debbie was better dead than married to an Indian, exemplifying the themes of racism and miscegenation that run through the movie

The theme of miscegenation also runs through this movie. Ethan says repeatedly that he will kill his niece rather than have her live “with a buck.” He says “living with the Comanche ain’t living.” Even one of the movie’s gentler characters, Vera Miles’s Laurie, tells Martin when he explains he must protect his adoptive sister, that “Ethan will put a bullet in her brain. I tell you Martha would want him to.” This outburst made clear that even the supposedly gentler characters were thoroughly tainted by racism and the fear of miscegenation.^[7] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

It is instructive to note that Ford made an attempt in this movie to deal with subjects and themes which were quite controversial for that time in America. His own words express what he was attempting to do. In a 1964 interview with Cosmopolitan magazine he said:

“There’s some merit to the charge that the Indian hasn’t been portrayed accurately or fairly in the Western, but again, this charge has been a broad generalization and often unfair. The Indian didn’t welcome the white man... and he wasn’t diplomatic... If he has been treated unfairly by whites in films, that, unfortunately, was often the case in real life. There was much racial prejudice in the West.^[7]

The story of Cynthia Parker, which so many reviewers find as the real-life inspiration for this movie, is instructive. Ostensibly “rescued” in an attack on an Indian band virtually identical to the one shown in this movie, she starved herself to death when her white relatives refused to let her find her sole surviving child. Yet to this day, her “rescue” is considered a “victory” in the Indian Wars. Indeed, Sul Ross's report about the "Battle" in which he recaptured Cynthia Parker is instructive, after killing women and children indiscriminately, he reports (from the book, Indian Depredations, by J.W. Wilbarger):

"So signal a victory had never before been gained over the fierce and war like Comanches; and never since that fatal December day in 1860 have they made any military demonstrations at all commensurate with the fame of their proud campaigns in the past. The great Comanche confederacy was forever broken."

In summing up the social impact of this movie Arthus Eckstein says,

"The Searchers has obsessed many filmmakers, critics, and scholars in a manner unusual even for those with a passionate love of cinema...The Searchers is one of those rare films that reveals something new with every viewing...The Searchers is so dense with meaning the only way to understand it is to slow the projection time to equal the five year digetic time."^[14]

Cast and Character Description

• John Wayne – Ethan Edwards; Wayne played his most difficult role as the racist Civil War veteran who hates practically everyone - but Indians in particular. After he discovers that his niece Debbie has mated with an Indian, he intends to kill her.
• Jeffrey Hunter – Martin Pawley; the adopted son of Ethan's brother, he is part Indian, and undertakes the search with Edwards to save his adoptive sister from the Comanche and, later, from Ethan.
• Vera Miles – Laurie Jorgensen; Pawley's sweetheart, she gets just one letter in five years from him.
• Ward Bond – Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton; preacher and Texas Ranger captain who notes that Edwards "fits a lot of descriptions" (on wanted posters).
• Natalie Wood – Debbie Edwards (older); Ethan Edwards's niece, carried off by Comanches when she is a child, she married Chief Scar when she grows up. Natalie Wood's younger sister Lana Wood plays Debbie as a child.
• John Qualen – Lars Jorgensen; a Scandinavian immigrant, and father of Laurie.
• Olive Carey – Mrs. Jorgensen; American-born wife of Lars and mother of Laurie.
• Henry Brandon – Chief Cicatrice (Scar); chief of the Nawyecka band of Comanche; the abductor of the girls.
• Ken Curtis – Charlie McCorry; a hayseed cowboy who intends to marry Laurie Jorgensen.
• Harry Carey, Jr. – Brad Jorgensen; engaged to the older Edwards sister.
• Antonio Moreno – Emilio Figueroa; a Comanchero, he leads Ethan Edwards at last to Scar.
• Hank Worden – Mose Harper; half-mad cowhand who helps locate Debbie.
• Beulah Archuletta – Wild Goose Flying in the Night Sky (Look); Indian woman married to Martin through his misunderstanding.

