True Grit
Dir: Henry Hathaway
1969
****
The real genius behind Henry Hathaway's 1969 classic Western True Grit is the brilliant script. The performances are very good, the direction, pace and music too but the script is as sharp as a knife. Marguerite Roberts's script is one of the best of the 60s in my opinion and to give credit it where it is due John Wayne delivered it perfectly. It's a bit of a surprise that Wayne even worked with Roberts after she was blacklisted by the house of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) but then I guess he saw himself as working on a film written by Charles Portis rather than Roberts. Charles Portis's novel is fine but it is the changes made by Roberts that I think is the real key to the films success. Rooster Cogburn remains one of cinema's favorite characters and True Grit one of America's greatest Westerns and deservedly so.