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''True Grit'' is a 1969 American
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
film directed by
Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven films. Backgro ...
, starring
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
as
U.S. Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...
Rooster Cogburn,
Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...
as La Boeuf and
Kim Darby Kim Darby (born Deborah Zerby; July 8, 1947) is an American actress best known for her role as Mattie Ross in the film ''True Grit'' (1969). Early life and film career Darby was born Deborah Zerby in Los Angeles, the daughter of professional da ...
as Mattie Ross. It is the first film adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Marguerite Roberts. Wayne won his only
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
for his performance in the film and reprised his role for the 1975 sequel ''Rooster Cogburn''. Historians believe Cogburn was based on Deputy U.S. Marshal
Heck Thomas Andrew "Heck" Thomas (January 3, 1850 – August 14, 1912) was a lawman on the American frontier, most notably in Indian Territory. He was known for helping bring law and order to the region. In 1889 as a deputy in Fort Smith, Arkansas, he trie ...
, who brought in some of the toughest outlaws. The cast also features
Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
,
Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...
,
Jeff Corey Jeff Corey (born Arthur Zwerling; August 10, 1914 – August 16, 2002) was an American stage and screen actor who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted in the 1950s. Life and career Corey attended New Utrecht High ...
and
Strother Martin Strother Douglas Martin Jr. (March 26, 1919 – August 1, 1980) was an American character actor who often appeared in support of John Wayne and Paul Newman and in Western films directed by John Ford and Sam Peckinpah. Among Martin's memorable pe ...
. The title song, sung by Campbell, was also Oscar-nominated. ''True Grit'' was adapted again in 2010, starring
Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent a ...
,
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...
,
Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Hailee Steinfeld, various accolades, including a Peabody Award, and nominations for an Academy Award ...
, and
Josh Brolin Joshua James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''The Goonies'' (1985), ''Mimic'' (1997), ''Hollow Man'' (2000), ''Grindhouse'' (2007), ''No Country for Old Men'' (2007), '' American Gangste ...
.


