Rent True Grit (1969)

Waynes Oscar Winning Film! - True Grit review by CP Customer

In John Waynes' only Oscar wining role he plays the drunken marshal Rooster Cogburn. He has a shady past, but is hired by young and feisty Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) to catch the man who shot her father because she is told Rooster Cogburn has "True Grit"

This is an extremely enjoyable watch for the whole family. I especially enjoyed the witty dialogue between Rooster Cogburn, Mattie and La Boeuf (Glen Campbell)

It's full of suspense, humour and some quite touching moments as the characters develop throughout, a quintessential must see for any Wayne or western fan.

John Wayne Oscar Winning - True Grit review by GI

Hugely watchable and entertaining western probably more famed for being John Wayne's Oscar win for Best Actor although he'd been better quite a few times before and this is more like his 'honorary' win for services rendered. Viewed today it's the rather wonderful cinematography that shines through as the film has some lovely views of the Colorado mountains and forests although the story is set in Arkansas, a more poignant setting than the usual dusty desert scenarios of westerns. Wayne plays US Marshall 'Rooster' Cogburn, a curmudgeonly and tough hombre recruited by a young girl (Kim Darby) to bring her father's killer to justice. Cogburn's a drunk and unreliable but ultimately comes across as a sort of uncle figure. This is at odds with the character from the novel where Cogburn is quite nasty and ruthless and the version that Jeff Bridges employs in the 2010 remake. The film is hampered by the casting of country singer Glenn Campbell as a Texas ranger, he's simply awful and totally wooden and a better actor would have improved the film because the sparring with Wayne is part of the story. Darby too has come into some criticism for her portrayal too not least from Wayne but for the most part she does give a quite nuanced performance and especially as her character is designed to be bolshy but naïve it's easy to dislike her. In any case this is Wayne's film and one of his last good ones at that. Support from Robert Duvall and an early role for Dennis Hopper adds appeal. If you like a good western then this does the job.