This is one of those epic John Ford westerns that everyone talks about. It lives up to the hype.Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) finally returns home from the Civil War to his brother's place. He's not there long, however, before everyone except himself and the adopted son, Martin (Jeffrey Hunter), is murdered by raiding Comanches. The two daughters, Lucy (Pippa Scott) and Debbie (Lana Wood), have been carried off. Ethan and Martin set off to track down the Indians, leaving everything and everyone else behind. Five long years later, they finally locate Debbie (Natalie Woods). But has she gone too native to be rescued?
I was a little surprised by how much this reminded me of The Lone Ranger what with the brother's returning home, the clear attraction to the other man's wife, and the quest for vengeance. John Wayne's Ethan is damn near unlikeable, however. This is a hard man, used to tragedy, with a stubborn streak about a mile wide. He treats Martin like crap for the entire film, using him as bait at one point, despite his strong paternal feelings. If there hadn't been breaks for the other characters, I think Ethan would have eroded all the audience's goodwill. As it is, the movie zips along its two-hour running time, deftly handled by a true master director.
I probably wouldn't buy it but it's definitely worth watching.
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