The two westerns John Wayne thought were “better” than ‘The Searchers’
While John Wayne finally won his long-awaited ‘Best Actor’ Academy Award for his performance in True Grit, many believe his prior effort in John Ford’s 1956 epic western film The Searchers, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, to be amongst his best movies.
A true masterpiece of American cinema, Wayne featured in one of his most prominent roles as the Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards, who is tasked with rescuing his niece, who has been kidnapped by Comanche Indians. Taking place in the stunning Monument Valley, The Searchers is a genuine feast for the eyes as well as possessing a gripping narrative all of its own.
Exploring the nature of racism, culture and the ways of the old West, The Searchers is indeed considered by many to be one of the greatest western movies of all time. Interestingly, though, Wayne believed he’d actually performed in better films, including one directed by Ford.
In Marc Eliot’s book American Titan: Searching for John Wayne, the author details a moment in which Wayne was asked whether The Searchers was the best movie that John Ford had ever made. However, ‘The Duke’ was reticent to admit to such a proposition and named two westerns he thought eclipsed Ford’s 1956 effort.
“No, I don’t,” Wayne said. “Two classic westerns were better – Stagecoach and Red River.” It was at that point, though, that Wayne also admitted that he thought The Searchers was perhaps better than many gave it credit for, adding, “The Searchers… deserved more praise than it got.”
Ford’s 1939 film Stagecoach managed to revitalise the western film genre and also maintain many of its classic tropes. It also featured Wayne’s breakout performance, which perhaps indicates why he holds it so close to his heart. Taking place on the American frontier, the film focuses on a group of very differing stagecoach passenger as they make their way through dangerous Apache territory.
Red River was directed by Howard Hawks and was released in 1948. Occurring in the aftermath of the Civil War, Wayne plays Tom Dunson, a man tasked with leading a cattle drive from Texas to Missouri along the titular long stretch of water. Hawks delivers a sweeping portrait of the American West with a narrative of ambition and loyalty.
While many believe The Searchers to be amongst Wayne’s best work – and are right in thinking so – The Duke himself thinks that by that point, he’d already given some of his most significant performances, ones that were only like eclipsed by his effort in 1969’s True Grit.
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