The Searchers
As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.
- Director: John Ford
- Genre:Adventure / Drama / Western
- Runtime:326 minutes
Cast
John Wayne : Ethan Edwards
Jeffrey Hunter : Martin Pawley
Vera Miles : Laurie Jorgensen
Ward Bond : Rev. Capt. Samuel Johnston Clayton
Natalie Wood : Debbie Edwards (older)
In 1868, Ethan Edwards (Wayne) returns from the American Civil War, in which he fought for the Confederacy, to the home of his brother Aaron (Coy) in the wilderness of northern Texas. Some sort of wrongdoing or legal trouble in Ethan’s past is suggested by his absence over the last three years, a large quantity of gold coins that he brings with him, a Mexican war medal that he gives to his young niece Deborah (Lana Wood), and his refusal to take an oath of allegiance to the Texas Rangers.
Shortly after Ethan’s arrival, cattle belonging to his neighbor Lars Jorgensen (Qualen) are stolen, and when Captain Samuel Clayton (Bond) leads Ethan and a group of Rangers to follow the trail, they discover that the theft was a ploy by Comanche Indians to draw the men away from their families. When they return home, they find the Edwards homestead in flames; Aaron, his wife Martha (Jordan), and their son Ben (Lyden) dead; and Debbie and her older sister Lucy (Scott) abducted.
After a brief funeral, the men return to pursuing the Comanches. When they find their camp, Ethan recommends an open attack, in which the girls would be killed, but Clayton insists on sneaking in quietly. When the Rangers enter the camp, the Comanches have gone, and when the men continue their pursuit, the Indians almost catch them in a trap. With too few men to ensure victory, Clayton returns home, leaving Ethan to continue with Lucy’s fiancé Brad Jorgensen (Carey) and Debbie’s adopted brother Martin Pawley (Hunter). However, after Ethan finds Lucy brutally murdered near the Comanche camp, Brad becomes enraged, rides wildly into the camp, and is killed. Read more
