Over the weekend I watched John Ford's
1956 Western masterpiece The Searchers.
And in calling it a “masterpiece,” in the first sentence, I'm
already recommending it. Its great. Watch it.
Its
about a Confederate veteran of the Civil War, Ethan Edwards (John
Wayne) returning to his brother's farm in Texas to settle down after
some probably violent and illegal adventuring after the war. He's a
proud man, but damaged, and wants to settle down with his loving kin.
Except his adopted nephew Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter, who would
play Captain Pike for the pilot episode of Star Trek
before his untimely death in 1969 at the age of 42), who's
part-Indian and well-meaning, but kind of a hot-blooded idiot.
The
two ride out with a posse of Rangers investigating missing cattle,
find signs of the Comanche, and then the Edwards family back home is
slaughtered in a raid. Except for the little girl, Debbie, who's
taken by the raiders.
This
sends Ethan and Martin on a desperate, five-year search for the girl
that also turns into a meditation on the nature of vengeance and the
toll it takes, both on those that seek it, and the people surrounding
them.
Its
gritty without being graphic, and doesn't shy away from some pretty
harsh themes. The Comanche under a chief named Scar are brutal
raiders, but Scar has his own motivation that makes sense without
making him too sympathetic. He's also obsessed with blind vengeance.
For their part, Ethan and Martin do some pretty rotten stuff too when
faced with some tough decisions, and people end up dying because of
it.
But
what really hammered home the genius of Ford as a director, is the
raid on the Edwards homestead. The movie spends the first fifteen
minutes or so establishing Ethan's family and hometown as a nice
place filled with good and occasionally quirky people. The character
actors play their parts well and while they're painted with broad
strokes, they're likable. Which is important, because around the 20
minute mark, it all goes down.
The
posse establishes that the Comanche are on a murder raid, looking to
kill some settlers. Two farms are singled out as possible targets,
and the party rides to the closest one first.
It
ends up being the wrong one.
What
follows is one of the most effective horror scenes I've ever seen in
a movie. Its not a spoiler because its the instigating event of the
entire movie.
Its
evening at the Edwards farm. The sunset casts a reddish glow and one
by one the family starts to realize that all is not well. Each time
that realization spreads, the tension ratchets up, first with the
parents trying to keep calm and lay low, then accelerating when the
older daughter, Lucy, realizes what's going on and screams, prompting
her mother to slap her to shut her up.
They
know.
They
know what's coming.
So in
their last minutes, they send their youngest daughter, Debbie (played
by the Wood sisters, Lana as the younger version, Natalie as a 15
year old) to a hiding place away from the house. Only its not a great
hiding place, and we get our first glimpse of Scar as he walks up to
her, looks down, and blows the signal.
Fade
to black.
The
scene tells you everything you need to know about what's going to
happen. Their reactions, their resignation, their despair. You don't
need to see it on screen because the violence of the moment is in
your mind, and I can guarantee that its going to be bloodier than
anything the Hays Production Code would've allowed.
Its
genius.
I'm
not going to bother finding the clip and linking it, because you need
that first twenty minutes of setup to provide context. Its probably
not my favorite John Ford/John Wayne film (which is maybe Stagecoach,
but I need to see more).
Highest
recommendation. Watch this movie.
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