True Grit | John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell (2024)

True Grit | John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell (1)

True Grit, American western film, released in 1969, that was a late career triumph for John Wayne, who won his only Academy Award for his performance as the cantankerous U.S. marshal Rooster Cogburn.

Mattie Ross (played by Kim Darby) is a headstrong 14-year-old girl who is determined to find her father’s killer, Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey). She hires the drunken and slovenly Cogburn to help her track Chaney in a remote expanse of wilderness where outlaws roam freely. They are joined by La Boeuf (Glen Campbell), an arrogant young Texas Ranger who wants to arrest Chaney for the murder of a senator in his home state. The trio eventually learns that the killer is riding with a gang led by Ned Pepper (Robert Duvall). During an unexpected encounter, Ross wounds Chaney but is captured by Pepper’s gang. Cogburn and La Boeuf come to her rescue, and, in perhaps the film’s most-memorable scene, Cogburn charges the bandits, holding the horse’s reins between his teeth while wielding a pistol in one hand and a rifle in the other. He kills several of the outlaws, but his horse is shot and collapses, trapping the lawman. La Boeuf saves him from certain death by shooting Pepper but is then mortally wounded by Chaney, who in turn is shot and killed by Cogburn. During the rescue, Ross is bitten by a rattlesnake after falling into a pit, and Cogburn races against time in a successful attempt to save her life.

True Grit | John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell (3)

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True Grit, an adaptation of Charles Portis’s novel (1968), was directed by Henry Hathaway, who made a number of films with Wayne. This was arguably their finest collaboration, especially noted for the performance by Wayne, who played against type as the boozy and self-centred Cogburn. However, Campbell and Darby also earned praise, and Elmer Bernstein’s score and title theme are generally considered classics. The movie was a box-office hit and spawned a sequel, Rooster Cogburn (1975), that paired Wayne with Katharine Hepburn. In 2010 the Coen brothers released a critically acclaimed remake of True Grit, with Jeff Bridges as Cogburn and Matt Damon as La Boeuf.

Production notes and credits

Cast

  • John Wayne (Rooster Cogburn)

  • Glen Campbell (La Boeuf)

  • Kim Darby (Mattie Ross)

  • Robert Duvall (Ned Pepper)

  • Jeremy Slate (Emmett Quincy)

Academy Award nominations (* denotes win)

  • Lead actor* (John Wayne)

  • Song (“True Grit”)

Lee Pfeiffer
True Grit | John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell (2024)

FAQs

What is the famous line from True Grit? ›

The quote from True Grit, "You must pay for everything in this world, one way and another. There is nothing free except the grace of God," captures the essence of life's inherent trade-offs.

Why was Glen Campbell chosen for True Grit? ›

Glen Campbell was then cast instead. In multiple interviews, Campbell claimed that Wayne, along with his daughter, approached him backstage at his show, and asked him if he would like to be in a movie. Wayne began lobbying for the part of Rooster Cogburn after reading the novel by Charles Portis.

How old was Kim Darby when she filmed True Grit? ›

She was twenty-one when producer Hal B. Wallis saw her in an episode of Run for Your Life (1965) and decided to offer her the coveted role of "Mattie Ross", opposite John Wayne's "Rooster Cogburn", in True Grit (1969). The classic western earned Wayne his only Oscar and made Kim Darby a film star.

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.

Did John Wayne really jump the fence at the end of True Grit? ›

The final scene of TRUE. GRIT, with the legendary John Wayne performing his. own stunt, jumping his horse over that “four-rail. fence,” is unforgettable, and a fitting way to tip one's.

Why did John Wayne not like True Grit? ›

As a method actor, he became frustrated when Wayne and True Grit director Henry Hathaway's plans for his character didn't match up with his. As a result, confrontations on set became commonplace.

Did John Wayne get along with Robert Duvall? ›

As a result, the pair would have fierce arguments which eventually were interjected by Wayne himself. True Grit was Duke's passion project after all and the Western legend ended up fighting with Duvall himself to the point where he threatened to punch him if he didn't stop arguing with Hathaway.

Why did Glen Campbell exclude three children from his will? ›

The three were left out of both wills. Kennedy noted in his ruling that the three intended to contest the singer's capacity to agree to the wills and also that he was subject to undue influence. Campbell had suffered from Alzheimer's disease for several years prior to his death on Aug.

Was Robert Duvall in True Grit with John Wayne? ›

True Grit's celebrity-studded cast featured Wayne, Glen Campbell, Kim Darby, Robert Duvall, and Dennis Hopper. A 2010 remake of the popular movie featured Jeff Bridges in the lead role, but the original continues to have the most devotees, in large part to John Wayne's iconic personality.

How old was Rooster Cogburn in 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.

What happened to the actress who played Mattie Ross in True Grit? ›

When she starred opposite John Wayne in the 1969 western True Grit, Kim Darby could easily have been forgiven for believing the role would be the start of a long and glittering career. In truth, though, defying predictions that a star was born, she has made no films of note since.

Who was the girl in the first True Grit? ›

Kim Darby played Mattie Ross in the original “True Grit” (1969) with John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn and Glen Campbell as La Boeuf.

Did John Wayne want Elvis for True Grit? ›

He said: “In fact, he asked him a couple of times.” In the end, his manager The Colonel pushed it too far by demanding that Elvis should receive top billing above Wayne if he were to play the Texan in True Grit.

Who was John Wayne's best friend? ›

As a devoted fan and historian of Hollywood's golden era, I have spent countless hours researching the lives of the industry's most iconic stars. And when it comes to John Wayne, there's one man that immediately comes to mind as his closest and most enduring friend - the legendary actor Ward Bond.

Why did John Wayne never serve in the military? ›

The cold reality is that he studiously avoided military service. He decided that his career was a higher priority. It was a decision that would haunt him the rest of his life and would damage his relationships with some of his friends, most notably his principal mentor, film director John Ford.

What was John Wayne's famous line? ›

1. "Whoa, take 'er easy there, Pilgrim." 2. "Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway."

What is the last line in True Grit? ›

From “True Grit,” the book's final lines from the narrator, Mattie Ross: “Time just gets away from us. This ends my true account of how I avenged Frank Ross's blood over in the Choctaw Nation when snow was on the ground.”

What did Rooster Cogburn say? ›

Rooster Cogburn: You can tell him to his face, you can spit in his eye, you can make him eat sand out of the road, you can shoot him in the foot and I'll hold him for you - but first we gotta catch him.

What was Mattie Ross's quote? ›

There is nothing free except the Grace of God. You cannot earn that or deserve it.” “The buildings are made of fieldstone and all the windows need washing.”

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