The Searchers (1956)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Frank S. Nugent (screenplay)
Alan Le May (from the novel by)

Release Date:

13 March 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

The story that sweeps from the great Southwest to the Canadian border in VistaVision.

Plot:

As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.

Plot Keywords:

Raid | Texas | Hatred | Rescue | Civil War Veteran

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

John Wayne	...	Ethan Edwards
Jeffrey Hunter	...	Martin Pawley
Vera Miles	...	Laurie Jorgensen
Ward Bond	...	Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton
Natalie Wood	...	Debbie Edwards - Age 15
John Qualen	...	Lars Jorgensen
Olive Carey	...	Mrs. Jorgensen
Henry Brandon	...	Chief Cicatriz - Scar
Ken Curtis	...	Charlie McCorry
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Brad Jorgensen
Antonio Moreno	...	Emilio Gabriel Fernandez y Figueroa
Hank Worden	...	Mose Harper
Beulah Archuletta	...	Look - Wild Goose Flying in the Night Sky
Walter Coy	...	Aaron Edwards
Dorothy Jordan	...	Martha Edwards
Pippa Scott	...	Lucy Edwards
Patrick Wayne	...	Lt. Greenhill (as Pat Wayne)
Lana Wood	...	Younger Debbie Edwards
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pipe Line Begishe	...	Comanche (uncredited)
Exactly Sonnie Betsuie	...	Comanche (uncredited)
Danny Borzage	...	Accordionist at Funeral (uncredited)
Ruth Clifford	...	Deranged Woman at Fort (uncredited)
Carmen D'Antonio	...	Carmen (uncredited)
Tommy Doss	...	Wedding Musician (uncredited)
Pete Grey Eyes	...	Comanche (uncredited)
Feather Hat Jr.	...	Comanche (uncredited)
Nacho Galindo	...	Mexican Bartender (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	...	Man at Wedding (uncredited)
Jack Tin Horn	...	Comanche (uncredited)
Harry Black Horse	...	Comanche (uncredited)
Away Luna	...	Comanche (uncredited)
Robert Lyden	...	Ben Edwards (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	...	Col. Greenhill (uncredited)
Peter Mamakos	...	Jerem Futterman (uncredited)
Mae Marsh	...	Dark Cloaked Woman at Fort Guarding Deranged Woman (uncredited)
Frank McGrath	...	Ranger (uncredited)
Bob Many Mules	...	Comanche (uncredited)
Jack Pennick	...	Sergeant at Fort (uncredited)
Lloyd Perryman	...	Wedding Musician (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	...	Ranger at Wedding (uncredited)
Smile White Sheep	...	Comanche (uncredited)
Many Mules Son	...	Comanche (uncredited)
Percy Shooting Star	...	Comanche (uncredited)
William Steele	...	Nesby (uncredited)
Chief Thundercloud	...	Comanche Chief (uncredited)
Terry Wilson	...	Ranger (uncredited)
Billy Yellow	...	Comanche (uncredited)

Directed by
John Ford

Writing credits
Frank S. Nugent		(screenplay)
Alan Le May		(from the novel by) (as Alan LeMay)

Produced by
Merian C. Cooper	....	executive producer
Patrick Ford	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Winton C. Hoch		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Jack Murray		(film editor)

Art Direction by
James Basevi
Frank Hotaling

Set Decoration by
Victor A. Gangelin		(as Victor Gangelin)

Costume Design by
Charles Arrico		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Web Overlander	....	makeup artist
Fae M. Smith	....	hair dresser (as Fae Smith)

Production Management
Lowell J. Farrell	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wingate Smith	....	assistant director
Gary Nelson	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Dudley Holmes	....	properties

Sound Department
Hugh McDowell Jr.	....	sound (as Hugh McDowell)
Howard Wilson	....	sound

Special Effects by
George Brown	....	special effects

Stunts
Bill Cartledge	....	stunts (uncredited)
Philip Crawford	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Dial	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bryan 'Slim' Hightower	....	stunts (uncredited)
John Hudkins	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Kennedy	....	stunts (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	....	stunts (uncredited)
Frank McGrath	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel	....	stunts (uncredited)
Henry Wills	....	stunts (uncredited)
Terry Wilson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Billy Yellow	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack N. Young	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Alfred Gilks	....	second unit photography

