Western Film Series: The Searchers (1956)

John Ford’s classic Western follows John Wayne as Ethan Edwards, a former Confederate soldier and a man of troubling morals after the Civil War, as he attempts to retrieve his niece, played by Natalie Wood, who has been abducted by Comanche Indians. Shot in brilliant Technicolor, this film is a complex adventure story that captures the savage beauty of its Monument Valley setting. It is widely considered Ford’s masterpiece, best enjoyed on our big screen adjacent to the Frank Reaugh exhibition.

This film runs 119 minutes in the Ransom Center’s Prothro Theater. The program is free and open to the public, but donations are welcome. Seating is first-come, first-served, and doors open at 2:30 p.m.