Goofs for
The Searchers (1956) More at IMDbPro »

• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The dead Indian under the stone appears to still be breathing. However, this is not an error. Immediately after dying, the Indian was buried with a very heavy stone placed over him. The stone would have cause any residual air in the dead man's lungs to be expelled, creating a vacuum. When the stone is removed air rushes through the nasal passages, filling the empty lungs and giving the perception that the man is "breathing". He does not exhale, because the diaphragm has stopped functioning as an air pump.
  
  
• Errors in geography: Monument Valley is not in Texas.
  
  
• Anachronisms: As the cavalry approaches and begins to cross the snow-covered river to the left, it becomes obvious that along the river is a road, because a car appears and drives to the right-hand corner of the shot and stops just beyond a tree.
  
  

• Revealing mistakes: Debbie's head is visible at the top of a distant sand dune as she awaits her cue to run over the hill to join Ethan and Martin.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When projected or seen in 1:1.33 aspect ratio, when Martin sneaks into Scar's village, we can see spot lights above the top of the painted backdrop. With the correct VistaVision aspect ratio of 1:1.85, that would be out of frame.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Continuity: When the Indians charge across the river toward the reverend's posse, the river changes both direction and color throughout the scene. In some shots, the river is a muddy red, while in others it is clearer and blue. In the shots of Ethan firing his rifle, the river moves from his left to his right. But in the shots of the Indians getting shot and falling from their horses, the river moves from Ethan's (and the viewer's) right to his left. Then, as the Indians retreat, the river switches back to moving left to right.
  
  
• Continuity: When Martin briefly threatens the injured Ethan with a knife, the knife switches from his left hand to his right between shots.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Marty's knife hilt seems to be a Ka-Bar knife, designed in WWII.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: After Ethan stokes the campfire and Martin turns in for the night, the camera tilts up to Futterman on a rock. The angle is so high that the top of the studio backdrop and a studio light are visible when the film is projected or seen in 1:1.33 aspect ratio.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Laurie is seen wearing what appear to be riveted blue jeans in Texas around the year 1869 or 1870. Denim pants reinforced with rivets were not patented and mass produced until 1873 (by Levi Strauss in San Francisco), and prior to that were likely unknown outside of Reno, Nevada, where they had been invented by a local tailor.
  
  
• Continuity: Ethan rides his horse into Scar's teepee and scalps his corpse. Afterwards he is riding and shooting with the rest of Capt Clayton's men outside, before he exits the teepee with Scar's scalp.
  
  
• Continuity: When the Indians chase the Rangers across the river Capt Clayton falls off his horse and into the water. When the Rangers regroup on the far bank to shoot back, he is dry.
  
  
• Continuity: At the beginning of the movie, a blanket is draped on the hitching rail. When the shot moves from inside the darkened house to the bright outdoors the blanket is gone.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: In the cabin where the cavalry is holding the deranged woman and the two teenage girls, a filming light is visible in the ceiling after the deranged woman screams and grabs the doll. The light is partially hidden behind a horizontal stovepipe and the glare is clearly visible for most of the scene.
  
  
• Plot holes: Ethan and Mose are on horseback and pass Martin who is on foot during the return to Aaron's ranch. Martin arrives at the burning ranch only seconds behind Ethan and Mose, but should have been hours behind.
  
  
• Continuity: When Aaron Edwards is looking around outside to spot Indians, it is dusk. We then see a quick cut away to a bright blue sky when he spots something, and then a cut back to dusk.
  
  
• Anachronisms: The movie begins in 1868; however, all of the guns used are mid 1870s vintage. The pistols used are Colt 1873 Peacemakers and the rifles are Winchester Model 1892. Although both Spencer and Volcanic Repeating Arms both produced cartridge firing repeating rifles, it is more likely that most of the men, not being professional gun hands, would have carried Civil War surplus rifles (muzzleloaders)like Mose.
  
  
• Continuity: When the Aaron's family goes out to welcome Ethan, the dog follows Debbie and stays on her right-hand side. In the next shot the dog is on her left.
  
  
• Continuity: After the children go to sleep, the Aaron's pipe disappears from his hand. Afterward, when he is hiding the Ethan's money, the pipe reappears in his mouth.
  
  
• Continuity: In the open shot of the funeral scene, Rev. Capt. Clayton has only Ethan and Martin near him. But in the subsequent shot a man appears just behind Ethan.
  
  
• Continuity: While Laurie reads the Martin's letter, Charlie stays plucking the guitar. In the next shot he is touching his chin with his left hand.
  
  
• Continuity: During their fight, Martin and Charlie rolled up in a almost completely yellow bedspread. From one shot to another the bedspread changes its color.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: Before Debbie runs over the sand dune towards the camp by the creek, her head can be seen above the dune, waiting for her cue to enter the scene.
  
  
• Continuity: During the battle with the Comanche crossing the river, Mose and Martin seem enveloped in dusk while firing from behind a log, whereas their companions, seen in other shots, are viewed in bright sunlight.
  
