True Grit (1969)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Charles Portis (novel)
Marguerite Roberts (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 June 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Western | Drama

Tagline:

The strangest trio ever to track a killer.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Texas | Marshal | Texas Ranger | U.S. Marshal | Oklahoma

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

John Wayne	...	Marshall Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn
Glen Campbell	...	La Boeuf
Kim Darby	...	Mattie Ross
Jeremy Slate	...	Emmett Quincy
Robert Duvall	...	Ned Pepper
Dennis Hopper	...	Moon
Alfred Ryder	...	Mr. Goudy (Defense attorney)
Strother Martin	...	Colonel 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
Carlos Rivas	...	Dirty Bob
Isabel Boniface	...	Mrs. Bagby
H.W. Gim	...	Chen Lee
John Pickard	...	Frank Ross
Elizabeth Harrower	...	Mrs. Ross
Ken Renard	...	Yarnell Poindexter
Jay Ripley	...	Harold Parmalee
Kenneth Becker	...	Farrell Parmalee
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
General Sterling Price	...	Ginger Cat
Wilford Brimley	...	(uncredited)
Myron Healey	...	Deputy at prisoner unloading (uncredited)
James McEachin	...	Judge Parker's bailiff (uncredited)
Dennis McMullen	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	...	Red (ferryman) (uncredited)
Robin Morse	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Stuart Randall	...	McAlester (uncredited)
Connie Sawyer	...	Talkative woman at hanging (uncredited)
Jay Silverheels	...	Condemned man at hanging (uncredited)
Dean Smith	...	(uncredited)
Vince St. Cyr	...	Gaspargoo (uncredited)
Guy Wilkerson	...	The hangman (uncredited)
Hank Worden	...	R. Ryan (undertaker, Fort Smith, Arkansas) (uncredited)

Directed by
Henry Hathaway

Writing credits
Charles Portis		(novel)
Marguerite Roberts		(screenplay)

Produced by
Paul Nathan	....	associate producer
Hal B. Wallis	....	producer
Joseph H. Hazen	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Elmer Bernstein

Cinematography by
Lucien Ballard		(director of photography)

Production Design by
Walter H. Tyler		(as Walter Tyler)

Set Decoration by
John Burton
Ray Moyer

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Carol Meikle	....	hair stylist
Jack Wilson	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
Frank Beetson	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William W. Gray	....	assistant director

Art Department
Adam John Backauskas	....	property maker (uncredited)

Sound Department
Roy Meadows	....	sound recordist
Elden Ruberg	....	sound recordist

Stunts
Jim Burk	....	stunts (uncredited)
Polly Burson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary Combs	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Davis	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Quentin Dickey	....	stunts (uncredited)
Louie Elias	....	stunts (uncredited)
Fred Gerber	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Harris	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	....	stunts (uncredited)
Monty Jordan	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dean Smith	....	stunts (uncredited)
Neil Summers	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Luster Bayless	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Warren Low	....	supervising editor

Other crew
Gary Gillingham	....	production accountant (uncredited)
'Chema' Hernandez	....	head wrangler: Mexico (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1969) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1969) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Paramount-Films (1969) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Les Films Paramount (1970) (France) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1972) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• TV3 (1989) (Finland) (TV)
• CIC Video (1996) (Germany) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (1997) (Japan) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2000) (France) (DVD) (The John Wayne Collection)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2000) (Japan) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2000) (Canada) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Finnkino (2002) (Finland) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (Italy) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2003) (Finland) (TV) (TV2)
• Paramount Home Video (2004) (Canada) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2004) (Finland) (TV) (TV2)
• Paramount Home Video (2005) (Germany) (DVD) (The John Wayne Collection)
• Paramount Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2006) (France) (DVD) (Collection: Mes Meilleures Scéances/Eddy Mitchell)
• Paramount Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Films de España (????) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Paramount Films of Italy Inc. (????) (Italy) (theatrical)
• CIC Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (????) (Australia) (VHS)
• Esselte Video (????) (Finland) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (Spain) (????) (Spain) (DVD)

Other Companies

• National Park Service, The  thanks (as U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service)
• U.S. Forest Service  thanks (as U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service)

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | USA:G (edited for re-rating) | USA:M (original rating) | Australia:M (TV rating) | Iceland:12 | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-15 (2002) (DVD) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1969) (theatrical) | Australia:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bishop, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Henry Hathaway later said he hated Glen Campbell's performance, which he described as wooden, and claimed the singer was only cast so he could have a hit with the theme song which would help promote the film.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Kim Darby's hairstyle is from the 1960s.

Quotes:

Tom Chaney: Everything happens to me. Now I'm shot by a child.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Broken Trail: The Making of a Legendary Western (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

True Grit

The quintessential western

There isn't a false note in this film. Charles Portis' book of the same name is practically adapted verbatim to the screen; this is the purest book to movie transfer I've yet seen, and this assures its success.

John Wayne worked for 50 years to get to this role, and no one else could have played it. He becomes Rooster Cogburn; it revitalized his career and made everyone finally take notice of his skills as an actor. I love Wayne in anything, but this movie has a special place in my heart.

Kim Darby is also a surprise. She's more than capable of handling Wayne in each and every scene. They made a very good team. Glen Campbell is not as good as these two, but then he really isn't an actor. He does have his moments, though, and acquits himself with aplomb as the Texas Ranger. Strother Martin is a real hoot as Stonehill, the horse trader; he's always a great asset to any film, and this must have been his 10th appearance in a Wayne movie. Robert Duvall is very good and very harried as Lucky Ned Pepper. He's not a wanton killer; he doesn't kill, or even hurt, Kim Darby. He's just a thief who wants to be left alone, and you can see by his worried expression that he knows Rooster won't ever let him go. Dennis Hopper and Jeremy Slate have a small, very fine scene in the middle of the movie, where they are partners in crime who don't see things in the same way.

A previous review talks about the low amount of votes on this film by people in the US. I would chalk that up to the age group that saw this film and loved it. Most of those people are not into computers yet, and probably don't know about the IMDB. Believe me, it's considered a classic, and rightfully so.

This is a fine family film that everyone should see. Rent it, buy it, or borrow it, but do watch it. It will make anyone a John Wayne fan. And be sure to read the book; I couldn't put it down.