Grayeagle is a barely disguised reworking of John Ford's
The Searchers, with Ford stock company alumnus Ben Johnson essaying the John Wayne role, and Lana Wood playing a character not unlike the one portrayed by her sister
Natalie in the earlier film. The major difference is that
Grayeagle is told largely from the Indians' point of view. Johnson plays John Colter, who devotes his life to tracking down Cheyenne brave Grayeagle (Alex Cord), the kidnapper of his daughter Beth (Lana Wood). One of the new plot wrinkles is the revelation that Cheyenne Chief Running Wolf (Paul Fix), and not Colter, is Beth's real father, so who's rescuing whom from what? Other veteran performers participating in
Grayeagle are Jack Elam and Iron Eyes Cody, while producer-director-writer Charles Pierce also shows up in a small role.