Plot

In 1880, Frank Ross, of
Yell County, Arkansas Yell County is a county in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,263. The county has two county seats, Dardanelle and Danville. Yell County is Arkansas's 42nd county, formed on December 5, 1840, from porti ...
, is murdered and robbed by his hired hand, Tom Chaney. Ross's young daughter, Mattie, travels to Fort Smith, where she hires aging U.S. Marshal Reuben "Rooster" J. Cogburn to apprehend Chaney. Mattie has heard that Cogburn has "true grit". Mattie earns the money to pay his fee by shrewdly horse trading. She gives Cogburn a payment to track and capture Chaney, who has taken up with outlaw "Lucky" Ned Pepper in
Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
(modern-day
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
). A young Texas Ranger, La Boeuf, is also pursuing Chaney and joins forces with Cogburn, despite Mattie's protest. The two try, unsuccessfully, to ditch Mattie. After several days, the three discover horse thieves Emmett Quincy and Moon, who are waiting for Pepper at a remote dugout cabin. Cogburn captures and interrogates the two men. Moon is shot in the leg during the capture, and Cogburn uses the injury as leverage for information about Pepper. Quincy slams a Bowie knife down on Moon's hand to shut him up, severing four of his fingers, then stabs Moon in the chest. Cogburn shoots and kills Quincy. Before he dies, Moon reveals Pepper and his gang are due at the cabin that night for fresh mounts. Rooster and La Boeuf lay a trap. Upon arriving, Pepper is suspicious and draws La Boeuf's fire, who ruins their planned ambush by shooting and killing Pepper's horse. A firefight ensues, during which Cogburn and La Boeuf kill two of the gang, but Pepper and the rest of his men escape unharmed. Cogburn, La Boeuf, and Mattie make their way to McAlester's store with the dead bodies. Cogburn tries, unsuccessfully, to persuade Mattie to stay at McAlester's. The two lawmen and Mattie resume their pursuit. Fetching water one morning, Mattie finds herself face-to-face with Chaney. She shoots Chaney with her father's
gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...
, injuring him, and then calling out to her partners. Chaney lunges at Mattie who attempts to fire again, but her gun misfires and she is taken hostage by Chaney. Pepper and his gang arrive, Pepper takes charge of Mattie and threatens to kill her if Cogburn and La Boeuf don't ride away. Pepper leaves Mattie with Chaney, instructing him not to harm her. Mattie is convinced Rooster has abandoned her. Cogburn and La Boeuf double back. La Boeuf finds and takes charge of Mattie, and they watch from a high bluff as Cogburn confronts Pepper and his gang of three. Cogburn gives Pepper a choice between being killed now, or surrendering and being hanged in Fort Smith. Calling this "bold talk for a one-eyed fat man" (Cogburn wears an eye patch), Pepper enrages Cogburn, who delivers one of cinema's classic lines: ''"Fill your hand, you son-of-a-bitch!"'' Cogburn charges the four outlaws, guns blazing. In the initial head-on charge, Cogburn hits Ned in the chest above the heart. Cogburn eventually kills the Parmalee brothers, with "Dirty Bob" fleeing. The severely wounded Ned has enough strength to shoot Rooster's horse, trapping Rooster's leg under him as Bo goes down. As a last act, the mortally wounded Pepper prepares to kill Rooster, but La Boeuf makes a long shot with his
Sharps rifle Sharps rifles are a series of large-bore, single-shot, falling-block, breech-loading rifles, beginning with a design by Christian Sharps in 1848 and ceasing production in 1881. They were renowned for long-range accuracy. By 1874 the rifle wa ...
, killing Ned. As La Boeuf and Mattie return to Pepper's camp, Chaney comes out from behind a tree and strikes La Boeuf in the head with a rock, knocking him unconscious. Mattie shoots Chaney again, but the gun's
recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force requ ...
knocks her back into a snake pit. Her arm is broken in the fall and she is caught in a hole, drawing the attention of a rattlesnake. Cogburn appears and shoots Chaney, who falls backwards into the pit, dead. Cogburn lowers himself down into the pit on a rope to retrieve Mattie, who is bitten by the snake before Cogburn shoots and kills it. La Boeuf helps them out of the pit before dying. Cogburn is forced to leave La Boeuf's body behind as he and Mattie race to get help on Mattie's pony, which drops from exhaustion, forcing Cogburn to commandeer a wagon to get Mattie to a doctor he knows in the territory. Sometime later, Mattie's attorney, J. Noble Daggett, (
John Fiedler John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
) meets Cogburn in Fort Smith. On Mattie's behalf, Daggett pays Cogburn the remainder of his fee in Chaney's capture, plus a $200 bonus for saving her life. Cogburn offers to wager the money on a bet that Mattie will recover just fine, a bet Daggett declines. In the epilogue, Mattie, her arm in a sling, is back at home recovering from her injuries. She promises Cogburn he will be buried next to her in the Ross family plot after his death. Cogburn accepts her offer and leaves, jumping over a fence on his new horse to disprove her good-natured jab that he was too old and fat to clear a four-rail fence.


