Back home

True Grit

838 votes

Producing House

The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 1969-06-11

Runtime: 128 mins

Director: Henry Hathaway

Spoken language: English

Genres: Western

Original title: True Grit

Production Companies: Wallis-Hazen Inc., Paramount Pictures, Taurus Film

Production Countries: United States of America

Reviews

G

Geronimo1967
This has got to be one of the finest of this genre ever made. Wayne is superb as a tough, uncompromising US marshal engaged by a naive, but headstrong Kim Darby to avenge the murder of her father. The vain, self-assured Texas Ranger "La Beouf" (Glen Campbell) is also on the hunt and the three of them set off to track down "Lucky Ned Pepper" and his gang. The photography is stunning and we do get quite a sense of the sheer scale of the territory as they close in on their prey. This is a well written, tensely, even - on occasion - quite humorously directed movie with some great music and indubitably a legend out in front who isn't afraid to look old and out of condition. Robert Duvall plays a mean "Ned Pepper" and Strother Martin has some fun as the horse-broker. This is super cinema.
2023-06-03

J

John Chard
It's about the Duke's image really you know. When her father is shot and killed, Mattie Ross is outraged and thirsting for revenge. Seeking out Rooster Cogburn based on his gritty reputation, and aided by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, they head off to find the killer. It's not bold or foolish to say that John Wayne has not only been in better films, he's also given better performances than his Oscar winning turn here in True Grit. However, few of his fans, or anyone who had watched his career closely, were complaining that the big man collected the pinnacle of acting awards. True Grit is a highly entertaining picture that when all is said and done, is as much about Wayne's image as it is a revenge character driven piece. Suffering with ill health in the twilight of his career, Wayne delivers a warm and humble performance as Cogburn. Eye patch over one eye, Rooster Cogburn is a rapscallion who is impossible to dislike, and that comes down to Wayne and his mannered performance. True Grit is boosted by the sparky performance of Kim Darby as Mattie Ross, with the chemistry between herself and Wayne warm and honest, and this gives the film its emotional core, with both characters needing each other without even knowing it. It almost wasn't to be for Darby though, Mia Farrow was the preferred choice for Mattie, but Farrow unwisely took advice from a mischievous Robert Mitchum and turned down the part, something she is quoted as saying she regretted for the rest of her career. Faring not so well, though, is Glen Cambell as LaBoeuf, guilty of trying too hard, he just becomes hard to take seriously, and this even in the jovial moments. Robert Duvall lands bad guy duties but doesn't quite get to grips with it, and the rest of the cast are merely making up the numbers. Thankfully director Henry Hathaway shoots it just about right, he, along with his excellent cinematographer Lucien Ballard, are framing Wayne and all his iconic being in one loving movie. So in what could have been a standard hunt the villain picture, actually turns out to be quite a character driven treat. 8/10
2019-05-29

Recommendations

The Hateful Eight
3.9

The Hateful Eight

2015-12-25

Bounty hunters seek shelter from a raging blizzard and get caught up in a plot of betrayal and decep

The Purple Hills
2.5

The Purple Hills

1961-10-31

When a bounty hunter kills an outlaw for the reward, he has to deal with both a man falsely claiming

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
4.2

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

1966-12-23

While the Civil War rages on between the Union and the Confederacy, three men – a quiet loner, a rut

Dead Man
3.7

Dead Man

1995-12-23

On the run after committing murder, an accountant encounters a strange Native American man who prepa

For a Few Dollars More
4

For a Few Dollars More

1965-12-18

Two bounty hunters both pursue the brutal and sadistic bandit, El Indio, who has a large bounty on h

The Wild Bunch
3.8

The Wild Bunch

1969-06-19

An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappea

The Great Silence
3.7

The Great Silence

1968-11-22

A mute gunslinger fights in the defense of a group of outlaws and a vengeful young widow, against a

Young Guns II
3.3

Young Guns II

1990-08-01

Three of the original five "young guns" — Billy the Kid, Jose Chavez y Chavez, and Doc Scurlock — re

The Naked Spur
3.5

The Naked Spur

1953-01-29

A bounty hunter trying to bring a murderer to justice is forced to accept the help of two less-than-

The Proposition
3.5

The Proposition

2005-10-06

In 1880s Australia, a lawman offers renegade Charlie Burns a difficult choice. In order to save his

Death Hunt
3.3

Death Hunt

1981-04-15

Yukon Territory, Canada, November 1931. Albert Johnson, a trapper who lives alone in the mountains,

A Man Called Blade
3.3

A Man Called Blade

1977-08-13

Maurizio Merli stars as a hatchet-wielding bounty hunter with a dark past and an even more desperate

Ned Kelly
2.4

Ned Kelly

1970-06-10

Unable to support his family in the Australian outback, a man turns to stealing horses in order to m

Hannie Caulder
3.1

Hannie Caulder

1971-11-08

After she's raped by the outlaw trio who murdered her husband, a frontierswoman hires a bounty hunte

Rust
3.4

Rust

2025-05-01

Infamous outlaw Harland Rust breaks his estranged grandson Lucas out of prison, after Lucas is convi

High Ground
3.2

High Ground

2021-01-28

In a remote corner of the wild country, a bloody war rages. Travis is a bounty hunter with one last

Take a Hard Ride
2.6

Take a Hard Ride

1975-10-29

After his cattle rancher boss dies, right-hand man Pike is given the job of returning $86,000 to som

Gunless
3.1

Gunless

2010-04-19

American gunslinger Sean Rafferty—aka The Montana Kid—is unable to find someone to duel in a Canadia

An Eye for an Eye
3.8

An Eye for an Eye

1966-06-01

A former bounty hunter teams up with a younger one, to track down and kill the wanted gang leader wh

Gallowwalkers
2.3

Gallowwalkers

2012-10-27

When a nun broke her covenant with God to save the life of her unborn son, Aman, he was cursed for