IMDb > The Searchers (1956)
The Searchers
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

The Searchers (1956) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 81 | slideshow) Videos (see all 5)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) -- AFI's 10 Top 10 - The 10 Greatest Films in 10 Classic Genres
The Searchers (1956) -- As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.
The Searchers (1956) -- As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.
The Searchers (1956) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   27,548 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 14% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
John Ford
Writers:
Frank S. Nugent (screenplay)
Alan Le May (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Searchers on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 March 1956 (USA) more
Genre:
Adventure | Drama | Western more
Tagline:
The story that sweeps from the great Southwest to the Canadian border in VistaVision. more
Plot:
As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 win & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(35 articles)
Iconic Shots: Empire Captures 50 Picture Perfect Film Moments
 (From FilmSchoolRejects. 16 November 2009, 5:39 AM, PST)
Pass notes No 2,683: Cinématon
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 15 November 2009, 4:05 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Near Villainous Role for THE DUKE more (344 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

John Wayne ... Ethan Edwards
Jeffrey Hunter ... Martin Pawley

Vera Miles ... Laurie Jorgensen
Ward Bond ... Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton

Natalie Wood ... Debbie Edwards (older)
John Qualen ... Lars Jorgensen
Olive Carey ... Mrs. Jorgensen
Henry Brandon ... Chief Cicatrice (Scar)
Ken Curtis ... Charlie McCorry
Harry Carey Jr. ... Brad Jorgensen
Antonio Moreno ... Emilio Gabriel Fernandez y Figueroa

Hank Worden ... Mose Harper
Beulah Archuletta ... Wild Goose Flying in the Night Sky (Look)
Walter Coy ... Aaron Edwards
Dorothy Jordan ... Martha Edwards
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
119 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Cherokee | Spanish
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.75 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)
Certification:
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 | Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:U
Filming Locations:
Aspen, Colorado, USA more
Company:
C.V. Whitney Pictures more

Fun Stuff

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 that Debbie hides next to reveals the source of Ethan's glaring hatred for Native Americans. The marker reads: "Here lies Mary Jane Edwards killed by Commanches May 12, 1852. A good wife and mother in her 41st year." Sixteen years earlier, Ethan's own mother was massacred by Comanches. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When the Indians charge across the river, Ethan is shooting at them with an octagonal barreled rifle, when the angle changes, he is shooting with a round barreled carbine. more
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!
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in 100 Years of John Wayne (2007) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
The Searchers more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
67 out of 101 people found the following comment useful.
Near Villainous Role for THE DUKE, 19 November 2001
Author: marquis de cinema from Boston, MA

The Searchers(1956) has been reflected to death by many filmmakers in their own work with main ideas, situations, and plot as guide. Many elements of The Searchers(1956) influenced film directors ranging from Brian De Palma, George Lucus, Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, and Sergio Leone. There are scores of other movie makers whom I cannot list at the top of my head that were affected by this one film. Obvious film influences are Once Upon a Time in the West(1968), Obsession(1976), Taxi Driver(1976), Star Wars(1977), and Hardcore(1979). It shows that great works of cinema are also able to inspire many admirers and disciples. Only films(stories) by Akira Kurosawa has been reflected more often by film directors than The Searchers(1956).

John Wayne was legendary American film star and big box office draw by 1956. The Searchers(1956) lends creedence to John Wayne being an exceptional actor enforced by his multi-layered performance. In a career that spanned five decades, The Searchers(1956) is the efflorescence of John Wayne. John Wayne gives a complex/flawed portrait of a man looking for redemption and salvation. One fine moment that examplifies the multi-layerness of John Wayne's performance is the look on Ethan Edwards face as he feys over what will happen to his brother and family. The Searchers(1956) was to John Wayne's career what Treasure of the Sierra Madre(1948) was to Humphrey Bogart and Vertigo(1958) was to James Stewart.

