Movie review - "The Searchers" (1956) ****1/2

David Shipman once wrote that all the things John Ford did, he did better in this film. And he's right - you've got John Wayne and his stock company, some comic relief that is actually funny, brilliant action sequences including that terrifying initial Indian attack, a real exploration of race and the question of civilisation, and that classic final shot of Wayne walking away. You've also got some good old fashioned Ford insensitivity (making fun of the fat Indian who is in love with Jeffrey Hunter - although the sting is taken out of this when she dies). You've also got two endings, something no one ever seems to bring up when they gush about the film. This has perhaps been over-praised - maybe you had to have seen it as kid when you were a baby boomer - but still an excellent film.