Cast

*
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
as Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn *
Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...
as La Boeuf *
Kim Darby Kim Darby (born Deborah Zerby; July 8, 1947) is an American actress best known for her role as Mattie Ross in the film ''True Grit'' (1969). Early life and film career Darby was born Deborah Zerby in Los Angeles, the daughter of professional da ...
as Mattie Ross *
Jeremy Slate Jeremy Slate (born Robert Bullard Perham; February 17, 1926 – November 19, 2006) was an American film and television actor, and songwriter. He is best known for Larry Lahr in ''The Aquanauts'' (1960–1961), Chuck Wilson in ''One Life to Li ...
as Emmett Quincy *
Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
as Lucky Ned Pepper *
Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...
as Moon *
Alfred Ryder Alfred Ryder (born Alfred Jacob Corn; January 5, 1916 – April 16, 1995) was an American television, stage, radio, and film actor and director, who appeared in over one hundred television shows. Career Ryder began to act at age eight and later ...
as Goudy *
Strother Martin Strother Douglas Martin Jr. (March 26, 1919 – August 1, 1980) was an American character actor who often appeared in support of John Wayne and Paul Newman and in Western films directed by John Ford and Sam Peckinpah. Among Martin's memorable pe ...
as Col. G. Stonehill *
Jeff Corey Jeff Corey (born Arthur Zwerling; August 10, 1914 – August 16, 2002) was an American stage and screen actor who became a well-respected acting teacher after being blacklisted in the 1950s. Life and career Corey attended New Utrecht High ...
as Tom Chaney *
Ron Soble Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
as Captain Boots Finch *
John Fiedler John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
as Lawyer Daggett *
James Westerfield James A. Westerfield (March 22, 1913 – September 20, 1971) was an American character actor of stage, film, and television. Early years Westerfield was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to candy-maker Brasher Omier Westerfield and his wife D ...
as
Judge Parker ''Judge Parker'' is an American soap opera-style comic strip created by Nicholas P. Dallis that first appeared on November 24, 1952. The strip's look and content were influenced by the work of Allen Saunders and Ken Ernst on ''Mary Worth''. Char ...
*
John Doucette John Arthur Doucette (January 21, 1921 – August 16, 1994) was an American character actor who performed in more than 280 film and television productions between 1941 and 1987. A man of stocky build who possessed a deep, rich voice, he ...
as Sheriff *
Donald Woods Donald James Woods (15 December 1933 – 19 August 2001) was a South African journalist and Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the ''Daily Dispatch'', he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Bik ...
as Barlow *
Edith Atwater Edith Atwater (April 22, 1911 – March 14, 1986) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Career Born in Chicago, Atwater made her Broadway debut in 1933. In 1939, she starred in ''The Man Who Came to Dinner''. Her film career i ...
as Mrs. Floyd * Carlos Rivas as Mexican Bob * Isabel Boniface as Mrs. Bagby * H.W. Gim as Chen Lee * Ginger Cat as General Sterling Price (uncredited) * John Pickard as Frank Ross * Elizabeth Harrower as Mrs. Ross *
Ken Renard Ken Renard (1905-1993) was an actor in the United States. He had roles in '' Strange Fruit'' on stage in 1945, the film '' True Grit'' (1969) and the television series ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' (1950–1957). He was born on November 19, 1905 ...
as Yarnell *
Hank Worden Hank Worden (born Norton Earl Worden; July 23, 1901 – December 6, 1992) was an American cowboy-turned-character actor who appeared in many Westerns, including many John Ford films such as '' The Searchers'' and the TV series '' The Lone ...
as R. Ryan, the undertaker at Fort Smith * Jay Ripley as Harold Parmalee * Kenneth Becker as Farrell Parmalee *
Wilford Brimley Anthony Wilford Brimley (September 27, 1934 – August 1, 2020) was an American actor. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and working odd jobs in the 1950s, Brimley started working as an extra and stuntman in Western films in the l ...
as Minor Role (uncredited) * Leo Alton as Boarding House Guest (uncredited) * Forrest Burns as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited) * Gene Coogan as Boarding House Guest (uncredited) *
Myron Healey Myron Daniel Healey (June 8, 1923 – December 21, 2005) was an American actor. He began his career in Hollywood, California during the early 1940s and eventually made hundreds of appearances in movies and on television during a career spa ...
as Deputy at Prisoner Unloading (uncredited) * Boyd "Red" Morgan as Red (Ferryman) (uncredited) *
James McEachin James McEachin (born May 20, 1930) is an American author and retired actor. Military career McEachin served in the United States Army before, and then during, the Korean War. Serving in King Company, 9th Infantry Regiment (United States), 2nd I ...
as Judge Parker's Bailiff (uncredited) * Dennis McMullen as Bailiff (uncredited) * Robin Morse as Bit Part (uncredited) * Stuart Randall as McAlester (uncredited) *
Connie Sawyer Connie Sawyer (born Rosie Cohen; November 27, 1912 – January 21, 2018) was an American stage, film, and television actress, affectionately nicknamed "The Clown Princess of Comedy". She had over 140 film and television credits to her name, but ...
as Talkative Woman at Hanging (uncredited) * Jeffrey Sayre as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited) *
Jay Silverheels Jay Silverheels (born Harold Jay Smith; May 26, 1912 – March 5, 1980) was an Indigenous Canadian actor and athlete. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the Native American companion of the Lone Ranger in the American Western television ...
as Condemned Man at Hanging (uncredited) * Dean Smith as Minor Role (uncredited) * Vince St. Cyr as Gaspargoo (uncredited) *
Max Wagner Max Wagner (November 28, 1901 – November 16, 1975) was a Mexican-born American film actor who specialized in playing small parts such as thugs, gangsters, sailors, henchmen, bodyguards, cab drivers and moving men, appearing more than 400 ...
as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited) *
Guy Wilkerson Guy Owen Wilkerson (December 21, 1899 – July 15, 1971) was an American actor, known primarily for his roles in Western B movies, who with his tall, lanky frame, he often played sidekick or comedy relief parts. Biography Wilkseron was ...
as the Hangman (uncredited) * Chalky Williams as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited) * Tom Gosnell as John Wayne stunt double (uncredited)


