The Searchers: Hollywood and the Birth of the Anti-Hero?

The Reworking of an American Myth: The Western and the Anti-Hero

During the 1960s, the nature of Westerns presenting a mythicized interpretation of American history began to change. Previous ‘traditional westerns’ such as George Stevens’ ‘Shane’ (1953) or Howard Hawks’ ‘Rio Bravo’ provide traditional Western narratives, where good triumphing of evil is essential to the story. By 1964, this traditional and ‘innocent’ myth began to be reworked with the release of ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ an Italian (Spaghetti) Western directed by Sergio Leone. This picture saw the ‘birth of the anti-hero’ a character which, unlike those from previous Westerns, does not have a moral code, but instead is ambiguous in nature, switching alliances and sides of the law for (usually) financial gain. The clip below, from a ‘Fistful of Dollars’, highlights the birth of the anti-hero, a character who breaks the rules set out by Gene Autry’s ‘Cowboy Code’ in the first 10 minutes of the film.

From 1964 onwards, many American films began to incorporate the Anti-Hero figure. The anti-hero dominated Western movies, and began to influence the revisionism of the genre, seen in films such as Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (1992). Although, the anti-hero did not just dominate Westerns, the archetype was prominent in detective films such as Don Siegel’s ‘Dirty Harry’ and sci-fi films such as George Lucas’ Star Wars (1977) with the character of Han Solo, and in James Cameron’s Terminator (1984).    

1957: The Origins of the Anti-Hero

Many Film historians and critics such as Christopher Frayling, credit ‘Fistful of Dollars’ as being the film in which ‘gave birth’ to the anti-hero, although it is evident that the origins of the archetype began to develop much earlier. A prime example of these origins can be seen in John Ford’s 1956 classic, the Searchers starring John Wayne. John Wayne is noted for usually playing characters that have moral codes and who stand for what is right in the ‘uncivilized west’. Although, in the Searchers, Wayne’s character Ethan Edwards can be seen as an ‘anti-hero’. In Arthur Eckstein’s ‘Darkening Ethan: John Ford's "The Searchers" (1956) from Novel to Screenplay to Screen’, Eckstein describes Ethan Edwards as a ‘psychologically damaged’ and a ‘tragic figure’. Immediately, Eckstein shows that Wayne’s character is not the traditional, 'white-hat', western hero. Throughout the film, Ethan continuously makes racist remarks about American Indians and commits atrocities such as scalping scar.

  John Wayne “I Don’t Shoot Anyone in the Back”:

In the Searchers Ethan and Martin’s camp is ambushed by Futterman, who is subsequently shot, in the back, by Ethan. This section of the film, shows how Wayne's character can be seen as an anti-hero, who will stop at nothing to protect his interests. Although Futterman did shoot at Martin first (which is conforming to the rules set out by Autry), shooting a man in the back, can be seen as straying from the ‘cowboy code’. Considering Wayne in Don Siegel’s 1976 production, ‘The Shootist, was against shooting a man in the back, the question, ‘why was it acceptable in the Searchers’ remains important. Eckstein believes the answer to this question lies in the ‘dominance’ of John Ford’s direction and vision and how, stories like the searchers needed to be given ‘serious weight’.

On a Side Note…Catchphrases: ‘Quick Drawing, Fast Talking’ Anti-heroes:

Furthermore, Anti-heroes are known for their catchphrases. In the 'Dirty Harry' movies, Callahan is known for asking ‘punks’ to ‘make his day’, in 'Star Wars', Han Solo doesn’t like to ‘know the odds’, and in 'The Last Crusade', Indiana Jones believes it 'belongs in a museum'. Despite catchphrases being prominent in many films, the characteristic can be seen to have originated with Ethan Edwards in the Searchers, who must enjoy Buddy Holly’s 1957 classic ‘That’ll Be the Day’.

Bibliography

Primary Sources:

A Fistful of Dollars, DVD/Blu Ray, Dir: Sergio Leone. 1964, Metro Goldwyn-Mayer studious, 2010.             

Shane. DVD. DIR: George Stevens.1953, Paramount Home Entertainment, 2003.

Star Wars (A New Hope), DVD. Dir: George Lucas. 1977, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2015.

The Searchers, DVD, Dir: John Ford. 1957, Warner Home Video, 2006.

Terminator, DVD. Dir: James Cameron. 1984, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2009.

The Last Crusade, DVD. Dir: Steven Spielberg. 1989, Paramount Home Entertainment, 2008.

The Shootist, DVD, Dir: Don Siegel. 1976, Paramount Home Entertainment, 2005.
Unforgiven, DVD, Dir: Clint Eastwood. 1992, Warner Home Video, 1998.  

Secondary Sources:

Eckstein, Arthur M. “Darkening Ethan: John Ford's "The Searchers" (1956) from Novel to Screenplay to Screen”. Cinema Journal, Vol. 38, No. 1 (1998) 3-24
Frayling Christopher. Spaghetti Western: Cowboys and Europeans from Karl May to Sergio Leone. London: LB Tauris and co LTD, 1998.