Dog, Horse and Mule Action:
All grounds were inspected for hazards and sets were closed off and secured. The dogs briefly seen walking in the background were cued by off-camera trainers. Horses were seen performing such mild action as being ridden, held by reins or tied to posts, and mounted/dismounted. For these scenes, well-trained horses were ridden by or surrounded by costumed trainers or experienced actors who were skilled at riding, mounting and dismounting. All actors were given riding lessons or instructed on the handling of the horses before filming began.
All running/galloping scenes were well choreographed, and actors used caution while on the horses. When horses pulled wagons or carriages, the drivers were experienced and horses were accustomed to the pulling action. These particular horses were accustomed to walking on hilly terrain and on snowy ground. Animals were never around gunfire (except for a couple of scenes involving powder blanks or visual effects using prop guns that emit smoke and flash) — the actors pantomimed/simulated the action of shooting each other. During a few gunfire scenes, several horses “reacted” to this or laid down as if shot. These were well choreographed scenes — costumed trainers cued the horses to “dance/prance,” and a couple of horses were specially trained “lay down” horses that were cued to lay for a brief moment.
After being cued to lay down, the trained horses were then replaced with stuffed prop horses to make it appear as if the horses were injured/killed. When Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) appears to stab a horse in the leg while it runs, this was a rubber prop knife rigged with fake blood that oozed out when triggered. At the end of this scene, Cogburn appears to shoot and kill the now-collapsed horse — the horse was a trained “lay down” horse, and the actor merely pantomimed the shooting. When Mattie (Hailee Steinfeld) first rides her horse and it rears/acts feisty, this was a combination of a stunt double who cued the horse and the actual actress, who was well rehearsed on getting the horse to “prance.”
During the scene in which Mattie runs her horse into the deep river and crosses it, this was filmed in separate shots involving a trained live horse, a mechanical/animatronic horse, and visual effects. Safety boats were in the water, along with trainers and stunt persons. The river had been carefully checked for hazards, and ramps were used to get the horse easily into and out of the water. A stunt person rode/guided the horse for all of this scene except the close ups, which took place in the shallowest part of the river, but it was edited to make it look as if the girl was on it the entire time. This horse was specially trained and very well rehearsed to swim, and the swimming action was actually only a short distance at a time with breaks in between.
The horse appearing to pull Mattie and Cogburn out from the snake cave never actually pulled them — trainers held the rope and created tension on it while the camera showed the people being hoisted up out of the cave in the absence of the horse.
When a boy and his father appear to torment a mule by hitting it with a stick and a broom, this was merely pantomimed — the animal was never touched with the objects, but was instead cued by the off-screen trainer to “prance” as if reacting.
Falcon Action:
A falcon is seen on the shoulder of a corpse hanging from a tree before flying off. For this brief and mild action, a trainer placed the bird, who was equipped with a monofilament line on its leg, on its mark on the “corpse” (dummy). The trainer then cued the bird to fly to a second branch, which had food placed on it beforehand to entice the bird to fly to it. The bird was retrieved right after.
Snake Action:
When Mattie was in a cave filled with snakes, this was a combination of real snakes, rubber snakes, and CGI. The real snakes were placed on their marks and allowed to slither along at liberty, doing whatever came naturally for a brief moment. The cave set was enclosed and secured, and the snakes were retrieved after this brief scene. Visual effects/CGI finished off the scene, including biting, being tossed, and being shot at.
Production provided documentation for the pelts, bear-skin (and head) coat, and defeathered dead geese/duck props.
FAQs
Although True Grit is fiction, the closest thing to a real Marshall Cogburn was Bass Reeves. Serving under Parker he arrested over 3000 criminals in a very long career (including arresting his own son for murder). Reeves was also the inspiration for the character "The Lone Ranger".
How old was Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit? ›
When she nabbed her Oscar-nominated role in True Grit, a 13-year-old Steinfeld was told: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Where was the hanging scene in True Grit filmed? ›
Ouray County was the main film location with key sets in the movie located right in Ridgway. In six weeks in 1968, the film crew turned the center of this old railroad town into the 1880s-style Fort Smith, Arkansas, complete with Hanging Judge Parker's three-man gallows.
