What is the plot of The Searchers?
In this revered Western, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) returns home to Texas after the Civil War. When members of his brother’s family are killed or abducted by Comanches, he vows to track down his surviving relatives and bring them home. Eventually, Edwards gets word that his niece Debbie (Natalie Wood) is alive, and, along with her adopted brother, Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter), he embarks on a dangerous mission to find her, journeying deep into Comanche territory.
The Searchers/Film synopsis
What is the theme of the searchers?
It’s a classic struggle between love and hate, as relevant to today’s extended savage wars as it was when it was released 57 years ago. Based on Alan LeMay’s taut and powerful novel (which is loosely based on a true story from frontier Texas), “The Searchers” presents a troubling and at times racist portrait.
Why was Ethan looking to find Debbie in The Searchers?
Ethan spends five years on a lonely quest to hunt down the tribe that holds the girl Debbie (Natalie Wood)–not to rescue her, but to shoot her dead, because she has become “the leavin’s of a Comanche buck.” Ford knew that his hero’s hatred of Indians was wrong, but his glorification of Ethan’s search invites …
How does the movie The Searchers end?
Only an artist as great as John Ford would dare to end a film on such a note. In its final moment, The Searchers suddenly becomes a ghost story. Ethan’s sense of purpose has been fulfilled, and like the man whose eyes he’s shot out, he’s destined to wander forever between the winds.
Why does Ethan leave at the end of the searchers?
As for Ethan, he’s spent years searching for his niece, with the sole intention of killing her. However, when he finally tracks her down, Ethan decides to spare Debbie’s life.
Why did John Wayne hold his arm at the end of the searchers?
In the closing scene with Ethan (John Wayne) framed in the doorway, Wayne holds his right elbow with his left hand in a pose that Carey fans would recognize as one that he often used. Wayne later stated he did it as a tribute to Carey. She was ushered into a room where she was introduced to John Wayne and John Ford.
Who are The Searchers searching for?
The plot of The Searchers is simple thought the main characters are not. Ethan Edwards, with help from his nephew Martin, is searching for two family members abducted by an Indian named Scar.
Why does Ethan leave at the end of The Searchers?
Why did John Wayne hold his arm at the end of The Searchers?
Why does John Wayne hold his arm at the end of the movie The Searchers?
Why did John Wayne hold his right arm at the end of The Searchers?
Is The Searchers a true story?
John Ford’s 1956 film “The Searchers” is one of the finest of the great director’s career. The film was based on a novel by Alan LeMay, who in turn based his book on the true-life story of Cynthia Ann Parker. As a nine-year-old girl, Parker was abducted by Comanche Indians from her prairie home in 1836 Texas.
What was the plot of the movie The Searchers?
But a Comanche raid destroys these plans, and Ethan sets out, along with his 1/8 Indian nephew Martin, on a years-long journey to find the niece kidnapped by the Indians under Chief Scar. But as the quest goes on, Martin begins to realize that his uncle’s hatred for the Indians is beginning to spill over to include his now-assimilated niece.
Who was Ethan Edwards in the Searchers movie?
In The Searchers, Ethan Edwards is an ex-Confederate soldier still fighting the Indian Wars. When he finds that Comanches massacred family and kidnapped his niece, he vows to bring her back. Along the way he kills everyone of the Indians he can find that’s responsible. In all, Ethan travels five years on his quest to find her.
Who was the girl that was kidnapped in the searchers?
The niece of Ethan Edwards (Wayne) is kidnapped by Comanches who murder her family and burn their ranch house. Ethan spends five years on a lonely quest to hunt down the tribe that holds the girl Debbie ( Natalie Wood )–not to rescue her, but to shoot her dead, because she has become “the leavin’s of a Comanche buck.”
Who is Martin in the movie The Searchers?
Aaron and Martha’s adopted quarter Cherokee son Martin arrives for dinner. He greets Ethan but Ethan is very unhappy in his presence despite the fact that he is the one who found him abandoned as an infant. Martin and everybody else can see Ethan’s dislike for him.