Cinema
The Searchers
John Ford · 1956
Synopsis
Texas, 1868. Ethan Edwards, a former Confederate soldier, returns to his brother's home. A cattle theft, used as a decoy, draws the men away from the ranch; the Comanches massacre the family and abduct the two daughters, Lucy and Debbie. Ethan sets out to find them with Martin Pawley, the household's adopted son, part Cherokee, whom he treats coldly, and with Brad, Lucy's fiancé. Lucy is found dead, and Ethan and Martin search for Debbie for years, from Texas to New Mexico.
Context
The film is taken from a novel by Alan Le May published in 1954; the author had studied sixty-four abductions that took place in Texas in the nineteenth century. The best known is that of Cynthia Ann Parker, abducted at the age of nine in 1836, who spent twenty-four years among the Comanches, married a chief there and was taken back against her will in 1860, while her uncle devoted years to searching for her. Most of the exteriors were shot at Monument Valley, between Arizona and Utah, where Ford shot nine of his films.
Who it is for
A western whose quest stretches over several years; its hero is a hard man, whose hatred of the Comanches is at the heart of the story.
Prizes and reception
First in the ranking of westerns drawn up in 2008 by the American Film Institute; Spielberg, Lucas and Scorsese have cited it among their influences.
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