"The Searchers," One Of The Best Films Ever

If you are a person to scoff at movies of the "Western" genre, please do not do so with this movie. This is a typical Western with cowboys and Indians, but it isn't a typical Western with just cowboys and Indians. The story is much deeper and it was directed by prominent American director John Ford, the son of Irish immigrants to the United States. Ford directed many movies, and two other great ones were "Stagecoach" and "The Grapes of Wrath," which was adapted to the screen from John Steinbeck's famous novel. John Ford also had much to do with putting actor John Wayne into the public mind, and keeping him there. For those unaware, Wayne was a super box office draw for decades, even in the last few years of his life. From various interviews and stories I've read about John Wayne and John Ford, it seems it was Ford who got Wayne to walk with that swagger he became known for. Wayne also eventually became the main spokesperson and symbol for the Republican political side of the acting profession, which also included James Stewart, Fred MacMurray, Maureen O'Hara and a number of others, although being a Republican in those days was not the same as being a Republican today, since there were actually liberal Republicans back then, and conservative, even downright reactionary, Democrats too. John Ford had been a big supporter of Franklin Roosevelt, although he also later supported Richard Nixon, but Nixon was no Ted Cruz, either. I'm uncertain about Ford's political affiliation, but he could have been a Democrat or a liberal to moderate Republican.

"The Searchers" was released in 1956 and I don't believe I saw it at the theaters back then, although my father, or sometimes my older brother, took me to see movies in those days, especially Westerns, which were very common and popular. I remember first seeing the movie on television back in the 1960s, but I'm uncertain of the year, and thus I also don't recall if I saw it in color, as black and white televisions were very common in the 1960s, and indeed, most regular television shows were still filmed in black and white until 1965 and 1966.

The movie is set a couple of years after the end of the Civil War and it involves Ethan Edwards, a bitter and unrepentant returning Confederate soldier, played by John Wayne. Shortly after his return to his brother's home, Indians attack the home when Ethan and Martin Pawley, played by Jeffrey Hunter, are away with other ranchers who have gone looking for some cattle thought to have been taken by Comanches. Pawley had been raised by Ethan's brother and his wife after the boy's parents had been killed in an Indian attack several years before. The two Edwards' girls, one essentially in her mid teens and one younger, are missing from the smoking ruins of the Edwards' farm, and Ethan and Martin set out to find them; thus they become, "The Searchers."

The picture deals with racism as the Americans view the Comanches as about as low a life form as one can go. Even the "good" characters are tainted by it, as Laurie, played by Vera Miles, says the girls should be killed, if they are found, because of their having lived with the Comanches. The main "hater" is Ethan, and the sad thing is, the ideas represented in a film from the mid 1950s could still be put into a film today, with some prominent Republicans in the real life Ethan role, and with the target being black or Latino Americans, instead of Comanches. When the head of the local rangers asks Ethan to swear an oath of loyalty so he can deputize him, Ethan refuses, saying he already took an oath to the Confederate States of America. Of course, a little fact like there was no entity called the Confederate States of America after the Civil War didn't trouble old Ethan any, he was going to stay the course. Do you see some parallels to some Republicans today? And Democrats should cringe too, because when "The Searchers" was released, people like Ethan were largely in the DEMOCRATIC PARTY, but at least Democrats changed, ceding many of their racists and haters to another political party, the  .... well you know.

Ethan and his type are trying to stop change, including change that involves accepting people who are different from themselves. Ethan has contempt for his "adoptive" nephew, Martin, because he is part Cherokee. Ethan's bitterness and anger are so intense, he is bound and determined to kill his niece if he finds her, because, "she's been sleeping with a buck," a "Comanch," as he angrily and contemptibly calls the Comanches. Of course, the Comanches too were trying to halt change, to keep change from sweeping them and their way of life away, so they share a sort of common thread with the Ethans of the world, but the exact goals are competing, not common to the two sides.           

The picture is absolutely stunning in its breathtaking scenery. In my opinion, John Wayne should have gotten an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Ethan, while although the film certainly has some of his Wayne persona, the character of Ethan is much deeper than Wayne's usual tough guy mannerisms and his no holds barred flag waving. If you haven't seen this film, I hope you'll watch it. It is on many lists as not only one of the greatest Westerns ever made, but also as one of the greatest films ever made.

Picture is from Warner Home Video, 50th Anniversary Edition

WORD HISTORY: 
Search-This word, closely related to both "circle" and "circus," goes back to Indo European "sker," which had the notion of "curve, bend." This gave Ancient Greek "kirkos," which meant "circle," and it was borrowed by Latin as "circus," which meant "circle." This produced the verb "circare," which literally meant, "to go around in a circle," but the actual meaning of which was "go about, travel about." This gave Old French, a Latin-based language, "cerchier," which meant "travel about looking for something." The word was taken to England by the Normans where it became "sercher," and it was borrowed into English in the early 1300s as "serchen," before it assumed its modern form. The noun "searcher" was derived from the verb seemingly a bit later in the 1300s. 

