“The Searchers” is a western movie where John Wayne plays a man returning to Texas after the Civil War only to find that members of his brother’s family have been killed or abducted by the Comanche Indians. He goes on a five year search for them. The intense drama proceeds from there in what is one of the most popular western films of all time, skillfully directed by John Ford (“Stagecoach” 1939) from a script by Frank S. Nugent, adapted from the 1954 novel by Alan Le May.
The talented supporting cast behind the Duke includes Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood, John Qualen, Ken Curtis, Harry Carey Jr., Olive Carey, Henry Brandon, Antonio Moreno, Hank Worden, Pippa Scott, Robert Lyden, Chuck Robertson, Jack Pennick, Patrick Wayne (son of John Wayne), and Lana Wood (sister of Natalie Wood).
Screenwriter Nugent balances the heavy drama of kidnapping, murder, and ethnic tension between whites and Indians with some comic relief. A sample: Hunter: “I hope you die!” Wayne: “That’ll be the day!” Bond: “Do you want to quit, Ethan?” Wayne: “That’ll be the day!” Later, when under attack by the Indians, Wayne says to Bond: “Well, reverend, it looks like you got yourself surrounded.” Ward Bond replies: “Yeah, and I figure on getting myself unsurrounded!”
“The Searchers” was a success in theatrical release for C. V. Whitney Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures. It was filmed mostly in the stunning beauty of Monument Valley in Arizona & Utah, as well as in Elk Island National Park (Alberta, Canada) and in Griffith Park (Los Angeles). Winton C. Hock was in charge of cinematography.
The Searchers (1956)
cinema
My Review
“The Searchers” is a western movie where John Wayne plays a man returning to Texas after the Civil War only to find that members of his brother’s family have been killed or abducted by the Comanche Indians. He goes on a five year search for them. The intense drama proceeds from there in what is one of the most popular western films of all time, skillfully directed by John Ford (“Stagecoach” 1939) from a script by Frank S. Nugent, adapted from the 1954 novel by Alan Le May.
The talented supporting cast behind the Duke includes Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood, John Qualen, Ken Curtis, Harry Carey Jr., Olive Carey, Henry Brandon, Antonio Moreno, Hank Worden, Pippa Scott, Robert Lyden, Chuck Robertson, Jack Pennick, Patrick Wayne (son of John Wayne), and Lana Wood (sister of Natalie Wood).
Screenwriter Nugent balances the heavy drama of kidnapping, murder, and ethnic tension between whites and Indians with some comic relief. A sample: Hunter: “I hope you die!” Wayne: “That’ll be the day!” Bond: “Do you want to quit, Ethan?” Wayne: “That’ll be the day!” Later, when under attack by the Indians, Wayne says to Bond: “Well, reverend, it looks like you got yourself surrounded.” Ward Bond replies: “Yeah, and I figure on getting myself unsurrounded!”
“The Searchers” was a success in theatrical release for C. V. Whitney Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures. It was filmed mostly in the stunning beauty of Monument Valley in Arizona & Utah, as well as in Elk Island National Park (Alberta, Canada) and in Griffith Park (Los Angeles). Winton C. Hock was in charge of cinematography.