Since its release in 1956, John Ford's The Searchers has gone on to be considered one of the most important films in motion picture history and a benchmark in the Western genre. It is frequently heralded as one of the greatest films of ever made by critics with influential filmmakers, such as Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, echoing that sentiment. So it must have garnered several Academy Award nominations, right? Wrong. The Searchers received a grand total of zero nominations. None. Nothing. Not a sausage. The Searchers, widely regarded one of the best films ever made, didn't get so much as a token Best Costume Design nom. Looking at the film, there is a case to be made that it should have been nominated for about ten of the awards; John Ford almost certainly should have been nominated for Best Director; John Wayne's performance as Ethan Edwards was one of the best (and most complex) of his storied career and deserved a Best Actor nomination; and the film itself should have been a certain Best Picture winner. What makes it even more puzzling is that the entirely middle-of-the-road action-adventure epic Around The World In 80 Days took home the gold statue that year. Most of the films nominated for awards at the 29th Academy Awards have been long forgotten but The Searchers endures.