Production

Filming took place mainly in
Ouray County, Colorado Ouray County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,874. The county seat is Ouray. Because of its rugged mountain topography, Ouray County is also known as the Switzerland of America. H ...
, in the vicinity of Ridgway (now the home of the True Grit Cafe), around the town of Montrose (in Montrose County), and the town of Ouray. (The script maintains the novel's references to place names in Arkansas and Oklahoma, in dramatic contrast to the Colorado topography.) The courtroom scenes were filmed at Ouray County Courthouse in Ouray. The scenes that take place at the "dugout" and along the creek where Quincy and Moon are killed, as well as the scene where Rooster carries Mattie on her horse Little Blackie after the snakebite, were filmed at Hot Creek on the east side of the Sierra Nevada near the town of
Mammoth Lakes, California Mammoth Lakes is a town in Mono County, California, and is the county's only incorporated community. It is located immediately to the east of Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,191, r ...
.
Mount Morrison According to USGS GNIS, Mount Morrison may refer to one of four possible peaks in the United States: It can also refer to: * Mount Morrison in the Lost River Range of Idaho. * One of two mountains in Antarctica, in Enderby Land and Victoria L ...
and Laurel Mountain form the backdrop above the creek. This location was also used in ''
North to Alaska ''North to Alaska'' is a 1960 comedic Western/Northern film directed by Henry Hathaway and John Wayne (uncredited). The picture stars Wayne along with Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian, and Capucine. The script is based on the 1939 play ' ...
''. Filming was done from September to December 1968.
Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera '' Peyton Place'' and gained further recognition for her subsequent ...
was originally cast as Mattie and was keen on the role. However, prior to filming, she made a film in England with
Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...
, who advised her not to work with director
Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven films. Backgro ...
because he was "cantankerous". Farrow asked producer
Hal B. Wallis Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing '' Casablanca'' (1942), '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and ''True Grit'' (1969), along ...
to replace Hathaway with
Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...
, who had directed Farrow in '' Rosemary's Baby'', but Wallis refused. Farrow quit the film, which was then offered to
Michele Carey Michele Carey (born Michele Lee Henson; February 26, 1942 – November 21, 2018) was an American actress who was best known for her role as Josephine "Joey" MacDonald in the 1966 Western film '' El Dorado''. She appeared in movies and guest-star ...
,
Sondra Locke Sandra Louise Anderson (''née'' Smith; May 28, 1944 – November 3, 2018), professionally known as Sondra Locke, was an American actress and director. She achieved worldwide recognition for her relationship with Clint Eastwood and the six hit f ...
and
Tuesday Weld Tuesday Weld (born Susan Ker Weld; August 27, 1943) is an American actress and model. She began acting as a child and progressed to mature roles in the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960. Over t ...
, but all three were under contract for another film. John Wayne met
Karen Carpenter Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and drummer, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside her older brother Richard. With a distinctive three-octave contralto range, she was prais ...
at a talent show he was hosting and recommended her for the part, though the producers decided against it because she had no acting experience. Wayne had also lobbied for his daughter Aissa to win the part. After also considering
Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film F ...
, the role went to
Kim Darby Kim Darby (born Deborah Zerby; July 8, 1947) is an American actress best known for her role as Mattie Ross in the film ''True Grit'' (1969). Early life and film career Darby was born Deborah Zerby in Los Angeles, the daughter of professional da ...
.
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
was the original choice for LaBoeuf, but the producers turned him down when his agent demanded top billing over both Wayne and Darby.
Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...
was then cast instead. In multiple interviews, Campbell claimed that Wayne, along with his daughter, approached him backstage at his show, and asked him if he would like to be in a movie. Wayne began lobbying for the part of Rooster Cogburn after reading
the novel ''The Novel'' (1991) is a novel written by American author James A. Michener. A departure from Michener's better known historical fiction, ''The Novel'' is told from the viewpoints of four different characters involved in the life and work of ...
by Charles Portis. Wayne called Marguerite Roberts' script "the best script he had ever read", and was instrumental in getting her script approved and credited to her name after Roberts had been blacklisted for alleged leftist affiliations years before. This came in spite of Wayne's own conservative ideals. He particularly liked the scene with Darby where Rooster tells Mattie about his life in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
(where he has a restaurant, his wife Nola leaves him because of his degenerate friends, and has a clumsy son named Horace), calling it "about the best scene I ever did".
