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Family Matters: Why John Wayne’s Favorite Role May Surprise You

Spoiler Alert! This article gives away the end of this classic movie. If you haven’t seen The Searchers, watch before you read this! 

By Henry C. Parke   

There is rarely an argument over whether The Searchers is a great film. The American Film Institute has it ranked 12th in its 100 Greatest American Films list; The British Film Institute has it at No. 15 in its international list. Western fans, John Wayne fans and John Ford fans agree. But why does The Searchers resonate so deeply with viewers, perhaps even more than other Wayne and Ford collaborations like Stagecoach and Fort Apache?   

Often described as his least likable character, why was it that Ethan Edwards was Wayne’s favorite of his own performances? He even gave the character’s name to his son in real life. 

How is The Searchers different? The other films are about a man whose life is unencumbered by family obligations, be he a cowboy or a cavalry officer. In Fort Apache he has no family. In She Wore a Yellow Ribbon he’s a widower. In Rio Grande he has an estranged wife (Maureen O’Hara) and a son who hasn’t seen him since childhood.  

But in The Searchers, Wayne is tied to family. After drifting for years following the Civil War, once-loner Ethan glories in rejoining brother Aaron’s (Walter Coy) family, including sister-in-law Martha (Dorothy Jordan), two nieces, and two nephews. And within a day of that reunion, the family is slaughtered by a band of Comanche, led by Scar (Henry Brandon), who hates white people because his sons were slaughtered by white invaders.  Only Ethan’s nieces are not killed, but taken captive, and soon only the youngest still survives.  

So, first accompanied by eight men, then by just Harry Carey Jr. as the neighbor who loved the older niece, and Jeffrey Hunter as his nephew Martin, Ethan embarks on a single-minded, obsessive, years-long search for his niece. 

The family element that was so strong in the story was critical among the assembled filmmakers as well. Ford’s son Patrick was involved in developing the script and scouting locations. Ford’s brother-in-law, Wingate Smith, was both assistant director and second unit director. Debbie Edwards was played by two actresses: by Lana Wood for age 8, and her sister Natalie Wood as a teen. Natalie had been acting for years, but it was Lana’s first movie.  

The scene of her hiding from the Comanches in the cemetery is terrifying. But was it terrifying to film? “Not in the least,” she said. “Playing exactly my age, I was told to run here, I was told to hide behind the tombstone, and then this gigantic man strode up: ‘Oh my God, who’s this?’ When you’re that age, there really isn’t much thought that goes into it. I was simply doing what I was told.”  

Lana wasn’t the only comparative beginner in the cast. Wayne’s son, and Ford’s godson, Patrick Wayne, had his first major role, as Lt. Greenhill. And though he stood nearly eye to eye with his father, “I was 14 years old. I was a big kid, so I could pull off the physical aspect of it.” Still, he had to deal with his dad and Ward Bond going playfully off script, “ad-libbing the stuff about the joint punitive action, putting me off; but actually, it worked perfect for the part.”  

Duke was courageous in playing a character not merely flawed but often described as hateful. Even Patrick found his father’s character hard to stomach. “He was a horrible person in The Searchers. This mean, nasty, prejudiced guy, and he’s on a mission to kill this little girl, Natalie Wood! He is driven the whole way, and at the end, he scoops her up and says, ‘Let’s go home’ and redeems his whole character in one swoop. Pretty nice.” 

Based on Alan LaMay’s book of the same title, the screenplay was adapted by both LaMay, famous for his John Huston-filmed novel, The Unforgiven; and Frank Nugent, who wrote 11 movies for Ford. Theirs and Ford’s choices of what to maintain, and what to change in the story’s family dynamic are fascinating.  

While the romantic interest between Martin (Hunter) and Laurie (Vera Miles)—and ill-fated Harry Carey Jr. and Pippa Scott—are obvious, there’s another romantic undercurrent to the tale, told through hints so subtle that many miss them on their first viewing. An attraction between Ethan and his brother’s wife Martha is suggested by one forehead kiss, a few looks and look-aways with Martha gently caressing Ethan’s jacket as she folds it. Is it really even there? Yes, in the screenplay, as they all meet on the porch, “[Ethan’s] eyes shift to Martha and hold. Ethan is, and always has been, in love with his brother’s wife and she with him.” It’s nearly word-for-word from the novel with one major change: “[Martin] had lived with [Ethan] most of his life without ever suspecting the truth. But neither had [Aaron] suspected it—and Martha least of all. [Ethan] was—had always been—in love with his brother’s wife.” Yes, in the book, Ethan loved Martha, but Martha never realized, nor reciprocated. Changing that for the film upped the emotions dramatically.  

In fact, in the script, after Ethan is arrow-shot by a Comanche, as Martin prepares to open the wound, “to let the poison out,” Ethan, “half delirious,” gasps, “Martha … Martha!” Perhaps Ford felt it would be too on-the-nose. Whatever his reason, that revelation is gone. 

The final rescue of Debbie was shot not in Monument Valley, but in Bronson Canyon, within L.A.’s Griffith Park, and it was a reshoot. We all remember Wayne lifting Natalie Wood in his arms, saying, “Debbie, let’s go home.” But presumably, what Ford originally shot was Wayne’s actual line from the script: “[softly] You sure favor your mother… ” Again, too on-the-nose? 

The Comanche captivity of Cynthia Ann Parker (mother of Cheyenne War Chief Quannah Parker) inspired LeMay to write the novel, which inspired Ford to make the film. But what inspired the changes to the romance? Writers and directors often live through their characters, as idealized versions of themselves. Certainly, Ford did. Wayne on-screen was how Ford wanted to see himself, and perhaps the film’s ending reveals that truth at its most poignant. Ethan Edwards acts heroically, in his often-unpleasant way, never speaking of his love for his brother’s wife. In the end, he walks away. On impulse, Wayne famously adopted the one-hand-holding-the-opposite-arm stance, which he’d borrowed from Harry Carey Sr., in tribute, before the door is closed on him by Harry’s widow, Olive Carey. 

Harry Carey Jr. wrote, “My mom [played] my screen mom, Mrs. Jorgensen. Ollie Carey and Jack Ford had known each other since she was 18 and he was 19, and they argued like hell when they were not on the set. Not mean arguing—funny.”  

Harry Sr. was more than a close friend to Ford, he was like a brother; directing Harry made Ford’s career. When Harry and Ollie were newlyweds, Ford lived with them in their house in Newhall, and the three friends were inseparable. 

Harry notes, of Olive and Ford, “I think they were always sort of in love.”  Perhaps that unrequited love was what moved Ford to make this film, and make those changes, as a way to say, “I love you,” to Olive.

About Henry C. Parke 

Henry’s new book, The Greatest Westerns Ever Made, and the People Who Made Them, was published by TwoDot in February. The Brooklyn-born, L.A.-based writer has contributed articles to the INSP blog since 2016, been Film Editor for True West since 2015 and has written Henry’s Western Round-up, the online report on Western film production, since 2010. His screenwriting credits include Speedtrap (1977) and Double Cross (1994). He’s the first writer welcomed into the Western Writers of America for his work in electronic media. He’s done audio commentary on over thirty Spaghetti and domestic Westerns.  

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