Filmed in 1956, The Searchers is considered by many not only as one of the best westerns, but also as one of the best movies of all times. To the impressive output of John Ford, John Wayne (maybe on his best work as an actor), Winton C. Hoch (photography), etc, we must add, of course, Max Steiner's, the composer of the film. Ford, whom with Steiner had already worked on the RKO in The Lost Patrol (1934) and The Informer (1935), with very brilliant results, decided to work again with him, this time for Warner Bros, and in one of his more emblematic movies. This starts with a very tragic measures which place us, clearly, in an indian context, to make room for the song which gives its title to the film, composed by Stan Jones, who also had worked previously many times with Ford -the most remembered, Rio Grande (1950)-; it will be this song's melody the central core of the score, as well the song Lorena, a very famous one on the times of the American Civil War. Although this may seems like a demerit for Steiner, that is not because the adaptation and use of the two themes across the film is extraordinary, fitting them to his peculiar style in a way that they look like original compositions. But besides this adaptations there is, of course, Steiner's original music which we may divide on three blocks: the Martin Pawley theme (which will become the love theme of the film), the one of the indian woman which he marries by mistake, one of his most lyrical, and finally a block of music to represent the indian Scar and all the action scenes. Very interesting this last block because Steiner takes back music that he composed for the character of Crazy Horse in They Died With Their Boots On (1941), doing countless variations of it. The score has memorable moments, between them the arrivals of John Wayne at the ranch, both at the beginning and at the end of the movie, and the heartbreaking conclusion on which all the characters goes inside the house except Wayne's, whom will disappear in a landscape ruled by the wind as the legend told by the character itself: shooting between the eyes to a dead indian, he will never find the paradise, wandering among the winds. A.M.

/ SCREEN ARCHIVES FMA/MS101 / 66'