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1-Page Summary of The Search

Overview

After the end of the Civil War, Ethan Edwards returns home to his brother Aaron and his wife Martha and their children. They are visited by a reverend who asks for help in finding some cattle that have been stolen from another nearby ranch. The group goes out into the wilderness looking for these thieves, but they find it was an Indian tribe on a death raid.

When Ethan and Marty return home, they find Aaron, Martha and their son Ben have been killed. The daughters Debbie and Lucy are missing. They set out to kill the Comanches that kidnapped Debbie and Lucy. On the trail, Ethan finds Lucy has been killed. He buries her but continues on in search of Debbie with Marty by his side until he is sure she will be raised as one of them until she can have children like a true Comanche warrior would want for his daughter.

Two years later, Marty returns to the ranch and reunites with Laurie. He had been searching for Debbie for a year after she was taken by Native Americans. Ethan leaves without saying goodbye to Marty, but he goes to find Debbie because he received a letter that said someone saw her alive. Ethan kills Futterman when he tries to kill him and Marty.

Ethan and Marty continue on through the winter. They find Mose Harper, an old friend of theirs, in a bar in New Mexico. He tells them about Scar’s whereabouts, where they go to talk with him. Debbie is one of his wives now; she later comes to Ethan and Marty to tell them that she has become Comanche. Ethan wants to kill her but Marty won’t let him do it.

Ethan is hit by an arrow fired by a Comanche. He and Marty then fight the Comanche, but Ethan gets shot in the process. After they kill all of them, they return to find that Laurie has married Charlie McCorry. The next day, Marty goes into the camp and kills Scar after finding Debbie; he then returns to her family’s farm with Debbie safe and sound. Later on, everyone except Ethan goes inside while Ethan stays outside alone because he wants to live a rugged Western life like his father did before him.

Part 1

The movie takes place in the Wild West. A woman opens her door to see a man and his brother walking up from their house towards her. The three children also come out of the house followed by their dog.

Ethan greets the children, who are excited to see him. He picks up Debbie, who is actually Lucy’s younger sister. Ethan then goes into the kitchen and talks with Ben about his new girlfriend. Ben tells Ethan that he kisses her a lot, but everyone scolds him for it because she’s not his mother or father.

Marty arrives at the Edwards’ home for supper. He greets Ethan, but Ethan doesn’t recognize him and is angry that he’s there. Marty realizes that his family had been massacred by Indians when he was a child, so Ethan must have found him under some sage brush after the massacre.

Later, Marty sits outside on the porch. He goes inside to go to bed but is stopped by Ben who asks him about the war. Aaron insists that the war ended three years ago and Ethan tells Debbie that Lucy wears a locket he gave her when she was young but not much because it makes her neck green. Ethan takes out a bag and gives Debbie a medal.

When the kids go to bed, Ethan asks Aaron why the Todd place is abandoned. He tells him that Todd went back to chopping cotton and he’s welcome to stay as long as he wants. However, it seems like Aaron would rather have him leave. Ethan pulls out a pouch full of money and puts it in a compartment in his chair.

The next day, Sam Clayton and some other men arrive at the Edwards’ house. They tell the family that Lars Jorgensen’s best cows have been stolen. Clayton offers to induct Aaron and Marty into Company “A” of the Texas Rangers, who will go in search of the cattle. Ethan enters and greets Clayton, who notes that he hasn’t seen Ethan since “the surrender.” Ethan tells him not to believe in surrenders before telling Clayton that he himself will be going on this mission instead of Aaron.