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Select media
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Stills must not be reproduced, copied or downloaded in any way.
Film details
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Featuring
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Country
USA
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Year
1956
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Genre
Western
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Type
Film
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Category
Fiction
Introduction
“The Searchers manages to be both a rousing adventure movie and a melancholy film poem exploring the American values at the heart of the Western genre.”
Ed Lowry, International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, 1990
Cinema’s poet of the Wild West, John Ford already had countless westerns (among over 100 films) under his belt before reteaming with regular star John Wayne for this disturbing story of racism, obsession and revenge.
Intending to kill his kidnapped niece (Natalie Wood) when he finds her, assuming her long since defiled by her Comanche kidnappers, morally complex Ethan Edwards is the role that convinced many that Wayne could truly act. Ford sets the hulking actor against the awe-inspiringly rugged terrain of Arizona’s Monument Valley and, in the iconic final shot, frames him within the doorway of a homestead, standing outside on the cusp of a civilisation where he can never fit in. It is one of the medium’s most unforgettable images of isolation.
A lifelong fan of Ford’s film, Martin Scorsese created in Taxi Driver (1976) a kindred tale of an obsessive avenger attempting to rescue a young girl from malign influence.
Cast & Credits
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Cast
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Ethan Edwards
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Martin Pawley
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Laurie Jorgensen
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Reverend Captain Samuel Johnson Clayton
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Debbie Edwards
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Lars Jorgensen
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Mrs Jorgensen
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Chief Scar, 'Cicatriz'
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Charlie McCorry
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Brad Jorgensen
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Emilio Gabriel Fernandez y Figueroa
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Mose Harper
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Wild Goose Flying in the Night Sky, 'Look'
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Aaron Edwards
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Martha Edwards
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Lucy Edwards
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Lieutenant Greenhill
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Debbie as a child
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private
Jack Pennick (uncredited)
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Jerem Futterman
Peter Mamakos (uncredited)
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Ed Nesby
William Steele (uncredited)
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Colonel Greenhill
Cliff Lyons (uncredited)
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Ranger Lawrence
Chuck Roberson (uncredited)
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deranged woman
Ruth Clifford (uncredited)
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woman at fort
Mae Marsh (uncredited)
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Mexican bartender
Nacho Galindo (uncredited)
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dancer in cantina
Carmen D'antonio (uncredited)
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Ben Edwards
Robert Lyden (uncredited)
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soldier
Frank Mcgrath (uncredited)
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ranger
Terry Wilson (uncredited)
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Comanche
Away Luna (uncredited)
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Comanche
Billy Yellow (uncredited)
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Comanche
Bob Many Mules (uncredited)
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Comanche
Exactly Sonnie Betsuie (uncredited)
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Comanche
Feather Hat Jr (uncredited)
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Comanche
Harry Black Horse (uncredited)
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Comanche
Jack Tin Horn (uncredited)
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Comanche
Many Mules Son (uncredited)
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Comanche
Percy Shooting Star (uncredited)
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Comanche
Pete Grey Eyes (uncredited)
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Comanche
Pipe Line Begishe (uncredited)
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Comanche
Smile White Sheep (uncredited)
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extra
Joe Rickson (uncredited)
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extra
Bud Cokes (uncredited)
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extra
William Forrest (uncredited)
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General Custer - role deleted
Peter Ortiz (uncredited)
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Credits
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Unknown:
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Directed by
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Production Company
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Presents
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Executive Producer
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Associate Producer
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Production Supervisor
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Location Scout
Robert Lee Hough (uncredited)
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Assistant Director
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Assistant Director (Gunnison)
Edward O'Fearna (uncredited)
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Script Supervisor
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Screenplay by
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From the novel by
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Photographed by
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2nd Unit Photography
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Technicolor Colour Consultant
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Camera Operator
Al Greene (uncredited)
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Camera Operator (Gunnison 1st)
Arch R. Dalzell (uncredited)
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Camera Operator (Gunnison 2nd)
Buddy Weiler (uncredited)
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Camera Technician (Gunnison)
Gene Polito (uncredited)
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Camera Technician (Gunnison)
George Dye (uncredited)
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Assistant Camera (Gunnison)
Elmer Faubian (uncredited)
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Camera Mechanic (Gunnison)
Frank Shriner (uncredited)
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Battery Man (Gunnison)
John Funk (uncredited)
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Head Grip (Gunnison)
Carl Gibson (uncredited)
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Assistant Grips (Gunnison)
Jack Chambers (uncredited)
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Assistant Grips (Gunnison)
Pete Barnard (uncredited)
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Assistant Grips (Gunnison)
Larry Hughes (uncredited)
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Stills Photography
Alexander Kahle (uncredited)
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Special Effects
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Special Effects (Gunnison)
Dave Koehler (uncredited)
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Film Editor
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Art Director
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Art Director
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Set Decorator
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Properties
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Property Master
Art Cole (uncredited)
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Assistant Props Man (Gunnison)
Jack Owens (uncredited)
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Labourer (Gunnison)
Bob Woods (uncredited)
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Men's Wardrobe
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Women's Wardrobe
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Wardrobe Assistant (Gunnison)
Charles Arrico (uncredited)
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Make-up
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Make-up Assistant
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Make-up Head (Gunnison)
Burris Grimwood (uncredited)
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Make-up Assistant (Gunnison)
Joe Hadley (uncredited)
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Hairdresser
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Music by
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Orchestrations
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Sound
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Sound
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Stunts
William J. Cartledge (uncredited)
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Stunts
Chuck Hayward (uncredited)
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Stunts
Slim Hightower (uncredited)
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Stunts
Fred Kennedy (uncredited)
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Stunts
Frank Mcgrath (uncredited)
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Stunts
Dale Van Sickle (uncredited)
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Stunts
Henry Wills (uncredited)
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Stunts
Terry Wilson (uncredited)
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Stand-in
Ray Cordell (uncredited)
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Stand-in
Betty Danko (uncredited)
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Stand-in
Grace Ritchie (uncredited)
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Stand-in
Harry Tenbrook (uncredited)
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First Aid (Gunnison)
Nathan Stufflebeam (uncredited)
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Radio Man (Gunnison)
W.C. Stokes (uncredited)
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Wrangler
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Wrangler
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Wrangler
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Wrangler
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Wrangler
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