True Grit
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True Grit is a 1968 story by Charles Portis, originally published in The Saturday Evening Post, which was subsequently published again in book form with slightly different content. It is also an American feature film adapted from the book version.
Story
Portis’ novel tells the story of 69-year-old Mattie Ross, a pious, banker who seems to love money, quoting scripture, and going to church. Now in 1928, she tells the story of what happened to her in her life 55 years earlier, in 1873.As a fourteen-year-old girl, Mattie Ross is out for revenge for her father’s death, at the hands of a vagabond hired hand named Tom Chaney. Chaney had worked on the Ross’ family farm in west central Arkansas, near the town of Dardanelle in Yell County. Frank Ross and Chaney had gone to Fort Smith to buy some horses, for which Ross took along some silver dollars. Chaney then got drunk and lost his wages gambling, so he killed Ross to get the silver dollars and then fled through Fort Smith into Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). Learning that Chaney had hooked up with Ned Pepper and his gang, most of the marshals, especially those with families, didn’t want to risk going after the gang. Mattie aims to track him down, and when she arrives in Fort Smith she asks around for the toughest deputy United States Marshal in the district. That man is Deputy Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn, and although he is unkempt, overweight, middle-aged, has only one eye, is likely to shoot first and ask questions later, and never seems to miss a drink of whiskey, he also has “grit.” Mattie learns he has a reputation of getting his man, no matter what the odds, and no matter how hard it appears to be.
Mattie finally persuades Cogburn to take on the job, by bating his thirst for more whiskey, by giving him money to buy drink. Also as part of the bargain she must go along. During the negotiations a Texas Ranger named La Boeuf appears on the scene, who is also tracking Chaney for killing a senator in Texas. La Boeuf is chasing Chaney for a big reward and the glory of self-promotion. After some haggling Cogburn and La Boeuf agree to join in the hunt. Unbeknownst to Mattie, Cogburn plans to ditch her at the crossing of the Arkansas River before crossing into Indian Territory.
When they get to the ferry, Rooster tells the ferry master that she is a runaway, and that there is a reward for her. After Rooster and La Boeuf head across the river, Mattie, whose reins are being held by the ferry master, says that she must adjust her hat. She takes the hat and slaps him across the face, then fords the river on horseback. Rooster admires this show of grit in Mattie (“she reminds me of me”), but they still plan to ditch her. Rooster and La Boeuf try to outrun her on horseback, but that doesn’t work either, so they decide to ambush her. La Boeuf grabs her and says he’s going to spank her. Rooster has seen enough, so he relents and orders La Boeuf to stop.
The three head west to a trading post run by Mr. and Mrs. McAlester (at the place that would become McAlester, Oklahoma). There are only about five buildings in the little post, a store, a barber shop (where the barber also acts as the local doctor), a barn, and a couple of houses.
The story is a moral lesson and very biblical in nature, and the two main themes of the story are the greed of money, and retribution and justice—“an-eye-for-an-eye.” The story also deals with the contradiction of Mattie’s strict sobriety and abstention from profanity, and Rooster’s use of both alcohol and swear words to excess, but that they can still work together and get along to reach a common goal.
The story is also one of transitions, mainly that of the parallel transition of Mattie. First, and most obvious, is the physical transition of a girl becoming a woman. Second, there is the transition of her thinking that everything can be solved by words, via the Bible and law, to the realization that there are people in the world who can be controlled only by stronger means. This transition goes from her quoting scripture and the sayings of family attorney, J. Noble Daggett (who “she draws like a gun”), to being forced to deal with men like Chaney, Col. G. Stonehill, Rooster, La Boeuf, Emmett Quincy, and Moon, realizing things are not as black-and-white as she had thought they were.
Rooster and La Boeuf also go through transitions. Rooster has changed from the man he was in Illinois to the hard man he has become. Now, meeting Mattie is causing him to think about things differently. Rooster goes from thinking only about himself, to a hero for Mattie, first in the one-on-four shootout, then in rescuing Mattie from a well into which she had been thrown and racing to the doctor. La Boeuf also moves from being completely obsessed with pride, the money and glory catching Chaney, and the pride with which he seems to take in everything connected with Texas, to realizing that there may be more to life. Unfortunately for him, it comes too late to make it back to Texas.
Portis writes one or more of the “seven deadly sins” into all of the characters. Mattie and La Boeuf are prideful, Rooster demonstrates gluttony and anger, all of the “bad guys” of course have greed as their main sin, but also exhibit sloth and anger, and to a lesser degree envy, pride, and lust. Of course Chaney shows the traits for all seven of them. There are more references to these in the book than in the movie.
Film
The novel was adapted by Marguerite Roberts into a 1969 Western film, and it is directed by Henry Hathaway. Hal B. Wallis is the producer, Lucien Ballard the director of photography, and Elmer Bernstein provides the musical score.Filming took place mainly in Ouray County, Colorado, in the vicinity of Ridgway (now the home of the True Grit Cafe), and the town of Ouray. The courtroom scenes were filmed at Ouray County Courthouse in Ouray. (The breathtaking mountain scenery is in sharp constrast to the script's references to place names in Arkansas and Oklahoma.)
It stars John Wayne (Rooster Cogburn), Glen Campbell (La Boeuf), Kim Darby (Mattie Ross), Jeremy Slate (Emmett Quincy), Robert Duvall (Lucky Ned Pepper), Dennis Hopper (Moon), Strother Martin (Col. G. Stonehill), and Jeff Corey (Tom Chaney).
The movie doesn’t deal with a Mattie of later years, but picks up where she is doing a to the 14-year-old girl. Also in the book, Mattie is the central character; in the movie, Mattie remains the primary character in the first half but Rooster gets just as much screen time in the second half. The film also downplays the heavier biblical tone that is seen in the novel.
Wayne called the script written by Roberts ‘the best he’d ever read’. He also considered his scene with Darby where Rooster tells Mattie about his wife in Illinois and the hardware store, the best scene he ever did in his career.
Critics have noted that Wayne's Oscar-winning performance as Rooster Cogburn bears close similarities to the way Wallace Beery portrayed characters in the 1930s and 1940s, an inspired if surprising choice on Wayne's part.
To the discouragement of director Hathaway, Wayne does the stunt in final scene of the movie, jumping the fence on horseback (“Well, come see a fat old man sometime”). Wayne fell in love with the horse he rode at the end of the movie. That horse in the final scene would ride with Wayne through several westerns, including his final movie, The Shootist. Dollor, or “ole Dollor” would even get in the script of that movie.
John Wayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the Golden Globe. The movie was nominated for Best Music, Song (for Elmer Bernstein and Don Black for “True Grit”).
True Grit was followed by a sequel, Rooster Cogburn, in 1975. It was also remade for television in 1978, starring Warren Oates and Lisa Pelikan.
Quotes
You can find some quotes at .External links
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