Appreciation for THE SEARCHERS
 

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I was expecting to hear Georgy Girl.

(sigh) I wish Romy would return & talk about old movies.

The Searchers is not a favorite John Ford film of mine. It's his Vertigo -- a deliberately-paced film focused on pathology (why are critics obsessed with pathology??). Not a good time.

As far as Westerns go, my favorite of his is Wagon Master. Hurricane was on TCM last night -- a delirious valentine. John Ford had great taste in men -- he's our Visconti. Remember the brothers washing coal dust off their skin in How Green Was My Valley? John Ford showed how that spectacle -- that sensual memory -- helped forge a sensibility, an approach to life evidenced in better, compassionate/complex, films (Sun Shines Bright! Judge Priest! Sergeant Rutledge!) than The Searchers.

when I ride off into the desert my black hat never stays quite so spiffy looking...

Oh...the film. And here I was, expecting a discourse on the songs "Sweets For My Sweet", "Sugar & Spice", "Needles & Pins", "When You Walk In The Room", and a nearly chart topping cover of "Love Potion #9".

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