CONCLUSION: While certainly a great movie and possibly the best Western ever made, “The Searchers” is not even close to being a war movie. The Searchers By Scott Allen Nollen In 1954, producer Merian Cooper, seeking material for a surefire John Ford and John Wayne Western, optioned Alan LeMay’s The Searchers, a novel about revenge-crazed Amos Edwards’ 10-year quest to track down the Comanche who murdered his brother and captured his niece. Directed by John Ford. In the screenplay by Frank S. Nugent, the medal Ethan Edwards gives to Debbie is identified as "a gold medal or medallion" awarded by Emperor Maximilian of Mexico to mercenary soldiers who fought between 1865-67 for the Emperor Maximilian's French forces against Mexican revolutionaries. To Laurie's dismay, Martin then leaves to follow Ethan, who has departed without a word. The family is all … In any case, a great film with complex and subtle plot. And with its overtones of racism, it's also one of his most complicated. Meanwhile, Martin confides in Lars's daughter Laurie, who is in love with the young man, his fears that Ethan may kill Debbie because of her long association with the Comanche. by . The Searchers is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, set during the Texas–Indian Wars, and starring John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece (Natalie Wood), accompanied by his adoptive nephew (Jeffrey Hunter).Critic Roger Ebert found Wayne's character, … The Indians had abducted the two little girls, Debbie and Lucy. the searchers is debbie ethan daughter. Ethan takes out a saddlebag and gives Debbie a medal. This essay demon-strates that Ford viewed Ethan as a negative, psychologically damaged, and tragic figure. … This medal implies Ethan served in the French Mexican Expedition during his three-year absence and also … Ward Bond does avert his eyes, but that’s just as likely because a moment of tenderness between Martha and Ethan would be something he’d overlook out of gallantry in any event.“Ethan’s reactions are driven by something … With John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond. WMG / The Searchers Go To × Edit Locked. Ethan and Martha had an affair many years ago, resulting in the birth of Debbie. cfwente » 4 years ago (May 30, 2016 08:10 AM) Reply | Member since July 2015. Ethan has returned from the war and has come to stay with the family. He lifts her up as she tries fighting him off. The Searchers tells of the perilous and obsessive 5-year quest to find 10-year-old Debbie, the niece ... Martin among them, was out looking for what they thought were rustlers. By now, the search for Debbie has continued for a year or more. Reflections on "The Searchers" ... Ethan's sense of loyalty to family (and perhaps the fact that the kidnapped Debbie is the daughter of the woman he loved) fuels his determination to find Debbie and save her from life with the Comanches. Ethan and Marty have traveled out of Texas into Colorado and parts north. The Searchers begins at the home of Ethan Edward’s brother’s family. Detail. Cast: John Wayne (Ethan Edwards), Jeffrey Hunter (Martin Pawley), Vera Miles (Laurie Jorgensen), Ward Bond (Reverend Captain Samuel Johnson Clayton), Natalie Wood (Debbie Edwards), John Qualen (Lars Jorgensen), Olive Carey (Mrs Jorgensen), Henry Brandon (Scar), Beulah Archuletta (Look), Ken Curtis (Charlie McCorry), Harry Carey Jnr (Brad … The Searchers is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars.The picture stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece (Natalie Wood), along with Jeffrey Hunter as his adoptive nephew, who accompanies him.. He had to find her...he had to find her... taglines. He catches up with her in the same cave they were in before. Time and time again, the settlers suggest that death is a better fate than life … You will, consequently, feel stronger emotions watching them. The Edward’s family represents a traditional unit of a mother, father, two daughters and a son. He channels all his energy and efforts into finding the girl, aided by the younger and … The film takes place during the unstable feuding times of the settlement of the West and the family is torn apart by an attack from a warring Comanche tribe. There's Lucy over there." The film was a commercial success, although it received no … racism of The Searchers' central character, Ethan Edwards. Directed by John Ford. The rest of the movie details Ethan and Martin’s long five-year search for the surviving daughter, Debbie, amongst the Comanche. Tragedy strikes when a local tribe attacks the farm, brutally murders Ethan's brother and sister-in-law, and carts off their young daughter Debbie (Wood). He made a lot of films, true, and was truly great in a dozen of them, never greater than he was as Ethan Edwards in John Ford’s searing epic The Searchers (1956). Critics have introduced the intriguing theory that Debbie is actually Ethan’s daughter (the timing of her birth makes this possible). As of Feb 01 21. Directed by John Ford. Ethan's redemption is intended