True Grit (1969)

Directed by Henry Hathaway. Starring John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Jeff Corey, Robert Duvall, Strother Martin, Jeremy Slate, Dennis Hopper, Alfred Ryder, John Fiedler, Ron Soble. [G]

Wayne won his “career Oscar” for his vital (but surprisingly ordinary) slice-of-ham portrayal of tough, surly U.S. Marshal “Rooster” Cogburn in this adaptation of Charles Portis’ same-named novel that dwells over the meaning of grit in a man’s character (or that of a precocious girl). That girl is Mattie Ross (Darby), and she’s the one hiring Cogburn to track the low-down ingrate that killed her pappy. A sturdy Western in veteran director Hathaway’s dependable hands, photographed with lovely grandeur by Lucien Ballard. Its plucky heroine and lack of complexity marks it as kid’s stuff a little too often, but there’s just enough sophistication and ornery cruelty to satisfy the older oater faithful. However, said heroine is brought to the screen in a manner that bristles between grating and ingratiating, played by a dreadfully miscast Darby, who is way too old for the role (the twenty-something actress is supposed to be a fourteen-year-old girl) and essays the character with more gawp than glare; singer Campbell fares no better as a Texas Ranger that joins the manhunt, wooden and ungainly. Followed by a sequel (Rooster Cogburn) and a 2010 remake from the Coen brothers.

68/100