Natalie Wood only starred in original productions.
She was known for her screen roles in Miracle on 34th Street , Splendor in the Grass , Rebel Without a Cause , The Searchers , and West Side Story.
The Searchers is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision Western film directed by John Ford , based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May , set during the Texas -- Indian Wars , and starring John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece -LRB- Natalie Wood -RRB- , accompanied by his adoptive nephew -LRB- Jeffrey Hunter -RRB-.
The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name , which in turn was inspired by William Shakespeare 's play Romeo and Juliet.
