STUFF YOU GOTTA WATCH

TRUE GRIT

(1969)
With John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Jeremy Slate, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper
Directed by Henry Hathaway
Reviewed by JB

One of John Wayne's most popular films, TRUE GRIT was the first and only film for which the actor won an Oscar for Best Actor. The part of Rooster Cogburn, a surly, overweight, one-eyed drunken U.S. Marshal, was tailor made for the older Wayne, now in his early sixties and in declining health from the removal of a cancerous lung in 1964. He is helped out enormously by a fine cast, including Robert Duvall as one of the main villains. But the next best performance in the film belongs to young Kim Darby. Playing a strong-headed young girl with booksmarts who calls upon Cogburn to help her avenge the murder of her father, she stands toe to toe with Wayne in every scene, never allowing his superstar presence to overpower her - not bad for slightly built 21-year old woman half the size of her world famous co-star. The film contains some of the most memorable dialogue to be found in a Wayne film, especially in one of the best and funniest courtroom scenes since W. C. Fields defended his card-cheating skills in TILLIE AND GUS. ("Was this revolver loaded and cocked? "/ "Well, a gun that's unloaded and cocked ain't good for nothin'.") - JB

John Wayne The Stuff You Gotta Watch

ADD ANOTHER QUOTE AND MAKE IT A DOLLAR

"I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man."
"Fill your hands, you son of a bitch!"

SEQUEL

Rooster Cogburn (1975 - with Katherine Hepburn)