Garry Wills Garry Wills (born May 22, 1934) is an American author, journalist, political philosopher, and historian, specializing in American history, politics, and religion, especially the history of the Catholic Church. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Genera ...
notes in his book, ''John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity'', that Wayne's performance as Rooster Cogburn bears close resemblance to the way
Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in ''Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in ''Grand Hotel'' (193 ...
portrayed similar characters in the 1930s and 1940s, an inspired if surprising choice on Wayne's part. Wills comments that it is difficult for one actor to imitate another for the entire length of a movie and that the Beery mannerisms temporarily recede during the aforementioned scene in which Cogburn discusses his wife and child. Veteran John Wayne stunt-double Tom Gosnell does the stunt in the meadow, where "Bo" goes down, on his longtime horse Twinkle Toes. In the last scene, Mattie gives Rooster her father's gun. She comments that he has gotten a tall horse, as she expected he would. He notes that his new horse can jump a four-rail fence. Then she admonishes him, "You're too old and fat to be jumping horses." Rooster responds with a smile, saying, "Well, come see a fat old man sometime," and jumps his new horse over a four-rail fence. Although many of Wayne's stunts over the years were done by Hayward and
Chuck Roberson Charles Hugh Roberson (May 10, 1919 – June 8, 1988) was an American actor and stuntman. Biography Roberson was born near Shannon, Texas, the son of farmer Ollie W. Roberson and Jannie Hamm Roberson. Raised on cattle ranches in Shannon, ...
, it is Wayne on Twinkle Toes going over the fence. This stunt had been left to the last shot as Wayne wanted to do it himself and following his lung surgery in 1965, neither Hathaway nor Wayne was sure he could make the jump. Darby's stunts were done by Polly Burson. The horse shown during the final scene of ''True Grit'' (before he jumps the fence on Twinkle Toes) was Dollor, a two-year-old (in 1969) chestnut Quarter Horse gelding. Dollor ('Ol Dollor) was Wayne's favorite horse for 10 years. Wayne fell in love with the horse, which carried him through several more Westerns, including his final movie, ''
The Shootist ''The Shootist'' is a 1976 American Western film directed by Don Siegel and based on Glendon Swarthout's 1975 novel of the same name.Swarthout, Glendon (1975). ''The Shootist'', New York, New York: Doubleday. It is John Wayne's final film ro ...
''. Wayne had Dollor written into the script of ''The Shootist'' because of his love for the horse; it was a condition for him working on the project. Wayne would not let anyone else ride the horse, the lone exception being
Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and ''Hart to Hart'' (1979– ...
, who rode the horse in a segment of the ''
Hart to Hart ''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset lifes ...
'' television show, after Wayne's death. After reading ''True Grit'' by Charles Portis, John Wayne was enthusiastic about playing the part of Rooster Cogburn, but as production got closer, Wayne got jumpy — he did not have a handle on how to play Rooster Cogburn. He was, of course, nervous because the part was out of his comfort zone and had not been specifically tailored to his screen character by one of his in-house screenwriters. Henry Hathaway, who directed the film, calmed Wayne's doubts, most notably concerning the eye patch which was made of gauze, allowing Wayne to see. John Wayne thought the picture had been edited too tightly by Hathaway. Nevertheless, in May 1969, a few weeks before the picture was released, Wayne wrote to Marguerite Roberts thanking her for her "magnificent" screenplay, especially for the beautiful ending in the cemetery that she had devised in Portis's style. Wayne and Kim Darby worked very well together, but Henry Hathaway disliked her, stating: "My problem with her was simple, she's not particularly attractive, so her book of tricks consisted mostly fbeing a little cute. All through the film, I had to stop her from acting funny, doing bits of business and so forth." By the time the picture got back to the studio interiors, Kim Darby told Hal Wallis she would never work for Hathaway again. John Wayne was another matter. "He was wonderful to work with, he really was", said Darby. "When you work with someone who's a big star as he is ... there's an unspoken thing that they sort of set the environment for the working conditions on the set and the feeling on the set. And he creates an environment that is very safe to work in. He's very supportive of the people around him and the people he works with, very supportive. He's really a reflection, an honest reflection, of what he really is. I mean that's what you see on the screen. He's simple and direct, and I love that in his work." Surrounded by an angry director, a nervous actress, and the inexperienced Glen Campbell, Wayne took the reins between his teeth the same way Rooster Cogburn does in the climax of the film. "He was there on the set before anyone else and knew every line perfectly", said Kim Darby. Both Wayne and Hathaway had difficulties with
Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
, with the director having constant shouting matches with his supporting actor, and Duvall and Wayne nearly coming to blows.


