What Makes a Man to Wander?

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.

Sort of Reminds Me of F-Troop

After reading more reviews about The Searchers I had to watch this movie again to see what I was missing ... and it continues to disappoint. If you are a true fan of the pre-1960's western film style, especially with John Wayne and his typical band of old horse opera cronies [Ward Bond, Patrick Wayne, Ken Curtis & Harry Carey Jr.] then you may really like it. Unfortunately I still found the opening scenes of Monument Valley to be the most exciting part of this movie. The combination of too many sappy/cheesy scenes such as the wedding fight scene between Jeffrey Hunter and Ken Curtis, along with actual native Americans only being used in minor, uncredited supporting roles and not lead roles, hurt this movie. They took The Searchers way off point, cost the movie its credibility, and seriously reminded me of F-Troop. I really wanted to like The Searchers, and I have tried watching it several times, but each time it peters out about 1/4 of the way into the story and I just can't finish viewing it in one continuous sitting. The cinematography is excellent, the opening scenes are great, but after that you can place The Cowboys or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance in the DVD player and watch better examples of John Wayne's work with fresher, stronger actors like Bruce Dern, Jimmy Stewart, and Lee Marvin. For my money's worth, Shane is still the best western ever made.

Rage and Racism on the Frontier

It is hard to explain to the uninitiated why Ford's "The Searchers" is such a great film. One of its attractions is how Wayne's character is represented as an enigmatic, imperfect hero defined by rage and racism. Ultimately, in the final scenes of the movie, the viewer is forced to confront the possibility that he is no different than the "cruel" Comanche he has been hunting throughout the movie. This is Wayne's best work, and one of the best Westerns ever made, alongside Eastwood's "Unforgiven." Both films transcend the genre by challenging its simplistic, moral myths about good vs. evil.