"True Grit" was a great western...though not as great as films like Wayne's "Rio Bravo". "Rooster Cogburn is a very good western. But it's not because of the plot, which isn't terribly different than lots of old westerns. And by the way...I'm no chemist, but after reading about nitroglycerin, I doubt that the rough wagon roads; and the reckless fast "driving" of the old wagon; and the river rapids would have allowed the nitroglycerin to remain stable. But, I guess that's where the suspension of disbelief comes in.
The attraction here is not the story, but the two lead characters: John Wayne adn Katharine Hepburn. I have no idea now, all these years later, whether they got along well or not, but sure did nicely in this film. They were certainly very different people politically, but in the last scene, I like to think that their dialog and acting was an indication that they held each other in healthy respect. I enjoyed the film, even though I thought Hepburn looked pretty silly rattling off the Gatling gun.
The supporting cast was fairly good, though no really big names. Anthony Zerbe was a really good character actor, though I don't see this as one of his better roles. Richard Jordan as a real bad guy...I was not impressed. It was nice to see character actor John McIntire as a federal judge. Richard Romancito did nicely as the young Indian, Wolf...he had an interesting post-movie life you can read aout online. And the crazy character actor Strother Martin was a hoot, as unusual.
As I said, the plot is somewhat standard, but seeing John Wayne opposite Katharine Hepburn is worth savoring.
The attraction here is not the story, but the two lead characters: John Wayne adn Katharine Hepburn. I have no idea now, all these years later, whether they got along well or not, but sure did nicely in this film. They were certainly very different people politically, but in the last scene, I like to think that their dialog and acting was an indication that they held each other in healthy respect. I enjoyed the film, even though I thought Hepburn looked pretty silly rattling off the Gatling gun.
The supporting cast was fairly good, though no really big names. Anthony Zerbe was a really good character actor, though I don't see this as one of his better roles. Richard Jordan as a real bad guy...I was not impressed. It was nice to see character actor John McIntire as a federal judge. Richard Romancito did nicely as the young Indian, Wolf...he had an interesting post-movie life you can read aout online. And the crazy character actor Strother Martin was a hoot, as unusual.
As I said, the plot is somewhat standard, but seeing John Wayne opposite Katharine Hepburn is worth savoring.