Released in 1969 and directed by Henry Hathaway, "True Grit" is a Western starring John Wayne as an overweight, one-eyed, alcoholic Marshal who signs on to help a stubborn, mature-beyond-her-years 14 year-old girl (Kim Darby) track down her father's murderer (Jeff Corey) in Indian Territory. Glen Campbell plays a Texas Ranger who joins them while Robert Duvall appears as the leader of the outlaw gang. Dennis Hopper & Jeremy Slate have peripheral roles.This is one of the Duke's better Westerns, mainly due to the great story based on Charles Portis' novel. It's talky, yet entertaining with bouts of almost shocking violence (one guy's fingers get chopped off). The locations are spectacular, shot at Inyo National Forest, California (the outlaw dugout), Colorado (Ouray, Canon City, Ridgway, Montrose & Gunnison) and Durango, Mexico. Unfortunately, they're not accurate in the least. The story in the book starts near Fort Smith in West-Central Arkansas and proceeds into the Choctaw Indian Territory of Southeastern Oklahoma, which looks nothing like the breathtaking Rocky Mountain scenery observed in the movie. The 2010 version is more accurate with a more mundane backdrop shot in East-Central Texas and New Mexico. Speaking of which, it's interesting comparing the two movies, which are on par. They're the same story and each has their highlights.Rooster Cogburn is a great character and one of Wayne's more memorable roles. Besides the two "True Grit" movies, Rooster (the character) also appears in 1975's "Rooster Cogburn" (also starring Wayne), which is as good or better than "True Grit" (believe it!), as well as a 1978 TV movie "True Grit: A Further Adventure" featuring Warren Oates as Cogburn, which I have yet to view.Darby was 21 during filming and utterly stalwart while Campbell is surprisingly good. It's also interesting seeing Duvall and Hopper in their younger years.The film runs 128 minutes. SCREENPLAY: Marguerite Roberts. ADDITIONAL CAST: H.W. Gim, Strother Martin, John Fiedler & James Westerfield.GRADE: A-

There's a lot to love about this film. Yes, love. And there aren't many actors I can say that about...even though other Westerns are more favorites for me.Let's start with John Wayne's performance. I think he deserved the Oscar...and not just as a nod to his career, but for this film in and of itself. It isn't just that Wayne was getting old, it was that here he wasn't playing typical Wayne. More than most of his films, here he played a character...and the performance is simply iconic.The next best thing about the film is the scenery and photography. Most of it was filmed in western Colorado, and the photography does the scenery justice. The one exception is the scene in the aspen trees fairly early in the film; the camera wasn't level, and I found it quite distracting.And then there's the music. Another bold and brilliant score by Elmer Bernstein.Kim Darby's darned good here. Rooster had grit, but Mattie had spunk. Those qualities work together well, even if -- as it is said -- she and Wayne didn't like each other much.So what's not to like? The performance by Glen Campbell. Don't get me wrong, as a singer, I liked Glen Campbell. But as an actor -- PU! John Wayne made almost a dozen films after this one (and I did enjoy the sequel with Katherine Hepburn), but when I think of John Wayne riding off into the sunset...this is the film that comes to mind.

Just watched it on TV for about the eighth time. The film is a masterpiece. Just as was the novel on which it is based, written in the language of the story's historical context in a quite extraordinary way. John Wayne's and Kim Darby's performances are faultless, and the Texas Ranger is not bad either. And what about the music by Elmer Bernstein? Just looked him up to find - not surprisingly - that he was a pupil of Aaron Copland. What had struck me before were the unexpected echoes of Bartok, which fit with the action quite brilliantly.I don't know whether the film stock has been re-jigged in some way since the film was first made, or whether I now have a better television, but the quality comes up lovely. When the modern remake by the Coen brothers came out it got a lot of praise for greater authentic atmosphere and truth to the novel. Not by me. Give me a hero who doesn't mumble, for starters. And the compressed ending of the 1969 film is better than the long-winded one of the novel. The new film has its merits, certainly, but it does not replace the Wayne/Darby mini-epic.

No non-sense Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) is determined to find justice against Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey) who killed her father. Tom was their employee brought along to buy Texas ponies at Fort Smith. Tom escaped to the Indian territories with bandits Ned Pepper (Robert Duvall), Moon (Dennis Hopper) and Quincy (Jeremy Slate). It's a federal matter for the Marshals. Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) is drunk, toughest Marshal around. Mattie hires him for $100. Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Glen Campbell) is also after Chaney for a $500 reward for killing a State Senator if he's brought back to Texas alive. The family is also offering $1500 for Chaney dead or alive. It's a reluctant unlikely posse with Mattie determined to have justice there, La Boeuf needing him alive in Texas, and Rooster who tends to kill his targets.John Wayne is perfect for the role of the old drunken tough guy. In fact, it might be too obvious. Kim Darby fits her role very well although she's older than the character. She isn't a leading lady actress and that works in her favor in this role. It's actually fine if John Wayne hated her because it works on screen. On the other hand, Glen Campbell is a poor choice and fails to bring life to La Boeuf.