True Grit

John Wayne gives an Oscar winning performance in “True Grit”

John Wayne stars in “True Grit” as the cantankerous but likable Rooster Cogburn.  He’s stubborn, one-eyed and drinks too much, but when it comes to getting the job done, U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn is the man you want. 

One day, Cogburn is approached by a young fourteen year old girl named Mattie Hayes (Kim Darby) who wants to hire him to find the man who killed her father and took all of his money.  She wants revenge. And she firmly believes Rooster Cogburn is the best man for the job because he has “True Grit.”

Cogburn ultimately agrees to help herr, but finds himself saddled with the girl and a Texas Ranger named La Beouf (Glen Campbell) who is looking for the same man. 

The trio has trouble getting along.  But they somehow manage to overcome their personal problems with each other so that they can focus on getting the killer and the notorious gang that he is traveling with.

•  John Wayne won his only Academy Award for his performance in “True Grit.”  Wayne was nominated for the Academy Award for two other movies, but didn’t win.  They were: “The Alamo” and “Sands of Iwo Jima.”

• This movie is based on the novel "True Grit" by Charles Portis. In the novel, the daughter Mattie plays a more central role in the story.

•  John Wayne reprised his character “Rooster Cogburn” in the 1975 movie named “Rooster Cogburn.” In this western, he is teamed with an older woman named Eula Goodnight who is played by Katharine Hepburn.

•  The director of this movie, Henry Hathaway, also directed these other popular western films:

• The Sons of Katie Elder
• How the West Was Won (3 segments)
• Rawhide
• Nevada Smith

•  There was a sequel made to “True Grit” that aired on television nine years later in 1978.  “True Grit: A Further Adventure” starred Warren Oates as Rooster Cogburn and was shown after both of the John Wayne Rooster Cogburn movies were released.

•  John Wayne won both the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for his performance in “True Grit.”  It turns out that this was the only Best Actor Academy Award that John Wayne would ever win. 

• “True Grit” was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song.

• "True Grit" was also nominated for two additional Golden Globe Awards: Best Original Song (Elmer Bernstein and Don Black) and Most Promising Male Newcomer (Glen Campbell)

• "True Grit" won the coveted 1970 Bronze Wrangler Award for Theatrical Motion Picture from the Western Heritage Awards.