As part of the current John Wayne Film Festival, the second film of the series to be screened Wednesday, Sept. 27 at the Historic USO building, is one of the “Duke’s” and director John Ford’s darkest films. In this revered Western, Wayne’s character returns home to Texas after the Civil War. When members of his brother’s family are killed or abducted by Comanches, he vows to track down his surviving relatives and bring them home.
Eventually, our hero gets word that his niece Debbie (played by Natalie Wood) is alive, and, along with her adopted brother, (Jeffrey Hunter), he embarks on a dangerous mission to find her, journeying deep into Comanche territory.
Held in esteem as Wayne’s finest performance, this 1956 epic is considered by many to be a true American masterpiece of filmmaking, and the best, most influential, and perhaps most-admired film of four-time Oscar-winning director John Ford’s catalogue of epics. It was the famed director’s 115th feature film.
A major theme of the film is the historical attitude of white settlers toward Native Americans. At the heart of this film is Wayne’s performance as the angry, vengeful Ethan Edwards. From the beginning of his quest, he is quite clearly less interested in rescuing Debbie than in wreaking vengeance on the Comanches for the slaughter of his brother’s family.
In a 1964 interview with Cosmopolitan, director John Ford said, “There’s some merit to the charge that the Indian hasn’t been portrayed accurately or fairly in the Western, but again, this charge has been a broad generalization and often unfair. The Indian didn’t welcome the white man… and he wasn’t diplomatic… If he has been treated unfairly by whites in films, that, unfortunately, was often the case in real life. There was much racial prejudice in the West.” The film has been the subject of controversy for decades.
Photographed with VistaVision cameras, this acclaimed western is visually stunning in its depth and clarity. Viewers are to be warned: there are some shocking moments in this gritty drama. For film title, please visit the Events Board located at the front door of Historic USO Building.The HSUMD Snack Bar will open up at 6:30 p.m., and the film will screen at about 7:15 p.m. Admission is, as always, by donation, only. The Book Shop will be open for guests to browse the new selection of See’s Candies.