Reception


Box office

The film premiered in
Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...
on June 12, 1969, and opened at the
Chinese theatre Theatre of China has a long and complex history. Traditional Chinese theatre, generally in the form of Chinese opera, is musical theatre, musical in nature. Chinese theatre can trace its origin back a few millennia to ancient China, but the Chine ...
in Los Angeles on June 13, 1969 where it grossed $38,000 in its first week. The film earned an estimated $11.5 million in rentals at the United States and Canada box office during its first year of release. John Simon wrote, "Worthy of succinct notice is ''True Grit, an amusing, unassuming western, antiheroic with a vengeance."


Awards and nominations

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
won the
Academy Award for Best Actor The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...
. Upon accepting his Oscar, Wayne said, "Wow! If I'd known that, I'd have put that patch on 35 years earlier."


Sequels and other film versions

A film sequel, ''Rooster Cogburn'', was made in 1975, with Wayne reprising his role and
Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...
as an elderly spinster, Eula Goodnight, who teams with him. The plot has been described as a rehash of the original ''True Grit'' with elements of the Bogart–Hepburn film '' The African Queen''. A further made-for-television sequel titled '' True Grit: A Further Adventure'' appeared in 1978, starring
Warren Oates Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah, including ''The Wild Bunch'' (1969) and ''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' (1974). A ...
as Rooster Cogburn and Lisa Pelikan as Mattie Ross. In 2010,
Joel and Ethan Coen Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
directed another adaptation of the novel. Their adaptation focuses more on Mattie's point of view, as in the novel, and is somewhat more faithful to its Oklahoma setting—though it was filmed in New Mexico.
Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Hailee Steinfeld, various accolades, including a Peabody Award, and nominations for an Academy Award ...
portrays Mattie Ross,
Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent a ...
plays Rooster Cogburn, and the cast includes
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...
as La Boeuf and
Josh Brolin Joshua James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''The Goonies'' (1985), ''Mimic'' (1997), ''Hollow Man'' (2000), ''Grindhouse'' (2007), ''No Country for Old Men'' (2007), '' American Gangste ...
as Tom Chaney.


See also

*
List of American films of 1969 This is a list of American films released in 1969. ''Midnight Cowboy'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. __TOC__ A–B C–G H–M N–S T–Z Documentaries and shorts See also * 1969 in the United States External links ...
* John Wayne filmography * ''True Grit'' (1969 soundtrack)


References

* * * * * * *


External links

* * * * * * * * {{Authority control 1969 1969 films 1969 Western (genre) films 1960s English-language films American Western (genre) films American films about revenge Films about the Texas Ranger Division Films based on American novels Films based on Western (genre) novels Films directed by Henry Hathaway Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award-winning performance Films featuring a Best Drama Actor Golden Globe winning performance Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films scored by Elmer Bernstein Films set in Arkansas Films set in Oklahoma Films set in the 1880s Films shot in Colorado Paramount Pictures films United States Marshals Service in fiction 1960s American films Films about capital punishment