by There was a time when the western was the most popular genre in American cinema, not only drawing the biggest crowds but also lifting film making to a new level. A unique style of narrative, trailblazing camera work and genuine characters were introduced with the western for the first time. These characteristics and stylistic devices have stayed around and are used in different genres to this day, most famously by Quentin Tarantino. But from the flood of western films, particularly back in the 50s and 60s, only the “classics” are still relevant. Films like HIGH NOON (1952) starring Gary Cooper, or A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964) by Sergio Leone starring Clint Eastwood in the defining “Spaghetti Western.” Also within the canon are the films by John Ford, with the 1956 THE SEARCHERS towering over the rest. Despite its flaws.
The plot of THE SEARCHERS is the typical revenge story putting its protagonists in a seek and destroy adventure. Ethan Edwards, played by a great John Wayne, a man of the West who fought in the Civil War for the Confederate States of America, visits his brother and family in West Texas in 1868. Ethan is a respected man with a strong presence but also a bit dubious. It remains unclear whether or not he fought in the Mexican Revolutionary War, with or against the French. Even after catastrophe struck, he refuses to be sworn in as Texas Ranger on a temporary basis. And it’s difficult to tell what his relationship is with his brother Aaron and his sister-in-law, Martha. We never doubtlessly learn whether or not he fathered Debbie and therefore refuses to abandon his quest to bring her back. What we do know, though, is that he disrespects his adopted nephew Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter). Director John Ford, who’s famous for his collaborations with Wayne, paints Ethan as a divers and torn character. A man of action, battling his demons in secret and any adversary with an iron fist and gun in the other hand.
But Ethan is only human, prone to failure as much as anyone else, falling for a trap set up by an outfit of Comanche like anyone else. The Comanche steal cattle from the neighboring Jorgensen ranch, if only to lure the men away from the Edwards ranch. Aaron, Martha and their son are killed. What the Comanche apparently sought were Lucy and Debbie, the two Edwards girls. Their reasons remain unknown. Did they have a grudge against Aaron? Did they merely come to abduct future wives? Whatever their reasons, Ethan leads a bunch of cowboys in pursuit of the perpetrators. After some skirmishes ending in a tie, only Ethan and Martin Pawley remain. Ethan, because he is too stubborn to give up, especially after finding Lucy dead in a canyon. Martin, because he wants to prove he’s worth his salt. Or in other words, because he longs for his uncle’s appreciation. The two embark on a quest for revenge that spans over years.
I figure a man’s only good for one oath at a time. I gave mine to the Confederate States of America.
Ethan Edwards
Ford knows how to create the ultimate western atmosphere that was fresh when he made it and now almost feels uncannily familiar. Even though THE SEARCHERS wasn’t shot in West Texas, the countryside is still gorgeous in Technicolor. And Ford is as skilful as a landscape painter in bringing out his effects. As good as the on-set scenes look, as bad look scenes filmed in the studio by comparison. They ‘re not awfully bad but nevertheless disturb the flow. If not as severely as the passing of time, or rather the lack of a passing of time. Ford uses the four seasons to show that days, months and years are going by but only when Ethan and Martin return home and engage in direct dialogue we understand just how much time they spent searching the Comanche and Debbie. Action and dialogue are well-executed and the script shines. At times. The plot is occasionally confusing and the film as a whole simply too long to be consistently entertaining. Some elements are repetitive, only emphasizing Ethan’ s stubbornness without explaining it any further. And the subplot love story between Martin and Laurie Jorgensen (Vera Miles) does more harm than good. It is supposed to develop Martin’s character by contrasting the disdain Ethan feels for his nephew with Laurie’s unconditional love that stresses his legit claim to being a man and his qualities, especially in character. But the love story also arrives without warning and is far from plausible, based on what Ford showed before Pawley left with his uncle. A lot of screen time is wasted bumbling about the Jorgensen Ranch, focalizing Laurie, the prize to be won by Pawley if he decided to abandon his desire to prove his uncle wrong assuming he was worthless, without adding to the main plot. Laurie’s introduced halfway down the road – when we’re curious if Debbie’s still alive and willing to return with her uncle, not whether or not Martin Pawley was a good catch after all.
Martin proves that he’s a man, even a man of the West, when he protects Debbie (Natalie Wood as a woman) from Ethan. Seeing her having adapted to her new life with the Comanche is too much for the proud cowboy. He’d rather see her dead than taking up a different culture. Even though Ethan has his reasonable sides, for example when he assumes to die from a wound and “bequeaths” his belongings to Martin, thus acknowledging him and proving he shaped him into a man with his rudeness and toughness, his reasons are mostly unfathomable. He’s a mystery. And not so different from the Comanche. Both are depicted as brutal and caring, reasonable and ruthless. Identity appears to be edged in stone. You’re either American or you’re nothing. Or vice versa, you’re Comanche or the devil. But the Comanche allow Debbie to integrate into their community. That she was abducted doesn’t weigh as heavily as Ethan’s refusal Ito accept or even respect anything that lies beyond his beliefs. In the end, the Comanche pay, Ethan brings a grateful Debbie home and Martin wins against his rival and marries Laurie. What Ford implies somewhere between the plot , subplot and subtext is a severe identity crisis that is universal in its nature but American in its execution. The Manifest Destiny required tough men that wouldn’t compromise. Maybe winning the Second World War, was the final frontier after the West ran out in California, nurturing a desire for the “good old days.” But despite all implications, allegories and symbols, Ford just doesn’t give us enough to take THE SEARCHERS too seriously as social criticism.
THE SEARCHERS is one of the most admired western films of all time. And it is without a doubt a good film, if not a great film. Had some issues been addressed, it couldn’t have been stopped from being a great film and untouchable classic. Wayne and Ford created Ethan Edwards as one of the most compelling gunslingers ever but the little flaws add up enough to prevent his greatness from coming to full bloom. It’s still an important film for its great shots and camera work, action and subtext, that cineastes should take a look at and learn from. You’ll be surprised just how many films have drawn heavily from THE SEARCHERS.
