The Searchers (1956) on Netflix
Passed19561h 59mAdventureDramaWestern
Ethan Edwards returns to his brother's Texas farm three years after the Civil War. When Comanche raiders carry off his niece Debbie, he and his part-Cherokee nephew Martin ride after her.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.8/10103,887 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes87%
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Plot summary
Three years after the Civil War ends, Ethan Edwards rides to his brother Aaron's farm in Texas, carrying newly minted Northern money that Aaron agrees to hide for him. Ethan fought for the Confederacy and refuses to swear an oath to Texas. Martha, Aaron's wife, greets him warmly, while the family's adopted son Martin, who is part Cherokee, draws Ethan's open dislike. When cattle belonging to neighbor Lars Jorgensen are found slaughtered, the Rangers realize Comanche raiders used the theft to draw the men away from their homes. Ethan, Martin and Mose Harper ride back toward the Edwards farm. The homestead is in flames, Aaron and Martha are dead, and Lucy and Debbie are missing. At the funeral, Ethan cuts the hymn short so the men can ride after the Comanche.
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Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Searchers (1956)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Director John Ford wanted Fess Parker, the star of Disney's Davy Crockett television craze, to play Martin Pawley, but Walt Disney refused to release Parker from his contract and never even told him about the offer; Parker later called missing the role his worst career setback.
- The novelist's research notes show the searchers were partly inspired by Britton Johnson, a real African-American teamster who ransomed his wife and children back from the Comanches in 1865, then spent years hunting for another kidnapped girl, Millie Durgan, until Kiowa raiders killed him in 1871.
- Critics have also traced the story to the real 1836 kidnapping of nine-year-old Cynthia Ann Parker, who lived 24 years among the Comanches, married a war chief and bore three children including future Chief Quanah Parker, before Texas Rangers rescued her against her will.
- At John Ford's request, The Searchers became perhaps the first major film to have an intentionally made behind-the-scenes documentary of its own production, covering site preparation, prop-building and filming techniques.
- John Wayne's oft-repeated line "That'll be the day" in the film directly inspired Buddy Holly to write his hit song "That'll Be the Day" after he saw the movie in a theater in Lubbock, Texas.
- The film's imagery went on to shape Star Wars: the scene of Ethan Edwards discovering his brother's burned-out homestead is echoed by Luke Skywalker finding his own family's homestead destroyed by Imperial Stormtroopers.
