In this revered Western, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) returns home to Texas after the Civil War. When members of his brother’s family are killed or abducted by Comanches, he vows to track down his surviving relatives and bring them home. Eventually, Edwards gets word that his niece Debbie (Natalie Wood) is alive, and, along with her adopted brother, Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter), he embarks on a dangerous mission to find her, journeying deep into Comanche territory.
The Searchers (1956)
Director: John Ford
the opening and closing scene
Q. Compare and contrast the opening and closing sequences. What similarities do they have, and why does the director choose to begin and close the film in this way?
The opening sequence of the movie starts by a sudden opening of a door by a woman whose silhouette is seen walking towards the outside and is greeted by the beautiful seen of the monument valley and Ethan in a distance approaching the house. Fast forward to the closing scene, Ethan rides up to the house with Debbie. They are greeted by the smiling faces. Debbie is escorted by the ranchers inside the home. But Ethan is left behind in the doorway, watching silently. Ethan is framed in the middle of doorway and he turns around and walks alone into the valley. And the door is closed. I think the doorway shot shows the lonely gesture of Ethan and how he is stuck between the two worlds: the outlaw west and civilization.
"Don't Ever Ask Me More!"
Q. Compare and contrast the opening and closing sequences. What similarities do they have, and why does the director choose to begin and close the film in this way?
They are trying to find Lucy and Debbie in this scene. Ethan rides off into the canyon to follow a different trial. He finds Lucy dead in the canyon. The characters do not explicitly mention that Lucy was raped by Comanches before killing her. Ethan also didn’t specifically say that the Comanches killed Lucy.
Ethan Facing Scar Scene
Q. Discuss this confrontation between the “hero” Ethan and the “villain” Scar. How similar are these characters? Why does the director choose to repeat certain lines (“you speak good English / you speak good Comanche”)?
Both characters, Ethan and Scar are violent character in the movie. Even though Ethan is considered as “hero”, he does a horrific act of violence which makes him similar as the “villain” Scar. I think the director chose to repeat the lines (“you speak good English/ you speak good Comanche”) because Ethan knows that Scar is a white man raised by Comanches and he is everything Ethan hates.
Scar
Q. Why does Scar have blue eyes?
Scar has blue eyes because he’s a white man and is not supposed be an Indian. In the movie, every other native American on screen was portrayed by native Americans and Mexicans were portrayed by Mexican actors, but not the Indians.
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