  
• Continuity: The horses Ethan and Marty are riding are not in sequence. When Marty rides his horse to death and is seen carrying his saddle, he was riding his buckskin (which is the horse that supposedly died). When he rides out with Ethan to look for the two girls, he is again on the same buckskin horse. Also, when Marty leaves and goes after Ethan, Laurie gives him her blaze-faced sorrel "Sweet Face". When Ethan and Marty are riding together after Marty buys Look, they are both riding dark faced dark horses and not leading any other horses. Later on, Marty is once again on "Sweet Face".
  
  
• Continuity: When the Rangers at the beginning of the film discover the prize bull and decide that it is a "murder raid" , Martin rides off in the same direction as those going to the Jorgensen ranch (west) instead of heading south, towards his family's place.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the Comanches ride down on Ethan and Marty from the sand dune, one Comanche can be seen and heard firing his rifle. However, he fires his rifle a second time but no gunshot sound effect can be heard.
  
  
• Factual errors: The term 'yatahey' is heard being shouted by an Indian in the background. Yatahey is the Navajo word for hello, and would likely not be used by Comanche Indians.
  
  
• Continuity: When Ethan and Marty are in the cantina in New Mexico drinking with Mose at the bar the bottle is round. When Emilio Gabriel Fernandez y Figueroa joins them and pours, the bottle changes to a rectangular bottle, wide with flat sides.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: In the long tracking shot of the calvary riding through the Comanche village near the end of the film, dust kicked up by the dolly riding on its track is visible at the bottom right corner of the screen.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: In the scene where Lars Jorgensen is trying to stop Ethan and Martin from entering his house just before Laurie's wedding, their shadows can clearly be seen on the painted backdrop behind. A few minutes later, when Martin and Charlie go outside to fight, their shadows are also briefly seen on the backdrop.
  
  
• Continuity: When the fight between Marty and Charlie, is broken up by the wedding guest, both men are completely covered in white dust. When they cut to closer shot of the 2 men, they are much cleaner with only a small amount of brown dust on them.
  
  
• Continuity: During the final battle, when the Texas Rangers rush the Indian camp, the scene goes from night to broad daylight from that point on.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: At the shooting whit the Indian's at the river Rev.Capt. Clayton gun is empty, and Ethan is throwing a loaded gun to him, Clayton is throwing his hat and hits Ethan. Ethan is moving his lips and saying something, but there is no sound.
  
  
• Continuity: Just after the shooting at the river Ethan is sitting and putting new bullets in his rifle while talking to Clayton, then he walks up to the two by the horses behind with his rifle in his left hand. Just before the cut to a closeup on the three, he shifts the rifle to his right hand. But after the cut to the closeup he is still holding his rifle in his left hand.
  
  
• Continuity: In the scene early in the movie when Ward Bond's Preacher/Texas Rangers Captain is trying to recruit Ethan and his brother, John Wayne puts on his gun belt and in the next shot buckles it again.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: At the river, Ward Bond jams his weapon. John Wayne tosses his gun to him, and Ward Bond tosses his hat back at Wayne. Wayne then says something to Bond, but no voice is heard.
  
  
• Continuity: When Brad returns to Ethan and Marty after scouting the Comanche camp he tells them that they are camped a half mile away. After learning of Lucy's fate he mounts his horse and rides off toward the camp. About 5 to 7 seconds after his departure we hear the sounds of gunfire. For a good saddle horse carrying an average sized man, saddle, and gear to run a half mile at full speed would require roughly 50 to 60 seconds. Brad could not have possibly come remotely close to the Comanches in the time between his leaving and the sounds of gunfire.
  
  
• Continuity: When the Reverend breaks up the fight between Martin and Charlie, a group of men is seen behind the Reverend with Martin and Charlie in front of him. However when the fight resumes, Seth, the violinist, has appeared behind Charlie.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: (At 1:10:32) Immediately after John Wayne goes crazy shooting at the buffalo they hear the Calvary trumpet. It cuts to the Calvary ridding their horses through the snow filled creek. In the background to the right (of the 1.85 ratio version on Blu-Ray), there is a car driving along a road that is stopped by a crew member.
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Mamasita is using an aluminum pot to cook Frijoles.
  
  
• Continuity: When Martin is taking a bath, Laurie brings in 2 buckets of water and leaves them by the door. Then when the camera cuts to a close up of Martin in the tub, the buckets are next to the tub. When the camera pans back to a full shot, the buckets are by the door again.
  
  
• Continuity: When the reverend's posse is crossing the river, you can clearly see the Indian war party following behind on the river bank. When the posse gets to the other side, the war party is not visible on the opposite bank or in the river.
  
  
• Continuity: When the reverend's posse is about half way across the river, the scene cuts to a close up of 5 Indians coming over a dirt bank. A second later, one puff of smoke is seen coming from the bottom of the screen, and all five Indians fall off their horses into the water. But the posse is already across the river and too far away to make such a shot, and one shot can not bring down all five Indians. This makes no sense in continuity. Also, the props or ropes used to trip the horses are visible in the muddy water.
  
  

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