Was Jeff Bridges nominated for True Grit? ›
The 83rd Academy Awards nominated the movie for ten of its accolades, but True Grit failed to win any awards. Among the nominations were Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor (giving Bridges his sixth nomination), Best Supporting Actress and Best Art Direction.
Did people really talk like they do in True Grit? ›
So True Grit (the novel) has definitely got a lower frequency of contractions than the other two works, even though it's not in fact contraction-free; and this pattern is not a true picture of the 1870s southern or south-midland vernacular that its characters (like Mark Twain) presumably spoke.
Was there a real life Rooster Cogburn? ›
Created by author Charles Portis, Rooster Cogburn does not represent an actual deputy, but is instead an amalgamation of the real men who served the federal court in Fort Smith. Portis intended the character to be "a representative figure of those hardy deputy marshals who worked for Judge Parker's court."
How old was Kim Darby when she filmed True Grit? ›
Among her many films are True Grit, in which she played a 14-year-old when she was 21 years old; The Strawberry Statement (1970); Norwood (1970); The One and Only (1978); Better Off Dead (1985); and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995).
How old was Robert Duvall when he made True Grit? ›
The actor in question was Robert Duvall, who played Lucky Ned Pepper in True Grit, which is on ITV4 today. The almost 92-year-old was 38 at the time and was yet to become the leading man he would in his later Hollywood career.
How old was John Wayne when he made True Grit? ›
In "True Grit" (1969), his new film, the 62-year-old actor plays the disreputable, one-eyed, drunken, rascally Rooster Cogburn, a federal marshal and fat old man. And as Rooster, John Wayne looks like the distillation of fat old men, as if he had been aging and fattening for years to get there.
Where is Rooster Cogburn buried? ›
He was buried in a Memphis, Tennessee, Confederate cemetery. When Mattie arrived in Memphis and learned of his death, she had his body removed to her family plot in Yell County, Arkansas and visited it over the years. His gravestone shows his full name to be Reuben Cogburn, and his date of death to be August 12, 1903.
These True Grit action scenes were filmed somewhere on the Colorado River in Texas, to the west of Lampasas.
Where is the snake pit in True Grit? ›
The snakepit scene is located on Camp Bird Road outside Ouray (as you're leaving town and heading toward Silverton on the Million Dollar Highway, you'll see the sign for Camp Bird Road, just take a right).
How old was Jeff Bridges when he made True Grit? ›
As mentioned in the trivia from the original True Grit (1969), the character of Rooster Cogburn is supposed to be around 40, both John Wayne and Jeff Bridges were in their early 60's when they portrayed their roles. John Wayne was 62, Jeff Bridges was 60.
How many Oscars did True Grit win? ›
It was nominated for ten Academy Awards, but won none: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor (Bridges), Best Supporting Actress (Steinfeld), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing.
Was Elvis offered a role in True Grit? ›
Since Wayne was already such a huge star, True Grit's producers declined Elvis even though he was their original choice for the role of LaBoeuf.
Which True Grit is more accurate? ›
The 1969 adaptation made Cogburn the lead character so the movie could be a starring vehicle for Wayne, but the 2010 remake remained truer to the original story. Jeff Bridges' Cogburn isn't the lead character in the Coens' True Grit; Hailee Steinfeld's Mattie takes center stage.
Was Lucky Ned Pepper a real person? ›
Lucky Ned Pepper, Tom Chaney and the other outlaws in True Grit are also fictional, though in looking over this list of criminals tried in Fort Smith, it’s easy to see how colorful the real ones were.
Which True Grit movie is closest to the book? ›
In terms of events, again, the Coen Brothers' True Grit is more directly suited to staying accurate with the book.
What is the historical context of the True Grit? ›
True Grit begins in 1878, just after Reconstruction, but both Reconstruction and the Civil War remain very important for the characters of Mattie, LaBoeuf, and Rooster.