Ford originally wanted to cast Fess Parker, whose performance as Davy Crockett on television had helped spark a national craze, in the Jeffrey Hunter role but Walt Disney, to whom Parker was under contract, refused to allow it, according to Parker's videotaped interview for the Archive of American Television. Parker notes that this was by far his single worst career reversal. John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979) was an iconic, Academy Award-winning, American film actor. ... Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (November 25, 1926 - May 27, 1969) was a film and television actor. ... Vera Miles (born August 23, 1929 or 1930[1]) is an American actress. ... Ward Bond (April 9, 1903 - November 5, 1960) was an American film actor. ... Natalie Wood (July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was a three time Academy Award nominated American film actress. ... Svetlana Smedley (born Svetlana Gurdin March 1, 1946), better known as Lana Wood, is an American actress and producer born to Russian emigré parents, Nikolai and Maria Zakharenko. ... John Qualen in Casablanca John Qualen (December 8, 1899 - September 12, 1987) was a film character actor. ... Olive Carey (January 31, 1896 - March 13, 1988) was an American film and television actor. ... Henry Brandon (June 8, 1912 – February 15, 1990) was a character actor in over 100 American films, famous for playing Indian, Arab, Persian, Turkish, Native American and East Asian roles, usually villains. ... Ken Curtis (born July 2, 1916; died April 29, 1991), Singer-Actor, best known as Festus of Gunsmoke fame. ... Harry Carey, Jr. ... Antonio Moreno Antonio Tony Moreno (September 26, 1887 - February 16, 1967) was a notable actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s. ... Hank Worden was an American cowboy-turned-character-actor. ... Fess Parker (born August 16, 1924) is an American film and television actor. ... ddfdds ... Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was a celebrated 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician; usually referred to as Davy Crockett and by the popular title King of the Wild Frontier. He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the... Coonskin cap A coonskin cap is a cap fashioned from the skin and fur of a raccoon. ... Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (November 25, 1926 - May 27, 1969) was a film and television actor. ... For the company founded by Disney, see The Walt Disney Company. ... Americas history of television is being recorded and preserved for future generations by filming interviews with the legends of television. ...

Release

• Argentina July 19, 1956
• France August 8, 1956
• Japan August 22, 1956
• Sweden August 22, 1956
• Italy September 16, 1956
• U.K. September 23, 1956
• Finland October 5, 1956
• West Germany October 5, 1956
• Australia November 15, 1956
• Austria January 25, 1957
• Hong Kong February 14, 1957
• Denmark July 24, 1957

Image File history File links Flag_of_Argentina. ... is the 200th day of the year (201st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... is the 220th day of the year (221st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan. ... is the 234th day of the year (235th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... is the 234th day of the year (235th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... // 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr declared Prince of Wales by his followers. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and a member of the European Union. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland. ... is the 278th day of the year (279th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... is the 278th day of the year (279th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Austria. ... is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Hong_Kong. ... is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... is the 205th day of the year (206th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ...

Reception

Although the film was set in Texas it was filmed in Monument Valley, Utah.

In 1989, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 222 pixelsFull resolution (5578 × 1550 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 222 pixelsFull resolution (5578 × 1550 pixel, file size: 2. ... Monument Valley from the valley floor. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... The Library of Congress is the de facto national library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress. ... The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ...

The Searchers is often cited as a candidate for the greatest film of all time, such as the Sight and Sound poll of the greatest films ever made. In 1972, The Searchers was voted in eighteenth place then fifth place in 1992 and in 2002 it was in eleventh place. While it is impossible to objectively determine the greatest film of all time, it is possible to discuss the films that have been regarded as the greatest ever. ...

The 2007 American Film Institute 100 Greatest American Films list included The Searchers in twelfth place. The Searchers is a favorite of Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Ramesh Sippy, James Robert Baker and John Milius. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with AFIs 100 Years. ... Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (IPA: AmE: ; Ita: []) (born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, writer and producer and founder of the World Cinema Foundation. ... George Walton Lucas, Jr. ... Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ... Ramesh Sippy (b. ... James Robert Baker (1947-November 5, 1997) was an American author of sharply satirical, predominantly gay-themed transgressional fiction. ... John Milius (born April 11, 1944 in St. ...

