John Wayne’s 1956 classic has the same story as the first western film of all time

The seekersa cinematic masterpiece directed by John Ford, is considered the epitome of the Western genre. However, the film’s underlying premise and its racist undertones stem from one thing influential Victorian production made half a century earlier. The seekers subsequently inspired many western films.

Kidnapping by IndiansProduced in 1899, the film is often referred to as the first western film. Kidnapping by Indians is not an American, but a British film, shot in Blackburn, England, in which a group of cowboys save a young girl from a Native American attack. Far from a realistic depiction of the American frontier, The seekers was called “just ridiculous” from a historian. However, it is whet the audience’s appetite for such stories.

John Wayne’s “The Searchers” follows the same basic premise as the Indian kidnapping

The premise uses a trope dramatized in the first western film

The seekers is considered a cinematic masterpiece and a cornerstone of the Western genre. Directed by John Ford and based on the novel by Alan Le May, the story follows Ethan Edwards, a grizzled former Confederate soldier, on a relentless quest to find him saves his niece from a Comanche tribe. Western icon John Wayne plays a troubled anti-hero. The film’s critical acclaim and commercial success cemented its status as one of the greatest Westerns of all time.

Its basic premise goes back to the true origins of the Western genre and an unfortunate metaphor. The first western film was a British film kidnapping by Indians, filmed in Blackburn, Lancashire. The plot revolves around a brutal Native American raid on a white settlement. The attackers set fire to the camp and kidnapped a young girl. A group of cowboys intervene and a shootout ensues. The captured girl is eventually rescued by the cowboys. The running time was less than two minutes. His themes reflected the preference for Wild West stories at the time.

Is “Abduction by Indians” really the first western film of all time?

Far from The Wild Frontier, an Indian kidnapping was filmed in Britain

While the idea of ​​a British-made film pioneering the Western genre may seem ludicrous, the origins of Kidnapping by Indians can be traced back to co-director James Kenyon’s youthful encounters with Americans. These interactions sparked his Fascination with the mythology of the Wild Westand coupled with the great public interest in such stories led to the creation of this early western film. The Blackburn production had a local cast. Overall, it’s far from the authentic American frontier it wanted to portray The seekers It is partly inspired by real life.

The fiction of this time is characterized by escapism and world-weariness…

After the American Civil War, large numbers of Blackburn cotton workers emigrated to America, attracted by the prospect of a new life. Her return to England was accompanied by Stories about the untamed frontierwhich arouses curiosity and adventure among the local population. The publication of Kidnapping by Indians in 1899 was part of a larger one Fin de Siecle Culture – The fiction of this time is characterized by escapism and world-weariness as well as decadence. The supposed exoticism of the film’s plot fits perfectly.

Other western films that follow the “kidnapping by Indians” story formula

The trope has persisted in films into this decade

The downright racist one Kidnapping by Indians The kidnapping trope influenced a number of film plots, some of which were surprisingly new. However, it wasn’t invented by the 1899 film – it has its roots in folk tales There was even a time before the printing press and is known as “Captivity Narrative” (TV Tropes). This makes the trope much more deeply rooted and consistent. The seekers, With its 1950s social mores, it was the ideal film to express the stereotype. Against a crooked sky (1975) also uses the trope.

The premise has been reworked in some more modern titles – for example in The missing thing (2003) Mexicans replace Native Americans as kidnappers. A recent example of the use of the original image is the film by Paul Greengrass news from the world, released in 2020. The film follows the journey of an aging Civil War veteran who is tasked with Return of a young girl who grew up in the Kiowa tribeto their only surviving relatives. The girl, torn between her birth family and her adoptive Kiowa family, faces the difficult prospect of leaving her only known home.

Source: TV Tropes