The Searchers
The Searchers is a 1956 American epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas–Indian wars, and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece (Natalie Wood), accompanied by his adopted nephew (Jeffrey Hunter). It was shot in VistaVision on Eastmancolor negative with processing and prints by Technicolor.
Plot
In 1868, Ethan Edwards returns after an eight-year absence to the home of his brother Aaron in West Texas. Ethan fought in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy, and in the three years since that war ended, he also apparently fought in the Second Franco–Mexican War. He has a lot of gold coins of uncertain origin in his possession, and a medal from the Mexican campaign that he gives to his eight-year-old niece, Debbie. As a former Confederate soldier, when he is asked to take an oath of allegiance to the Texas Rangers, he refuses.
More details
| author | Frank S. Nugent |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Texas |
| director | John Ford |
| editor | Jack Murray |
| genre | western |
| keywords | abduct adopted brother american civil war belong civil war comanche confederacy confederate soldier confederate states of america court discover gold coin homestead homestead act implied rape kill morning murder native american nawyecka new mexico new mexico territory older sister read return home second franco–mexican war second french intervention in mexico texas ranger texas ranger division texas rangers trading post wait wed west texas |
| musicBy | Max Steiner |
| productionCompany | Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney |
| publisher | Warner Bros. |
| recordedAt | Arizona California Colorado Utah |
| theme | epic missing people |