to be shown in that dramatic shot of reunion with Debbie, where he takes her in his broad hands, lifts her up to the sky, drops her down into his arms, and says, “Let's go home, Debbie.” The shot is famous and beloved, but small counterbalance to his views throughout the film--and indeed, there is no indication be thinks any differently about Indians. The editors of Military History magazine should not have included any … Laurie suggests that Ethan will put a "bullet in her brain," and that it's what her mother would want. Only Ethan and Martin continue onward with the search for Debbie -Ethan, a virulent racist, wonders aloud if Martin is a “half-breed” but Martin is unsure, perhaps he is one-eighth Indian. During dinner, Aaron's adopted son, part-Cherokee (one-eighth) Martin "Marty" Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter), an orphan saved years earlier by Ethan from an Indian … Martha takes Ethan's coat and puts it in her bedroom's hope chest. Was Ethan Debbie's father? 1 Ethan Edwards; 2 Mrs. Jorgensen; 3 Dialogue; 4 Taglines; 5 Cast; 6 External links; Ethan Edwards . In the movie, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) goes on a years-long quest to find his niece, Debbie, who has been abducted by Comanche Indians. Written by Frank Nugent. Regarded today as arguably the greatest western film ever made, The Searchers is without question the finest film John Ford ever directed, and though dated today, the staggering power of Wayne’s performance remains for … So Ethan’s quest for killing Debbie becomes an act of Filicide , setting up a parallel with the Greek Tragedy of Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks in the Trojan war, who … An American Civil War veteran embarks on a journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches. Which ties into… The money was … The medal, by the way, was awarded to Ethan for his service to Emperor Maximillian of Mexico for mercenary forces against Mexican revolutionaries. It's been hinted at only on … Close. Of the two girls, it seems more likely that Debbie is Ethan's daughter, a product of the affair he had just before going to war. In The Searchers" (1956), there many implications that the kidnapped "niece" Debbie is actually Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) daughter, from an affair with Ethan's brother's wife. Contents. Related quizzes can be found here: Searchers, The Quizzes There are 57 questions on this topic. He has been gone 8 years and Debbie is 8 when he returns. You can now feel disgust and fury at Martha’s rape and murder, … Ethan’s hatred of the Comanche and his consuming sense of revenge for the loss of the woman he loved drives him to the brink of madness, as he and Martin crisscross the territory in their pursuit of Scar. That night, Futterman tries to shoot Martin … Working on the adaptation for Warner Bros., Ford and Frank Nugent changed … ldreese33 » 4 years ago (May 30, 2016 07:54 AM) Reply | Member since February 2006. This quiz is on the 1956 John Wayne movie, "The Searchers". With John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond. In The Searchers" (1956), there many … This just makes his objective more fascinating. When … The two give Futterman money in exchange for the news that Debbie is held captive by Scar. The Searchers. I have not seen the movie in a few years. But instead of making her daughter to do the right thing, Debbie backed her and promised to protect her. Searchers, The Fun Facts : Page 2 This category is for questions and answers and fun facts related to Searchers, The, as asked by users of FunTrivia.com. Archived. When The Searchers was first released … Believing the Comanche have abducted his young niece, embittered Ethan Edwards sets out to save her, accompanied by hot-headed Martin. But, I read somewhere that it was hinted at in the movie. This search becomes an obsession and provides his whole purpose for living. Average score for this quiz is 11 / 15.Difficulty: Average.Played 1,959 times. Gradually, Martin realises that Ethan intends to kill, not … Classic John Ford western. You could see that he mistakes Debbie for Lucy. John Ford himself implied that Debbie was Ethan and Martha’s daughter out of wedlock, and the reason the connection wasn’t more implicit was because of the Censorship rules in the American motion picture industry at the time. While Ethan and Marty have spent the entire movie looking to save little Debbie from Scar's clutches, once they learn of her fate, it seems that she is safer with her new Comanche companions than with the white people back at home. The Searchers is a 1956 film about a Civil War veteran who sets out with his nephew on a quest to rescue his niece from Indians. Ben asks, with an indignant tone. An American Civil War veteran embarks on a journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches. It seems likely that Debbie is Ethan’s daughter, a product of the affair with Martha that he had just before going to war. 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