- If you liked Stagecoach but long to see the majestic mesas of Monument Valley captured in VistaVision and Technicolor, then The Searchers may be the film for you. Director John Ford and cinematographer Winton Hoch outdo themselves depicting the absolutely breathtaking geography of the American Southwest in a manner largely unequaled in film before or since. For that matter, if you liked John Wayne in Stagecoach, you should appreciate his performance in The Searchers. Despite the fact that this character, Ethan Edwards, is infinitely less likable than Stagecoach's Ringo Kid, Wayne's acting was never better.
- All of that said, there is no question in my mind that Stagecoach is a far better Ford/Wayne film than The Searchers. I wouldn't normally go out of my way to point that out, except that everyone else appears to feel differently. The American Film Institute, for example, claims that The Searchers is the single best American Western ever made and ranks it the 12th best American film of any genre. That it falls on that list between City Lights and Star Wars probably illustrates the extent to which such orderings are useful, but the film has obviously garnered quite the critical reputation over the years.
- So why is it so popular? Maybe some fraction of its fame is attributable to its aforementioned cinematographic virtues, but I also suspect that the film's subtext has gotten it attention more recently. Basically, Ethan enters the film as a racist of the worst kind, a man who would sooner kill his niece (Natalie Wood) than see her in the hands of the Comanche and who practically disowns his adopted nephew Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter) for having even an ounce of Indian blood in his veins. Such behavior is in stark contrast with that of Laurie Jorgensen (Vera Miles), who clearly loves Martin no matter what, even if she does come dangerously close to marrying the wrong man (Ken Curtis).
- Problem is, The Searchers doesn't really have anything especially interesting to say about racism or anti-Indian sentiment. Sure, Ethan changes his tune by the end of the film, but it's hardly a believable transformation considering how awful he is up until that point. Moreover, the only two named Comanche in the film are Look (Beulah Archuletta), who serves as the butt of several jokes when she marries Martin, and Chief Scar, who is played by the actor born Heinrich von Kleinbach. The rest of the Comanche are treated in the usual manner, namely as anonymous villains who admittedly look pretty intimidating when they ride on the buttes parallel to Ethan's team. Whereas Stagecoach still serves as an impressive examination of social divisions, The Searchers feels more like a dated illustration of how those divisions and others can accidentally show up on film. For a film whose opening shots held so much promise, I had sincerely hoped for more.
- Didn't mention Ward Bond, Harry Carey Jr., or Hank Worden, the latter of whom would reprise his war whoop many years later in Twin Peaks.
