While legendary Hollywood director John Ford received four Oscars for his directing, arguably his best movie didn’t receive a single Academy Award nomination. Not even John Wayne garnered so much as a nod of recognition from his fellow Academy members for his performance in The Searchers, which later came to define his career.
As one of the most celebrated directors of all time, John Ford certainly had his fair share of wins and nominations, both for Best Director and Best Picture. In 1941, he notably won both with How Green Was My Valley, which starred Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O’Hara. With frequent collaborator John Wayne as his leading actor, Ford only had two films earn nominations in either category, Stagecoach and The Quiet Man. Surprisingly, the best movie they made together didn’t even manage to achieve that.
The Searchers Deserved Oscar Nominations In Most Of The Major Categories
Ford, Wayne And Others Should Have Been Nominated
The Searchers is now widely regarded as the greatest American Western movie ever made. At the time of its release in 1956, however, it garnered mostly positive but unexceptional reviews from critics, before being completely overlooked when Oscar nominations were another eight months later. By the time he made the movie – his 122nd, and one of the few that he dedicated his entire production schedule to – Ford had already had his due from the Academy. Wayne would finally win his Oscar for True Grit 13 years later. But this award was too little and too late to right the wrongs done to The Searchers.
The movie ought to have been seen as the crowning achievement of Ford and Wayne’s collaboration. The scope of its panoramic shots made the big screen look like a painting canvas, and its composition of characters and objects in view of the camera is a masterclass of cinematography still referenced by other directors today. Indeed, everyone from David Lean to Steven Spielberg have worshipped at the altar of The Searchers, going back to it before attempting some of their most important cinematic works.
Ford and Winton C. Hoch should have won Oscars for their direction and cinematography, respectively. The fact that neither were even nominated is one of the most shocking Oscars oversights of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Meanwhile, Wayne gave a towering performance as Civil War veteran and rancher Ethan Edwards, which cemented his persona as a gruff and hard-headed hero of the Western genre. Vera Miles also gives a career-best performance as the stoic farmer’s daughter Laurie Jorgensen. Both she and the Duke should have been rewarded with nominations by the Academy. So should all-time great soundtrack composer Max Steiner for his blistering musical score, which went on to influence Ennio Morricone, among others.
Why The Searches Wasn’t Nominated By The Academy
It Was With The Wrong Studio At The Wrong Time
Unfortunately for The Searchers, it fell victim to internal Academy politics. It was the first movie to be funded by upstart business executive C. V. Whitney’s production company. As such, although it was distributed by Warner Bros., it didn’t get a look-in when the awards season horse-trading commenced. What’s more, it was likely felt at the time that John Ford had already had his day in the sun, after winning his fourth Best Director Oscar for The Quiet Man, which starred Wayne alongside Maureen O’Hara, in 1953.
There’s also the matter of the stiff competition it faced at the time. 1956 saw a number of worthy contenders across multiple categories that earned a significant degree of Oscar buzz. The Searchers was admittedly up against several movies now considered some of the best of the entire decade, including The Ten Commandments, The King and I, Richard III, and Giant, not to mention the film that ultimately did take home the Best Picture award, Around the World in 80 Days. While some may see The Searchers as the superior film in at least some areas, critics apparently felt otherwise.