The Searchers Movie Ad – May 29, 1956

The Searchers Movie Poster

As I wrote this post on Sunday afternoon, one of John Wayne’s very best movies, The Searchers (1956) was coincidentally showing on the GRIT TV cable channel. It’s not only my favorite John Wayne movie, but probably my all-time favorite non-comedy movie – period.

It didn’t get shown on TV very often, or at all, while I was growing up. I’m not sure why.

Consequently, I didn’t see The Searchers until I was down at Ohio State. It had a special showing as part of a classic cinema series at an old movie house in Downtown Columbus. My roommate at that time, “Doc” (he was a medical student) – who was an even bigger John Wayne fan than me – drove us downtown to see it.

Ever since I saw it for the first time on that big screen, I’ve been a big fan.

John Wayne as Ethan Edwards

John Wayne’s role as Ethan Edwards is one of his darkest and grittiest performances. The movie is about his obsessive quest to track down the Comanches (led by a warrior chief named Scar) who murdered his brother and most of his family, and abducted his young niece (played as a grown-up later in the movie by Natalie Wood).

The main conflict of the movie is that the niece spends so much time as a prisoner with the Comanches that she grows up and becomes one of Scar’s wives. The viewer isn’t quite sure whether the Indian-hating Ethan Edwards is planning to kill her or save her – right up to the end of the movie.

There are several complex themes explored and hinted at in the movie – including racism and redemption – making it much more than a mere Western. It’s often considered director John Ford’s best.

All in all, it’s a terrific movie with a story that gets me a little teary-eyed at the end.

Here’s the classic film trailer.

Anyway, I couldn’t resist posting the Lorain Palace Theater movie ad announcing the showing of The Searchers. It appeared in the Lorain Journal on May 29, 1956.

(I like the little ad with Sylvester the Cat.)

Here’s another ad that appeared in the Journal a day later on May 30, 1956.

I’m sorry to see that the Warner Brothers cartoon that was shown at the Palace with The Searchers was a stinky Pepe Le Pew one (“Heaven Scent”). John Wayne should have at least rated one with Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam!