True Grit Reviews

Hathaway arrives with pal Duke to fordian or hawksian domains. The charge of the heavy Duke against the band of Robert Duvall is pure anthology, even when Kim Darby names what we see: "that's true grit". A realist ans tender depiction of west. Love tha hanging scene near the beginning.

Star vehicles rely chiefly upon the success or failure of the material to take the persona of the star and twist it into a new shape. On these merits alone, True Grit is a resounding success. But taken as a complete work of film artistry, it doesn’t prove itself to be entirely successful. Yet for all of its problems, it’s not hard to see why The Duke finally won that elusive Oscar for his performance as the drunken rascal Rooster Cogburn.

We could sit here all day and argue over and over again whether or not his Oscar for Best Actor was a career achievement-in-disguise or won based on pure merit. It’s not hard to imagine a successful argument being made for his overlooked work in Red River or The Searchers as being more worthy of posterities value of what Wayne’s best performances are, but there’s just something about True Grit and Wayne’s performance that feels right to be the film that finally won him some overdue recognition.

Rooster Cogburn feels like the role that Wayne’s career was always leading him towards, and who else at the time could make this character work so beautifully? It’s not just his image as the Mount Rushmore of Western film-making or iconography as Americana incarnate, but the strange choices that feel so right and give this character a beating heart and inner life. The scene in which Wayne utters the immortal line “Fill your hand, you son of a bitch!” feels like a classic moment in which a great star’s persona and mystique has come to its apotheosis. This is John Wayne, the movie star and actor colliding into one and feels like the passing of a bygone era in which he was king.

It’s just such a shame that the rest of the movie couldn’t match wits with his brilliant star turn. Dennis Hopper and Robert Duvall stand out amongst the supporting players for turning in sinister and idiosyncratic turns. They add color and texture in a symbolic sense in a film that desperately needed some. But it’s a pity to announce that they’re shoved off to the sidelines for much of the film. Hopper only has about one scene and Duvall doesn’t appear until very late in the game. For a majority of the time we’re stuck with Kim Darby and Glenn Campbell.

Charles Portis’ dialog is a stylized creature that requires a deft balance to make it sing. The Coen Brothers made it work marvelously with Hailee Steinfeld and Matt Damon in the other two major roles, which is more than can be said for Henry Hathaway’s work with Darby and Campbell in the same roles. Darby, clearly too old for the role, is far too mannered and struggles with the rhythm of the language fairly often. Campbell doesn’t even appear to be trying to act, and his presence is pure dead weight. These two are large weights bringing the film down.

Of course tighter editing and a better sense of storytelling could help overcome these obstacles, but Hathaway is content to take his sweet time getting from one story point to another. True Grit frequently falls into boring and safe waters, even when the story clearly has something spikier and punchier going on underneath. As a film, it’s a mess. But as a star vehicle, John Wayne’s charisma makes this something indelible and the reason that it has endured.

After Frank Ross (John Pickard) is murdered in October 1880 by his hired hand, Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey), in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Ross' 14-year-old daughter Mattie (Kim Darby) travels to Fort Smith and hires the aging U.S. Marshal Reuben "Rooster" J. Cogburn (John Wayne). Mattie has heard that, despite his vices and missing eye, Cogburn has "true grit". She gives Rooster a down payment to track down Chaney, who has taken up with "Lucky" Ned Pepper (Robert Duvall), a gang leader whom Rooster once shot in a gunfight.

The pair must head into Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Mattie buys a horse for this, after collecting money from a horse trader. They are joined by a young Texas Ranger, La Boeuf (Glen Campbell), who hopes to collect a $1,500 reward for capturing Chaney, much more than Mattie is offering Cogburn. The ranger says Chaney also killed a Texas Senator named Bibbs, and Bibbs' dog. Mattie dislikes the boastful La Boeuf and refuses his assistance, but the ranger joins forces with Cogburn, who agrees to split the reward with him. The two try to abandon Mattie, but they learn that she is determined to join their posse.

After several days, the three plan to spend the night at a cabin which Cogburn had said would be empty. At the cabin, they discover Emmett Quincy (Jeremy Slate) and Moon (Dennis Hopper), two horse thieves waiting for Pepper. Moon's leg is badly injured and Cogburn uses the injury as leverage to get information about Pepper from them. To prevent Moon from telling too much, Quincy fatally stabs Moon with a knife, and Cogburn kills Quincy. Before Moon dies, he tells Cogburn that Pepper and his gang are due at the hideout that night; the posse lays a trap.

The following morning, Pepper and his men arrive at the hideout. La Boeuf mistakenly fires and a shootout ensues, during which Cogburn and La Boeuf kill two of the gang, but Pepper and the rest escape. Cogburn, La Boeuf and Mattie make their way to McAlester's store, where the marshal arranges for the four dead men to be buried.

The three continue their pursuit. After a few days, Mattie slips down a steep hill one morning on her way to bathe in a river and finds herself face-to-face with Chaney. She shoots and wounds him, calling out to her partners. Pepper and his gang capture her, and he forces Cogburn and La Boeuf to abandon the girl.

Cogburn doubles back and attacks Pepper and his gang. La Boeuf finds Mattie and moves Chaney to an area he thinks is secure. La Boeuf and Mattie move to an outcropping and watch as a mounted Cogburn confronts Ned and his three gang members. Cogburn tells Pepper he has a choice of getting killed or surrendering and being hanged at Judge Isaac Parker's convenience. Pepper replies that is "bold talk for a one-eyed fat man." Cogburn shouts "Fill your hand, you son of a bitch!" just as he begins charging the four gunmen firing a rifle in one hand and a pistol in the other and holding the horse's reins in his mouth. Rooster shoots down three of the gang and wounds Pepper, but Rooster is trapped under his fallen horse which has been shot by Ned. As Pepper prepares to shoot Rooster, La Boeuf kills Pepper from the outcropping located a great distance away.

As La Boeuf and Mattie return to Pepper's camp, Chaney comes out from behind a tree and smashes a rock over La Boeuf's head, knocking him unconscious and fatally wounding him. Mattie shoots and wounds Chaney in the arm, but is driven back from the recoil, falls into a pit and breaks her arm. Cogburn arrives and fatally shoots Chaney, sending him into the pit. In the pit, Mattie is bitten by a rattlesnake, which Cogburn shoots dead as he descends into the pit on a rope. La Boeuf, thought to be dead, peers over the pit and helps them get out by pulling them out with a rope tied to his horse. After Mattie and Cogburn are safely out of the pit, La Boeuf falls off his horse and dies.

In a hurry to get help for Mattie's snakebite, they have to leave La Boeuf's body. They both must ride Mattie’s horse, but the overloaded horse collapses and dies before they reach their destination. Undaunted, Cogburn gathers Mattie in his arms and carries her until they encounter some horsemen with a wagon. Cogburn steals the wagon and they ride it the rest of the way to McAlester's. There, an Indian doctor treats Mattie's snakebite and splints her broken arm.

Days later, Mattie's attorney, J. Noble Daggett (John Fiedler) arrives. Throughout the plot, Mattie has frequently used his name as a legal threat on occasions when she fails to get her way. He pays Cogburn a $75 reward for Chaney's capture, plus an additional $200 for saving Mattie (at her request). Mattie is still ill from the snakebite and Cogburn offers to bet the attorney the $275 that Mattie will make it back to her home, but Daggett declines to bet against her.

Weeks later, we find Mattie, arm in a sling, recovered and at home. She shows a visiting Cogburn her family burial plot on the land. Cogburn was there to receive all the reward money offered for Chaney in Texas, which was apparently more than the $75 he initially received. She promises that he can be buried next to her family after his death. Cogburn reluctantly accepts, hoping his burial will not be too soon. She offers him her father's pistol which he reluctantly accepts, stating that it misfired once. He leaves, jumping over a fence with his horse to disprove her claim that he was too old and fat. He heads off into the valley below as the film ends.

Ok, first of all, I am going to confess that I needed to see this soon because the Coen remake is coming out very soon and I just needed to see the original version first and, quite frankly, I am really glad that I did because I am not entirely sure that I can see the Coen version beating this one (as awesome as they are). I am not really a big fan of western films because I always feel that they are the same with very similar characters, stories and backgrounds with almost no differences but I have to admit that True Grit is perhaps the most basic and straightforward western that I think I have ever watched.


The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy, Mattie Ross, on a mission of "justice", which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, "Rooster" Cogburn, because he has "grit", and a reputation of getting the job done. The two are joined by a Texas Ranger, La Boeuf, who is looking for the same man Tom Chaney for a separate murder in Texas. Their odyssey takes them from Fort Smith, Arkansas, deep into the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) to find their man.


Admittedly, I hadn't been a strong admirer of John Wayne's before I saw this because I had only watched one of his films before this one but now after watching True Grit, I really like him now and seek to watch more at what he does best: as a badass character in westerns. I absolutely loved Rooster Coghurn's character because, yeah he may like a bitter old veteran but he is still a guy with feelings so there is like a clash between a cold-hearted man and a gentle man. When Rooster, Mattie and La Beouf were on their quest to find Tom Chaney, Rooster was almost acting like a father figure towards Mattie which did comfort her and that made the film seem a bit warmer. John Wayne fully deserved his first and only Academy Award in True Grit. I cannot wait to see Jeff Bridges portray Rooster in the Coen Brothers remake. Kim Darby was brilliant as Mattie Ross! I think most of you reading this will laugh at what I am about to say: I actually thought it was a young man when I first saw Kim as Mattie; like a James Dean sort of person. Anyway, her performance was intriguing because we see the innocence and heartbreak of a young girl but at the same time, the viewers watching begin to get this feeling that during her quest to find Chaney, she is slowly being dragged to a low level that will bring out the worst in her. She was robbed of an Academy Award nomination as well but it definitely is a great breakthrough performance from her. Glen Campbell was pretty awesome as La Beouf as well and I was impressed with Robert Duvall's supporting role as Lucky Ned Pepper. A great underrated role before The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, Apocalypse Now amongst others.


Like every single western that I have watched, True Grit was filmed beautifully but Henry Hathaway and other crew members of the film have bought out a western that is obviously a load of fun with lots of gun action scenes and suspense but also some quite psychological segments too. Admittedly, I hadn't seen anything from Henry Hathaway before until now but, just like with John Wayne, I am now going to start to watch more films from Hathaway even though it'll be tough for any of his other films to beat this one for me. After watching the original True Grit, I now realise that this would make a typical Coen film and I can't wait to see that version too especially when that one has earned a stronger response than the original version.


Overall, True Grit is an extremely underrated western that I absolutely loved from start to finish. As I said, it is a very straightforward story but does go quite deep in terms of characters and what is happening or might happen. Despite the remake has had better reviews, it'll have to do really hard to beat this one! I think I am going to have to watch the sequel of this called: Rooster Cogburn starring John Wayne, of course, and the legendary Katherine Hepburn. I would definitely call True Grit one of my favourite westerns of all time. Just brilliant!

"Fill your hands, you son of a bitch!"

Is there another American actor more iconic and legendary than John Wayne?

True Grit is one of the most quintessential Westerns in filmic history. It features memorable quotes, beautiful open vistas, classic shootouts and of course one of the greatest stars of all time. Whenever The Duke's commanding figure wandered into the frame, he simply oozed authority and a strong star presence. Perhaps his range may have been a tad restricted but when the encyclopaedia of Westerns is composed, John Wayne will forever rank high in the lexicon. He's a performer who secured colossal popularity: throughout his career, masses of adoring fans flocked to their local cinema to watch their favourite hero don his hat, carry a pistol and ride a horse. Be that as it may, it's widely known that John Wayne wasn't a great actor. Very rarely did The Duke step out of his comfort zone and attempt something new.

True Grit is a Western that brings together a congregation of genre clichés. It's a fun film that kids would generally watch of a Saturday afternoon. Not only is True Grit a lot of fun, but it also changed my opinion of John Wayne. This was the film that earned the actor the honour of an Oscar statuette. The Duke certainly deserved that honour, even if it was probably more out of sympathy as opposed to a scintillating performance. Mind you, I would probably argue that True Grit encompasses John Wayne's finest moments captured on the medium of film. His performance as Rooster Cogburn showed the toughness and fortitude of the legendary actor as he rode horseback and endured physical pains with a body ravaged by cancer at the age of 62. By no means is this his greatest film (that honour goes to The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance or Rio Bravo), but this production is cut above the usual standard of Westerns.

Like many other entries in the profitable Western genre, the plot of True Grit is thin and simple. The plot is also quite trite, and it mixes most of the obligatory genre clichés. Yet if one throws interesting names into the cast (including Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper in early performances) in addition to captivating locations and slick shootouts...suddenly things are far more interesting. Certainly, the film is loads of fun. Under intimate filmic analysis the results aren't flattering, though. There's some occasional meandering and a few overly excessive scenes, but at least it's very watchable with the authoritative John Wayne commanding the frame.

True Grit finds John Wayne as U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn. He's a drunken and surly has-been who's passed his golden years. Enter Mattie Ross (Darby) who's on a mission of justice following the tragic death of her father (Pickard). Mattie's father was killed by one of his own ranch hands named Tom Chaney (Corey). Despite Mattie hearing unsavoury stories about Marshall Rooster Cogburn, she's also heard that Cogburn possesses the rare quality of "true grit". There's reluctance on Cogburn's part of venturing into Indian territory, but he eventually agrees to Mattie's proposal. It turns out that Tom Chaney isn't only being pursued by Mattie - a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (Campbell) is also tracking the man.
The reward dollars for capturing Chaney appear to be going higher. Rooster is therefore all the more determined to find Chaney. This determination is made far sweeter when it's discovered Chaney is apparently running with a gang led by a nemesis of Rooster's: Lucky Ned Pepper (Duvall). Rewards from all corners partnered with an opportunity to finally nail Ned Pepper and his men? This is simply too much attraction for Rooster to ignore.

Naturally, the film climaxes with the customary fantastic shootout as Wayne's Rooster Cogburn exchanges bullets with Duvall's Ned Pepper. This exhilarating action scene ranks among the best of John Wayne's career. Unfortunately, the film feels a bit long in the teeth during the lead-up to this final showdown. It must be said that on occasion the film gets lost in the magnificent scenery. Also the dialogue in the first 40 minutes sorely needed a major trim. We all know Rooster will end up journeying with Mattie, so his frequent reluctance is conventional and, at times, just a waste of space. It's only during the final half hour that the film picks up pace, and provides a truly invigorating piece of cinematic entertainment.

True Grit wouldn't have worked without The Duke in the cast. John Wayne's performance as the crabby old fat drunk is remarkable. Prior to watching this movie, The Duke's speech mannerisms and unmistakable walk that are frequently lampooned were hard to overlook. He was continually doing more of the same. However, he shows his true acting range in True Grit. After learning of the physical condition he was in during production, and watching this ailing old man still commanding the screen, I realised the powerful personal of Wayne was due to his talent and determination. Even after losing a lung and several ribs (and, for that matter, was only capable of walking a few steps before being hopelessly out of breath), Wayne donned the spurs and hat with confidence. The subtle humour of his performance is also enjoyable. There are some very witty lines. His environment also adds something to the character: he lives in the back room of a Chinaman's store, in the company of the Chinaman and a lovely tabby cat known as General Sterling Price.

Some feel that Wayne's A-List performance is somewhat blemished by the cast surrounding him. I feel that the actors surrounding Wayne just aren't up to his standard. Kim Darby is too whiney, too straight-up, doesn't look the character's alleged age (she looks like she's in her 20s when she's in fact playing a 14-year-old) and is unable to carry the emotional needs of the role. John Wayne reportedly wasn't fond of Kim during filming because she was too unprofessional.
Glen Campbell's performance is mediocre. He looks a bit too handsome, with not enough depth or ruggedness for a Texas Ranger. Elvis Presley was in the running for the role apparently. It would've been fairly interesting to see what he'd have done with the character.
Robert Duvall is a tad underused, but his performance is solid enough. Same goes for the other additions to the supporting cast.

Overall, True Grit is a classic Western featuring a classic iconic star. John Wayne's determination as a performer thoroughly shows during every scene of the movie. The Duke's performance alone makes the film worth viewing. There's also breathtaking scenery and some exciting shootouts added to the mix. It's a very flawed movie; however it's a classic Western that today's audiences simply must view. John Wayne may have been aging at the time and looking it...when he pulls out his gun, though, it doesn't matter how fat or old he is: he's still The Duke. He makes True Grit the unforgettable western that it is. It's just the flick to watch on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Followed by a sequel: Rooster Cogburn.

7.9/10