True Grit (1969)
86%RT Audience Score: 84%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 10 Oscars
38 wins & 169 nominations total
True Grit rides along on the strength of a lived-in late-period John Wayne performance, adding its own entertaining spin to the oft-adapted source material
True Grit is a classic Western that’s got it all: gun violence, memorable characters, and a rambunctious turn from John Wayne that’s both amiable and reprehensible (but in a good way). It’s a road trip-styled revenge epic that’s action-packed, humorous, and just plain entertaining. Sure, Wayne’s larger-than-life performance flirts with self-parody, but that’s part of the charm. It’s not great cinema, but it’s great fun. Yeehaw!
Production Company(ies)
Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Buena Vista Ranch, New Mexico, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of western violence including disturbing images
Year of Release
1969
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:SDDS DTS Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:2h 8m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 11, 1969 Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 14, 2002
Genre(s)
Western
Keyword(s)
starring John Wayne, Glen Campbell, Kim Darby, Jeremy Slate, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Corey, directed by Henry Hathaway, written by Marguerite Roberts, produced by Hal B Wallis, Western, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Nick Schager, Laremy Legel, Stephanie Zacharek, Joe Neumaier, Nell Minow, Peter Howell, Michael Kostelnuk, Matt Brunson, Mike Massie, Penelope Houston, MPAA rating G, vengeance, U.S Marshal, Texas Ranger, outlaw, revenge, adventure, Technicolor, cinematography, landscapes, John Wayne’s performance, Kim Darby’s performance, Academy Award, revenge-themed, classic Hollywood, Robert Duvall’s performance, Dennis Hopper’s performance, Jeff Corey’s performance, Glen Campbell’s performance, Henry Hathaway’s collaboration with John Wayne, Paramount Pictures
Worldwide gross: $252,276,927
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $342,941,854
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 443
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 37,398,239
US/Canada gross: $171,243,005
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $232,785,432
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 288
US/Canada opening weekend: $24,830,443
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $33,754,169
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 390
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $38,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $51,656,688
Production budget ranking: 770
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $27,817,126
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $263,468,039
ROI to date (est.): 332%
ROI ranking: 419
Glen Campbell – La Boeuf
Kim Darby – Mattie Ross
Jeremy Slate – Emmett Quincy
Robert Duvall – Ned Pepper
Dennis Hopper – Moon
Director(s)
Henry Hathaway
Writer(s)
Marguerite Roberts
Producer(s)
Hal B. Wallis
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 10 Oscars
38 wins & 169 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (55) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (49) | Rotten (6)
Far too often for True Grit to quite overcome, [Wayne’s] larger-than-life turn flirts with, if not outright topples into, self-parody.
January 5, 2011 | Rating: C+
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
TOP CRITIC
January 1, 2011 | Rating: A
Laremy Legel
Film.com
TOP CRITIC
December 27, 2010 | Rating: 8.5/10
Stephanie Zacharek
Movieline
TOP CRITIC
December 25, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Joe Neumaier
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
December 25, 2010 | Rating: A-
Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
December 25, 2010 | Rating: 3/4
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
TOP CRITIC
A marvelously entertaining blend of classic Western melodrama and irresistible old-style sentiment.
August 19, 2021
Michael Kostelnuk
Winnipeg Free Press
Wayne won a Best Actor Academy Award for his rambunctious turn.
May 30, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
A winning, action-packed, humorous, road trip-styled revenge epic.
August 27, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
True Grit depends on that simple, no doubt reprehensible (at least emphatically illiberal), irrepressibly amiable star image the cinema is supposed to have out- grown.
July 18, 2018
Penelope Houston
The Spectator
Classic Western with memorable characters, some gun violence
April 18, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Andrea Beach
Common Sense Media
Maybe it is not great cinema, but it is great entertainment.
July 1, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Phil Hall
Examiner.com…
Plot
Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. marshal she can find, a man with “true grit,” Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn. Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and surprises on the journey, and each has his or her “grit” tested.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
John Wayne won an Academy Award for his performance as U.S. Marshal “Rooster” Cogburn.
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