Review of The Searchers (1956) by Adam R — 04 May 2014

I did not enjoy this movie. I decided that when Ethan's (Wayne) sorta nephew Martin accidentally marries a squaw and when she lies down next to him he kicks her hard with both feet and she rolls down a small hill. What the hell was that? She was portly and cute with an over eagerness to please and Martin was the good guy throughout the rest of the picture. Like much of the action it is murky as to the director's intent in showing this bizarre sadistic act. I'm one of those purists who cannot excuse such unclear hiccups in a story when they offend me.

Revenge, quest and personal transformation are the themes. The dialogue is mediocre, never making it's mark felt. The look is often alluringly epic with vast desert panoramics and mesmerizing with silhouttes in doorways and that endless land beyond. John Wayne is fun to watch until he decides he wants to kill his own niece. After she was kidnapped by comanches and lived as one for over five years, her identity is scattered between two worlds, and this is a betrayal he cannot pardon. Whether he finally does murder his own blood is not material to the fact that he only failed on his first attempt due to circumstance. This is rather a large failing even in an iconoclastic complex hero as Wayne plays here. For me this was too unforgivable to return to the story's embrace with much enthusiasm.

That last shot is another of those silhouttes seen through a doorway of the victorious hero close to societal embrace, but somewhat ignored now that his task is complete, more part of the country than a family. It's the high plateau of the movie.