Loving this thread. A couple years ago I was really into researching the various inspirations for Star Wars, sadly I’ve forgotten a lot of it. I did end up adding the Lensman series to my reading list but have yet to get around to it. Coincidentally, last night I think I might have stumbled something. I was browsing around Netflix when I came across High Noon and this image came up:
Lucas was definitely inspired by westerns. The Searchers, in particular, had a clear influence on both Star Wars and Attack of the Clones.