Which 1956 Western features Ethan Edwards searching for his kidnapped niece?

The Searchers is the 1956 Western in which Ethan Edwards searches for his kidnapped niece.

Directed by John Ford, the film stars John Wayne as Ethan, a former Confederate soldier who returns to Texas after years away. When Comanche raiders attack his brother’s homestead, Ethan’s niece Debbie is abducted. Ethan and his adopted nephew Martin Pawley then spend years pursuing the captors across the frontier.

The film was adapted from Alan Le May’s 1954 novel and set during the Texas–Indian Wars. Natalie Wood plays Debbie, while Jeffrey Hunter plays Martin. Filmed in VistaVision and Eastmancolor, the movie is especially known for Monument Valley landscapes and Ford’s dramatic use of doorways and wide vistas.

The title can mislead viewers into expecting a conventional rescue adventure. Ethan’s racial hatred and obsessive pursuit make the story morally complicated, and the film’s ending leaves his place in the community deliberately uneasy. That complexity is why The Searchers is often discussed as more than a standard Western.