The Western is a genre we have yet to touch on. Largely out of fashion now, it can easily be forgotten how once upon a time in Hollywood it was the genre.From the silent era to the demise of the old studio system, westerns were produced in the hundreds every year and it attracted some of the best acting and directing talent of the time. Names like John Sturges, Howard Hawks, William Wyler and above all others John Ford. If Ford is the greatest director of the western genre, then perhaps his greatest film is The Searchers.
Starring the inimitable John Wayne and what Western could be said to complete without his presence, as Ethan Edwards an ageing former confederate soldier who returns home to his brothers farmstead three years after the end of the Civil War. He is still clad in his uniform with a bag of Yankee gold and no explanation as to where he has been since the end of the war as we first meet him. An obvious loner, Ethan is no sooner in the embrace of his family then he is pulled away in a posse put together by the local Texas Ranger played by Ford regular Ward Bond to chase after a raiding party of Comanche Indians. Of course when they are away, the Comanche attack a number of homes including that of Ethan's brother. The eerie scenes at the homestead at dusk as the family begin to realise that the Indians are out there are a particular high point. Even today they have the power to frighten. Ethan and the Posse return home to find the family massacred and his two nieces kidnapped. So begins an epic 5 year journey as Ethan and his brother's adopted son Martin Pawley, travel across the frontier and on into Mexico in search of the girls.
One of the reasons why Westerns have largely disappeared from our screens is that with the onset of the '60s counter-culture, they became to be seen as uncool and passée.While Wayne and Ford's personal politics were most definitely at odds with the ethos of the 1960s, the role of Ethan is one of the first screen antiheroes that became so popular in later years. Dirty Harry, Han Solo and Leone's Man With No Name owe their existence to Wayne's portrayal of Ethan. He is driven more by his hatred of Comanche then of any deep feeling for the girls. He is single minded in his need to find them and get revenge. It is madness not heroism. It is John Wayne's finest performance bar none. This is not passée, this is epic.
John Ford's direction is also noteworthy. The scenes showing the raw natural beauty of Monument Valley are extremely lush and beautiful, photographed in Technicolour VistaVision. His direction was never overly fussy or technical, something John Wayne often attested too but he knew how to frame a shot just right, perfect enough to get that wow reaction from an audience. Another important aspect to Ford's vision of the film is surely the overt references to racism and miscegenation as regards the Indians at a time when America was beginning to tear itself apart with racial tension. Ethan, despite his hatred of the Indians, is well versed in their language, customs and culture. It is a conflict and something that is never resolved.
So, what more is there to say? It is the best western ever made starring two of the great artists of American cinema. When Orson Welles was once asked to name his 3 favourite directors, he replied:
"John Ford, John Ford, John Ford"
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