The Searchers

1956  NR  WESTERN  1h 59min

CAST— John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood, John Qualen, Harry Carey, Jr., Olive Carey, Antonio Moreno, Henry Brandon, Hank Worden, Ken Curtis, Lana Wood, Dorothy Jordan, Pat Wayne

MUSIC— Max Steiner  DIRECTOR— John Ford  BASED ON— The Searchers (novel), by Alan Le May

     Excellent Western yarn chronicling the five year search for a missing loved one. John Wayne plays a Civil War vet who is welcomed home with open arms. Soon after his arrival, however, Comanche Indians murder his family and kidnap his young nieces. A search posse is organized to find the girls, eventually breaking up to just two searchers: Wayne and his adopted nephew, played by a hot headed Jeffrey Hunter. After finding the ravaged body of his oldest niece Wayne’s resolve grows even stronger while Hunter’s justifiable anger grows hotter. Thus begins their trek through harsh terrain and hardships unnumbered that the film can only hint at (five years is a long time, after all). Well told, with gorgeous scenery in beautiful Technicolor and told with a sharp eye for detail. Not to be missed. Deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress National Film Registry.

OUR RATING— *** ½