The Searchers remains a rich source for pop culture inspiration and references. Buddy Holly got things rocking when he and Jerry Allison wrote a hit song based on John Wayne's frequent quote, "That'll be the Day," after they saw the film at a Lubbock, Texas movie theater. The song, first recorded in July 1956 by Buddy Holly and the Crickets, became an international hit the next year.

In his book Cult Movies, Danny Peary suggests that the famous ending in The Searchers bears a striking resemblance to the ending of Call Northside 777 (1948), directed by John Ford's friend, Henry Hathaway. In that film, reporter James Stewart reunites a former prisoner (Richard Conte) with his family. After working so closely with the family in his efforts to find justice for the accused, Stewart decides to stand back and observe the homecoming. The camera pans away from the group to find Stewart standing by himself, seemingly forgotten and looking rejected.

Producer Merian C. Cooper had formed Argosy Pictures with John Ford in 1947, under which The Searchers was filmed. Cooper made movie history in 1933 when he produced a "minor" film called King Kong (1933).

The Searchers has served as inspiration for a myriad of different films, like Dirty Harry (1971), Ulzana's Raid (1972), The Wind and the Lion (1975), Dillinger (1973), and Once Upon a Time in the West (1969), which borrows the Monument Valley locale and depicts a similar family massacre at the outset. Taxi Driver (1976) and Hardcore (1979), both written by Paul Schrader, are heavily indebted to The Searchers, particularly the idea of rescuing an innocent from the clutches of evil men. Star Wars (1977) brings to mind Ethan's discovery of his brother's burning home when Luke Skywalker returns to find his aunt and uncle slaughtered by Imperial Stormtroopers. Martin Scorsese had Harvey Keitel and Zina Bethune discuss The Searchers at length in Who's That Knocking at My Door? (1967), and the director used a clip from The Searchers in his 1973 Mean Streets. (However, the clip does not feature John Wayne, who refused to appear in an R-rated move.)

Jean-Luc Godard included a reference to The Searchers in his 1967 movie Weekend, but the allusion got lost in the French-to-English translation. The subtitler thought La Prisonnire du DŽsert, the French title of The Searchers, was the title for something called Prisoner of the Desert.

By Scott McGee