Story is about drifting, trying find something which is self-meaningful. Ethan Edwards is such a drifter who is always in search of a purpose. The Searchers(1956) is really about drifting in the American Frontier and search for self-discovery. There were many drifters like Ethan Edwards in the Old West especially in the wake of the Civil War. The Cowboy drifter in the Old West is almost the equivalent of the Samurai ronin in Tokugawa Japan Era. These drifters were men who were on the go, had temporary employment, and always wondered about their existence in life.

Rare individualistic motion picture in the old studio system days when many Hollywood films were studio controlled. The Searchers(1956) defies the typical 1950s Hollywood film presentation because its a director's picture. Excells on a visual level with interesting camera placement. Camera framing also plays a psychological and visual role in representation of two conflicting worlds(Civilized West and Wild West). Helped by crisp and flawless editing that flows the plot along effortlessly. Shades of Homer's THE ODYSSEY are penetrated into the heart of the story with irony.

Deals with racial prejudice with honest and truthful gusto. Racial prejudice in The Searchers(1956) is filmed in terms of emotional and psychological depth. The racial prejudice of the protagonist echos the prejudice of many white people in the Old West felt towards native Americans. The relationship between Ethan Edwards and Martin Pawley is met by distrust, prejudice, and sarcasm. Only towards the end does Ethan Edwards begin to show some sign of acception and respect for Martin Pawley. Shows that people are willing to change if they are willing to confront the dark side of humanity.

John Ford was the one director who was able to channel the talents of John Wayne to full heights. He made it possible for John Wayne to become an American film star by casting him in Stagecoach(1939). The other major director John Wayne had great success with was Howard Hawks. The Searchers(1956) is the greatest film of the Ford-Wayne tandem. Each are at their highest and most professional peak as film artists. In film working relationship they were halves of one and one of halves.

Ethan Edwards fullfills the requirements of hero and villain in narrative plot structure. This makes him an anti-hero with human strengths and flaws so typical of this type of protagonist. Its funny that John Wayne detested Italian Westerns and yet played a character in The Searchers(1956) who fits the mold of the Spaghetti Western anti-hero. Ethan Edwards is the closet thing to a villain John Wayne played in the movies. At the beginning Ethan Edwards lives only for hate and revenge. By the end he becomes merciful and forgiving.

On-location photography gives the film its rugged character. Monument Valley is depicted with beauty, mystery, and savagery. The people in the story are represented by their environment and location. Monument Valley was a favorite film location of John Ford who was obsessed by its untamed and individualistic nature. Monument Valley site is explored on a physical, psychological, and social level. Scenery is an important character of the Classic American Western and none so more true then in The Searchers(1956).

Another major motif in The Searchers(1956) is redemption. The path of hate and vengeance is replaced by compassion and forgiveness. Its this motif as well as others that makes the story a subtle Catholic driven tale. Redemption is the saving grace for a destructive and negative character like Ethan Edwards. Revenge until the climatic moment takes importance over everything else in Ethan Edwards life. Redemption is one motif from The Searchers(1956) that influenced Scorsese and Schrader.

Martin Pawley goes with Ethan Edwards on revenge pledge as way of following path of fealty. The moment of Ethan picking up his niece and holding her with compassion is a tender one. Jeffrey Hunter as Martin Pawley provides a nice foil to John Wayne's Ethan Edwards. Cinematography in The Searchers(1956) is forceful and graceful. In time The Searchers takes place, drifters like Ethan Edwards are dime a dozen but by the period depicted in films of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinaph, they are nearly extinct. The Searchers(1956) is a milestone in both American and World cinema.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (344 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Searchers (1956)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Some questions I don't get? MJB784
best western or maybe movie ever. ciaran122-1
What is the medal that Ethan gave Debbie? Conchord_26
Who Else Thinks This Film is 'Overblown'? JohnWelles
Is the Blu-Ray worth it? Christopher_Robin_1955
The greatest movies of all time smoothiedudie
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
How the West Was Won Major Dundee Duel in the Sun Gone with the Wind Dances with Wolves
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Adventure section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.