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Television Series

Way back in the fall of 1968 I was poised to watch a new season of one of my favorite television shows, "Get Smart." For the 1968-69 NBC season "Get Smart" aired a half hour earlier than the previous season, when it was shown at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday evenings. Filling in that time slot was a new show, "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." The show starred former Academy Award nominee Hope Lange as Mrs. Muir, Irish born Edward Mulhare as the ghost of Sea Captain Daniel Gregg, and Charles Nelson Reilly as Claymore Gregg, the town clerk and a descendant of the Captain.

The show was loosely based on the movie of the same title from 1947 starring Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney. The television series differs from the movie in that even Mrs. Muir's first name was changed for television, becoming "Carolyn" instead of "Lucy." Further, Mrs. Muir had two children in the television series, Candy (played by Kellie Flanagan) and Jonathan (played by Harlen Carraher), while the Mrs. Muir of the film had only a daughter. Both versions had Mrs. Muir with a housekeeper (played by Reta Shaw in the television series), but Captain Gregg's descendant, Claymore Gregg, played by Charles Nelson Reilly, was a totally new character added for the television show. By the way, it was this show which gave Charles Nelson Reilly's acting profile a national forum. This led to appearances on "The Hollywood Squares," and then essentially to a permanent role on "The Match Game." He later lamented his becoming so involved with television game shows, as he felt it badly damaged his acting career.   

The basic story of the television series was that Mrs. Muir, her children and their housekeeper move into a Maine cottage (another difference with the film version, which is set in England), which is haunted by its long deceased owner, Captain Gregg. The thing is, the house is more than haunted by the Captain, he still controls it, and he has it set up as something of a ship, complete with a ship's wheel and telescope. The house is filled with memorabilia obtained by the Captain from various parts of the world during his career, although some things are in bad condition from age. The Captain maintains his lonely control of his "ship" for the one hundred years he has been dead, until his descendant, Claymore, whom the Captain despises, rents the place to Mrs. Muir. Then the fun starts, as only Mrs. Muir and her son, plus the family dog, "Scruffy," can see and hear the Captain, unless he wills it otherwise. When he allows Claymore to see and hear him, the man is so terrified, he usually faints. Besides the fear of his deceased relative, Claymore is also a moneygrubbing businessman, who finds any chance to make or save money an idea much to his liking. In one episode, the basics of which are still in my mind to this day, Claymore thinks he is about to die, so he goes to the undertaker and wants to plan his own funeral, with no expense being too great. When the undertaker tells him the price and lists the things included, like the casket, the hearse, the car for the family, and the digging and closing of the grave, Claymore's desire to save money overtakes his own funeral plans, as he keeps scaling back on his "spare no costs" funeral. Again, Charles Nelson Reilly was just hilarious in the role of Claymore.

The various episodes depict the struggle humans have between the past and the present, and thus the direction to be taken into the future. The Captain and Mrs. Muir have serious disagreements, but in the end they reach compromises, as he comes to realize that the world has changed since his demise, and she recognizes some of the values of the past, and especially how some things are cherished by the Captain. Mrs. Muir even uses the Captain's language of "blast" when she gets upset, a very unlady-like word in the Captain's day, but he comes to accept the change. The two main characters carry on a sort of courtship, as the Captain is quite taken with Mrs. Muir, and he will not allow Claymore or anyone else to do anything to harm or swindle her. Mrs. Muir finds the Captain as handsome and gallant, although his stubbornness also brings the two into verbal conflict. The show was absolutely adorable, funny and warm. I have very fond memories of this show.

Hope Lange twice won Emmy Awards for "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," but NBC canceled the show after just one season, as it was in competition with two top 30 shows, "My Three Sons," and "The Lawrence Welk Show." It was picked up, however, by ABC for the 1969-70 season, before that network too canceled it. It was a very enjoyable show for me and even after all of these years, I still remember bits and pieces of some of the episodes. Plus, the show had a catchy theme song.

The series is available on no frills DVDs, minus seven episodes, although I'm not quite sure why they are missing (one from season one and six from season two). These are actually DVD-Rs, available from Amazon on a manufacture on demand basis.

This photo is from season two, but all the fronts of the DVD cases are the same, except for the season and disc numbers. The backs list the episodes.

WORD HISTORY:
Haunt-This word is closely related to "home," a word from the Germanic roots of English. The ultimate origin of "haunt" is unclear, although some have suggested various forms from Indo European, none of which completely convinces me, but Old Germanic had "haimaz," which had the meaning "dwelling, settled place, village." This produced the derived verb "haimatjanan," meaning "to house, to bring into the home." This gave Old Norse, a Germanic language that was the forerunner of the modern languages of the North Germanic branch, the form "heimta," with the same "bring into the home" meaning. Norse raiders, called Normans in Old French (a contracted form for "Northmen"), brought the word to Old French, which pronounced and spelled it "hanter," with the meaning "to frequent a home." English borrowed the word in the 1200s as "haunten," with the meaning "to live in a home, to do by habit." The idea of a "spirit returning to its former home" may have already been present when Shakespeare added emphasis to this meaning in some of his writings in the late 1500s.The noun form was simply derived from the verb.