Tag: The Searchers
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Yellowstone Enthusiasts Aflame with Excitement for Taylor Sheridan’s 1954-Inspired Western Starring Wayne
Directed by John Ford, and starring John Wayne, The Searchers is considered one of the greatest Westerns of all-time. The 1954 movie stars Wayne as Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards, obsessively searching for his missing niece, who was abducted by a Native American tribe years previous. That movie was loosely based on a true story,…
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John Wayne’s Co-Star’s Audacious Act: The Secret Stir Behind ‘The Searchers’
The Searchers was shot in Ford’s favoured Monument Valley, part of the Navajo territory on the Arizona/Utah state line, where temperatures during filming could reach heights of 49°C (120°F). Among the actors was Gone with the Wind and It’s a Wonderful Life’s Ward Bond, who played Reverend Captain Clayton in the Western. He was a…
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Beyond the Horizon: The Enigmatic Tale of ‘The Searchers’ and John Wayne’s Redemption
Despite the best efforts of Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner and a handful of other Hollywood directors and stars, the Western is largely a forgotten genre in these morally tangled times, its narrative simplicity and black-and-white verities elbowed aside by 150 shades of gray. Yet the taming of the frontier, even as portrayed in the Western,…
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What Specific Element or Scene from a 1956 John Wayne Film Resonated with Guillermo del Toro and Stood Out as His Favorite?
With three Academy Awards and a remarkable filmography, Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has successfully established himself as one of the best horror filmmakers of all time. His distinctive horror and fantasy films are a result of his fascination with monsters. His 2001 movie, The Devil’s Backbone, received positive reviews and performed decently at the…
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How Did John Wayne Describe the Movie, and Why Did He Compare It to “Alcoholic Orgies”?
In the dusty world of the films of the old west, there’s one leading man who possesses the sheer prowess to dominate all those who would come to take his mantle: the towering and inimitable John Wayne. With some of the most memorable star performances Hollywood has ever known, Wayne is a true icon of…
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Beyond the Cowboy Image: John Wayne’s Hidden Desire for a Bold Career Transformation
Movie star John Wayne became closely intertwined with Westerns over the course of his career. He also dug into the war genre, but he was deeply associated with the image of a tough cowboy. Wayne once admitted that he felt “ashamed” of starring in Westerns and wanted to make a big career change. He desired…
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Scandalous Beginnings: John Wayne’s Start in ‘The Big Trail’ and the Shocking Label of ‘Alcoholic Orgies’
In the dusty world of the films of the old west, there’s one leading man who possesses the sheer prowess to dominate all those who would come to take his mantle: the towering and inimitable John Wayne. With some of the most memorable star performances Hollywood has ever known, Wayne is a true icon of…
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John Wayne’s Alleged Daughter in ‘The Searchers’ Fan Theory
The Searchers is often regarded as one of the greatest westerns of all time, proving to be an essential film within the partnership between director John Ford and John Wayne. While Wayne and Ford essentially reinvented the modern Western genre with the work on the 1939 classic Stagecoach, The Searchers was a much more ambitious…
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John Wayne’s Rare Western Christmas Tale in ‘Three Godfathers’
It’s either the fact that he played a gruff, straight-talking sheriff in almost every film or the fact that each of his western outings seems to take place in the baking hot sun, but John Wayne really doesn’t seem a fan of Christmas. It’s just very difficult to see Ethan Edwards of The Searchers or…
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A Western with Anti-War Resonance: ‘The Outlaw Josey Wales’ Echoes the Legacy of John Ford’s ‘The Searchers’
In the history of Hollywood, no figure was quite as reflective of their image, star persona, and stature in the industry as Clint Eastwood. While he is a tried and true action movie star, frequently playing gun-toting outlaws who defy the orders of society, Eastwood has aspired to deconstruct the archetypes of cops and cowboys…