Entertainment Weekly ranked The Searchers as the thirteenth greatest movie of all time, as well as the greatest western of all time. Entertainment Weekly (sometimes abbreviated EW) is a magazine published by Time Inc. ...

Influence, homage, and allusion

The Searchers has influenced films as diverse as Taxi Driver, Star Wars, Dances with Wolves, Hardcore, Saving Private Ryan, and Apocalypse Now. David Lean watched the film repeatedly while preparing for Lawrence of Arabia (1962) to help him get a sense of how to shoot a landscape. The entrance of Ethan Edwards in The Searchers across a vast prairie is echoed clearly in the across-the-desert entrance of Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia. Sergio Leone, a noted Ford admirer, mentioned The Searchers as one of his favorite films and referenced it in a key scene of Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). It was also referenced in a similar scene in the Bollywood film Sholay. Homage and/or allusion to The Searchers can be seen in many films. George Lucas alludes to the film in his Star Wars movies. For example, in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the burning of Luke Skywalker's home parallels visually and narratively the burning of the homestead in The Searchers; also the framing of the shots through the opening of the cave where R2-D2 is hiding, when Obi-Wan first appears, directly matches the framing of the screen shots of Ethan Edwards' reunion with his niece, Debbie. Another direct quote comes in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones when Anakin Skywalker approaches the Tusken Raider settlement to rescue his mother, a scene which is framed in the exact same manner as Ethan Edwards surveying the Comanche camp before rescuing Debbie. This article is about the 1976 American film. ... Star Wars is an epic space opera saga and a fictional universe initially developed by George Lucas during the 1970s and expanded since that time. ... Dances with Wolves is a 1990 epic film which tells the story of a United States cavalry officer from the Civil War who travels into the Dakota Territory, near a Sioux tribe. ... Hardcore is a 1979 film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring George C. Scott. ... Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 Academy-Award-winning film set in World War II, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. ... Apocalypse Now is a 1979 Academy and Golden Globe award winning American film set during the Vietnam War. ... Sir David Lean, KBE (March 25, 1908 – April 16, 1991) was an English film director and producer, best remembered for big-screen epics such as Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and Doctor Zhivago . ... Lawrence of Arabia is an award-winning 1962 film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. ... Sergio Leone (January 3, 1929 – April 30, 1989) was an Italian film director. ... The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... Bollywood (Hindi: , Urdu: ) is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry in India. ... Sholay (Hindi: शोले, Urdu: شعلے) (advertised in English as Embers or Flames) is the biggest blockbuster in the history of Bollywood, Indias Hindi film industry. ... George Walton Lucas, Jr. ... Star Wars is an epic space opera saga and a fictional universe initially developed by George Lucas during the 1970s and expanded since that time. ... This movie poster for Star Wars depicts many of the films important elements, such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, X-Wing and Y-Wing fighters Star Wars, retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981 (see note at Title,) is the original (and in chronological... Film poster for Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) is the fifth Star Wars science fiction movie released and the second part of the prequel trilogy which began with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. ... For other uses, see Comanche (disambiguation). ...

Other films, such as Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (which references the final shot of The Searchers), show direct influence as does work in other media, such as Jonathan Lethem's novel "Girl in Landscape" which cites the film as inspiration in its jacket copy. John Wayne's catchphrase in the film, "That'll be the day", inspired Buddy Holly to write his hit song of the same name. Lethem giving the keynote address at the EMP Pop Conference, 2007. ... A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ... Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959),[1] better known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and a pioneer of rock and roll. ... Thatll Be The Day by Buddy Holly and The Crickets is credited as being written by Jerry Allison the drummer with the group; Holly (the lead guitarist and vocalist); and Norman Petty the records producer. ...

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

The Searchers (film 1956)

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

The Searchers

• The Searchers at the Internet Movie Database
• Article at FilmSite
• Ebert review
• In depth critique of the film at Blogcritics
• Race, Racism and the Fear of Miscegenation in The Searchers: Academic Paper