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The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

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-

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.

A young woman (Kim Darby) hires a one-eyed drunken marshal named Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) to track down her father's killer. A cocky Texas ranger (Glen Campbell) tags along to collect a reward. One of John Wayne's signature roles and his only Oscar winner. He's great in this but he certainly had many other performances he deserved an Oscar for more. The rest of the cast is good. Robert Duvall is a fine villain. Kim Darby is an acquired taste and one I was not particularly fond of the first time I watched this. She's grown on me over the years. Glen Campbell is a little wooden. Elvis Presley almost played this part. It would have been interesting to see him and Duke together in a movie. The script is excellent and the direction solid. Followed by sequel "Rooster Cogburn" with Katharine Hepburn. The recent Coen brothers' remake is not bad but doesn't improve on this film in any way. So do yourself a favor and stick with the original.

True Grit is a good movie with a very well developed storyline with a good cast and terrific character development.I read the book which is why I wanted to watch this movie,and as I was reading the book all I could picture while reading Rooster Cogburn's dialogue was John Wayne,it really was perfect casting and it's without a doubt one of his finest performances,an Academy Award dosen't lie.Other than John Wayne however,the cast is my biggest issue with the film,none of the other actors come across as even slightly inspired,I really didn't think the actor that played LaBeouf suited the character one bit,but the worst casting decision was without a doubt Kim Darby,she put no life in to Mattie Ross,she just said her lines,mostly in a very irritating manner,also Mattie comes across as a strong independent character in the book,and she did absolutely nothing to convey that personality in this film,he was like a robot and is the Mai reason why I give this movie a seven and not an eight.I would recommend the remake over this without a doubt,I don't think Jeff Bridges is as good as John Wayne was as Cogburn but still does a great job and every other actor is a huge improvement over the actors in this movie (Hailee Steinfeld,Matt Damon,Josh Brolin,etc.).Despite a mostly very mediocre cast,True Grit is still a very enjoyable movie with a solid performance from Wayne and a well written turn from a book to a film. After her fathers death,Mattie Ross gets two men to join her to seek revenge against the man who killed him,Tom Chaney.