The film for Sunday, 3rd November will be John Ford’s “The Searchers” (1956). This is considered the greatest Western of all times, and one of the most influential movies the history of cinema. The plot is set in Texas, right after the American Civil War. It tells the story of a former confederate, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) and his nephew Martin (Jeffrey Hunter) in the search for Ethan’s niece, Debbie (Lana Woods), who has been abducted by the Comanches after raiding Edward brother’s ranch. The movie has been praised for the complexity of the main character, Ethan Edwards, for the highly charged atmosphere of violence, and for being a masterful reflection on the meaning of “identity”. The story is allegedly inspired by the kidnapping of a nine-year-old girl by Comanche warriors who raided her family’s home at Fort Parker, Texas, in 1836.
