True Grit (1969)

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

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Charles Portis (novel), Marguerite Roberts (screenplay)

Stars:

John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Wayne	...	Rooster Cogburn
Glen Campbell	...	La Boeuf
Kim Darby	...	Mattie Ross
Jeremy Slate	...	Emmett Quincy
Robert Duvall	...	Ned Pepper
Dennis Hopper	...	'Moon'
Alfred Ryder	...	Goudy
Strother Martin	...	Col. G. Stonehill
Jeff Corey	...	Tom Chaney
Ron Soble	...	Capt. Boots Finch
John Fiedler	...	Lawyer Daggett
James Westerfield	...	Judge Parker
John Doucette	...	'Sheriff'
Donald Woods	...	'Barlow'
Edith Atwater	...	Mrs. Floyd

Storyline

The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy, Mattie Ross, (Kim Darby), on a mission of "justice", which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, "Rooster" Cogburn (John Wayne), because he has "grit", and a reputation of getting the job done. The two are joined by a Texas Ranger, La Boeuf, (Glen Campbell), who is looking for the same man (Jeff Corey) 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.

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Plot Keywords:

texas | murder | texas ranger | sheriff | marshal | 

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Taglines:

The strangest trio ever to track a killer. A fearless, one-eyed U.S. marshal who never knew a dry day in his life... a Texas ranger thirsty for bounty money... and a girl still wet behind the ears who didn't care what they were or who they were as long as they had true grit.

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Genres:

Adventure | Western | Drama

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Certificate:

M

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook page for the film from Paramount. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 June 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Marshal

Filming Locations:

Bishop, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$14,250,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Hal Wallis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Wayne was disappointed by the casting of Kim Darby as Mattie Ross, and the two hardly spoke at all off camera.

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Goofs

When Mattie is talking to Ned while they wait for Rooster to get to the bald ridge she's telling him how Hayes is dead too along with the boy that saved his life. Ned answers "I'm happy he done what he done but he should have kept his head and looked out for himself. That goes for your good friend Rooster too." and while he's talking you can see Mattie's eyes glance away 2 or 3 times as if checking her cue cards for her next lines.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Frank Ross: Little Frank... You take care of your mama.
Little Frank: I will.

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Connections

Featured in Working with the Duke (2007)

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Soundtracks

WILDWOOD FLOWER
(Folk Song)

User Reviews

Pure Western Delight

Surely one of the purest westerns ever made, a simple tale of a lawman tracking down an outlaw. This film is raised way above the norm in almost all respects: The photography is superb, with the hills, mountains, valleys and forests being the real stars; the acting is first rate, with not a weak performance in sight from even the lowliest minor character; the direction is well paced as we ride along with the 3-person-posse through the landscape and experience the minor twists of the actual hunt, as well as the evolution of the relationships between the group. The episode in which they take over a cabin by a stream and then ambush the following villains is even better than the well known finale.

Why this film hasn't had more votes and a higher rating in imdb is a complete mystery to me. I'm English, and I always thought the Americans really loved their westerns and John Wayne in particular. Can anyone explain please?