True Grit (1969)
7/10
A Western adventure on its own account...
3 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Henry Hathaway's "True Grit" can stand up very well as Western adventure on its own account—the story of a young girl (Kim Darby) coolly hiring an old lawman (John Wayne) to seek out the murderer (Jeff Corey) of her father… Texas Ranger Glen Campbell rides along in the hope of collecting reward money…

Suspense, action—the film has more than its share—and the practiced hand of Hathaway sees that justice is done in these terms… But when this has faded, when perhaps even the engaging and forceful Kim Darby has extent in time, Wayne's portrait of that fat, mean, greedy, eye-patched, Whisky drinking and yet in some strange way lovable lawman will remain… It will remain as a fine comedy performance, not as self-parody of his many Western roles, as has been rather ungraciously suggested...

Marshal Rooster Cogburn is a kind of a tough U.S. Marshal with a cutting edge… Without any doubt the West knew characters like him... John Ford would know exactly what Wayne was about in this role…

When he says in the declining moments of this picture: 'Come and see a fat old man some time,' that's a standing invitation… Audiences will want a peek at this portrait for some considerable time to come
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