The Searchers

Sounds like a 50’s doo-wop group. But The Searchers is a classic John Wayne Western, which we TiVoed the other night.

I haven’t seen many Westerns, largely because of how silly the melodrama and stereotypes seem now — they’d be amusing if they weren’t so boring. This one is good, though, primarily because of what a wackjob Wayne’s character is. It also helps that the movie is told in such a hurry (it’s quite an epic to fit in under two hours), making Wayne seems that much more unpredictable. And all the more iconic that he truly does do the best John Wayne impression.

My favorite part, though, was the opening credits. After a dramatic orchestral swell announced the Duke, the film’s eponymous song abruptly starts, sung in three-part harmony by, presumably, cowboys. It’s awesome.

Cowboy doo-wop. Maybe it’s a good title for the film after all.