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Frank Beetson Jr.	....	wardrobe: men (as Frank Beetson)
Ann Peck	....	wardrobe: women

Music Department
Murray Cutter	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Robert Gary	....	script supervisor
James Gooch	....	technicolor color consultant

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (presents)
• C.V. Whitney Pictures (as the C. V. Whitney Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1956) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1957) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1987) (Finland) (TV) (1992)
• Warner Bros. Finland (1969) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1979) (Finland) (TV)
• TV3 (1990) (Finland) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1996) (Germany) (VHS)
• Screen Classics (1997) (UK) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS) (widescreen)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2000) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Germany) (DVD) (special edition)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (Canada) (DVD) (4 film set)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD) (4 film set)
• Fazer Musiikki Oy/Fazer Video (????) (Finland) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Navajo | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:U (passed with cuts) | Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (British Columbia/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:G (Manitoba) | Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:L | West Germany:12 (nf) | USA:Approved (certificate #17787) | South Korea:12 (2003) | Brazil:12 | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | UK:U (re-release: uncut) (2008) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Aspen, Colorado, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

A significant portion of the film's labyrinthine plot is revealed on a throwaway prop that most casual viewers rarely notice. Just before the Indian raid on the Edwards homestead, the tombstone (of Ethan's mother) that Debbie hides next to reveals the source of Ethan's glaring hatred for Comanches. The marker reads: "Here lies Mary Jane Edwards killed by Commanches May 12, 1852. A good wife and mother in her 41st year."

Goofs:

Factual errors: Ethan's medal, which he gives to Debbie, is a prop combining features of French and Mexican medals. The white and blue Maltese cross is similar to the white and red cross on the Mexican Order of Guadalupe and the red and green ribbon appears on the French Order of Merite Agricole.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[seeing a horseman in the distance]
Aaron Edwards:Ethan?
Debbie Edwards:Hush, Prince.
Lucy Edwards:That's your Uncle Ethan!
Martha Edwards:[he approaches] Welcome home, Ethan!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in How the West Was Lost (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Garryowen

Wayne's Finest Performance, in Ford Masterpiece...

Even if you've never seen John Ford's THE SEARCHERS, you will have, undoubtedly, seen a film that owes it's 'style' to the film. DANCES WITH WOLVES, THE OUTLAW JOSIE WALES, UNFORGIVEN, JEREMIAH JOHNSON, and OPEN RANGE are just a few westerns that have 'borrowed' from it, but THE SEARCHERS' impact transcends the genre, itself; STAR WARS, THE English PATIENT, THE LAST SAMURAI, even THE LORD OF THE RINGS have elements that can be traced back to Ford's 1956 'intimate' epic. When you add the fact that THE SEARCHERS also contains John Wayne's greatest performance to the film's merits, it becomes easy to see why it is on the short list of the greatest motion pictures ever made.

The plot is deceptively simple; after a Comanche raiding party massacres a family, taking the youngest daughter prisoner, her uncle, Ethan Edwards (Wayne), and adopted brother, Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter), begin a long quest to try and rescue her. Over the course of years, a rich tapestry of characters and events unfold, as the nature of the pair's motives are revealed, and bigoted, bitter Edwards emerges as a twisted man bent on killing the 'tainted' white girl. Only Pawley's love of his 'sister' and determination to protect her stands in his way, making the film's climax, and Wayne's portrayal of Edwards, an unforgettable experience.

With all of Ford's unique 'touches' clearly in evidence (the doorways 'framing' the film's opening and conclusion, with a cave opening serving the same function at the film's climax; the extensive use of Monument Valley; and the nearly lurid palette of color highlighting key moments) and his reliance on his 'stock' company of players (Wayne, Ward Bond, John Qualen, Olive Carey, Harry Carey, Jr, Hank Worden, and Ken Curtis), the film marks the emergence of the 'mature' Ford, no longer deifying the innocence of the era, but dealing with it in human terms, where 'white men' were as capable of savagery as Indians, frequently with less justification.

Featuring 18-year old Natalie Wood in one of her first 'adult' roles, the sparkling Vera Miles as Pawley's love interest, Wayne's son Patrick in comic relief, and the harmonies of the Sons of the Pioneers accenting Max Steiner's rich score, THE SEARCHERS is a timeless movie experience that becomes richer with each viewing.

It is truly a masterpiece!