Directed by Henry Hathaway
Staring John Wayne, Kim Darby, Jeremy Slate, Robert Duvall & Glen Campbell
Rating:PG
Score 5/6

By Tanteliz

A drunken, hard-nosed U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger help a stubborn young woman track down her father’s murderer in Indian territory.

I have fond memories of going to the Drive-inn with my family about 40 years ago now to see this so I thought the original was worth a revisit.
John Wayne won his only Oscar as best actor for his role as the anti hero Rooster Cogburn. He played an overweight drunken Marshal who had been on both sides of the law at some time in his life. In essence True Grit is a revenge movie. Mattie Ross seeks vengeance for the murder of her father , shot down when he tries to intervene in a bar fight by Tom Chaney. Chaney flees to Indian Territory and so Mattie seeks out the Marshal with what she describes as the most “grit” to bring him in to be hung. That Marshal is Rooster Cogburn- he has shot more criminals than he can count.
Also in pursuit of Chaney is a Texas Ranger, La Boeuf. Played here by country singer Glen Campbell in his first movie. Glen Campbell is reported to have said ” I was so bad in True Grit I made John Wayne look good and he won the Oscar”. He wants to bring Chaney back to Texas for shooting a Senator and his dog. This complicates matters as Matty wants to see Chaney hang for killing her father, and La Boeuf doesn’t want her tagging along . Matty believes she is up to the challenge as after all she has camped out over night , coon hunting with her Pa and little brother Frank. She has paid her money and she wont be dissuaded.
The 14 year old Matty is played by 21 year old actress Kim Darby. For some reason Mattie has a strikingly 1960 haircut in this movie.
While this movie has a G rating it is actually quite violent, there is even a scene where a character has his fingers chopped off and is stabbed to death. John Wayne lets fly with a few swear words, “b@stard” and “son of a b*tch”, and a spanking scene which wouldn’t get past today’s censors for a PG rating. The movie , unlike the book and the Coen Brothers remake, is clearly set in autumn with yellow leaves on the trees, but ends in winter with snow on the ground. The scenery is just beautiful and , I believe, a major star of the movie . However apparently the mountain shots are clearly form Colorado and California yet the story is set in Arkansas. But I still love the shots of rocky out crops and snowy mountain peaks. I think Glen Cambell did himself a disservice when he down played his acting. He plays La Boeuf as a smooth talker and a braggart believably. The story in some way seems a little naive despite the violence and perhaps this is typical of the 1960’s. Hailee Steinfeld out shines Kim Darby but then I think she has better dialogue to work with.The 2010 version’s ending differs a little to that of the original. Both are great interpretations of the novel which I also read years ago. In the end it is Mattie who proves herself to have True Grit in her determination to have justice for her father.