Ethan Edwards comes home to find out that his whole family has been killed, except his young niece who has been kidnapped by the Indians. Together with a friend, an Indian adopted by the family, he sets out to track down his niece. The Searchers is considered one of the best films ever made. At the end of the classic Western era, John Ford and John Wayne design a stubborn and flawed hero driven by blind obsession. Ford's use of open vistas, pacing, and Wayne's steady presence created a cinematic myth that inspired great directors, from Martin Scorsese to George Lucas.