Though much depends on the spunk of Mattie Ross (Kim Darby-- standing up to John Wayne and to a horse trader played by Strother Martin, never betraying her values or her determination to hunt down her father's killer --, John Wayne is really very good as the aging superhero Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit". I don't begrudge him his 1969 best-actor Oscar for finally getting the showy kind of role that wins Oscars (after Howard Hawks gave the showy drunk roles in "Rio Bravo," El Dorado, and "Rio Lobo" to others, requiring the stolid Wayne character to hold them up, sober them up, and lead them into gun battle) -- although Wayne was more deserving of such recognition in "The Quiet Man" or "The Searchers." (All three roles gain impact from diverging in some ways from the "Duke" screen persona of the more than a hundred western in which John Wayne starred. "Rooster" Cogburn spoofs Wayne's collected works in ways similar to Bogart in Beat the Devil)

The film has an interesting villain in Robert Duvall (as gang-leader Ned Pepper) and is also very scenic (without looking in the least like Oklahoma -- it was obviously filmed much farther north and west, mostly in Colorado, partly near Bishop, California). It is stunningly photographed by the great Lucien Ballard (Will Penny, The Wild Bunch and other Peckinpagh films and von Sternberg's "The Devil Is a Woman") with an Elmer Bernstein score (though not one of his best).

I found the scenes in which Darby baits the boarding house matron almost as good as those with the horse trader (in which she drily proclaims that in her experience geldings are not a good investment for breeding. Surprisingly, singer Glen Campbell was not bad. Though obviously not much of an actor, he was outright entertaining when he is ragging Cogburn about the Civil War bushwhackers. Most of what happens after he falls off his horse feels false, though his Texas ranger/bounty hunter is far from being the most interesting character in the movie.

The DVD includes no extras other than a theatrical trailer. It has a very good image transfer and clear (though monophonic) sound.

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For other Lean & Mean III entries, see http://www.epinions.com/content_4149256324.

Henry Hathaway also directed Wayne in a comic (north-)western I remember enjoying as a child, "North to Alaska" and the stylish 1960 heist film Seven Thieves.

Also see my reviews of two other darkly humorous road novels by Charles Portis, author of True Grit:
Gringos
Norwood


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older