John Wayne finally won his only Oscar for a role he initially feared playing.
In short: John Wayne was so nervous about playing the one-eyed U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn in the 1969 Western True Grit that he nearly backed out. Yet, his performance as the aging, alcoholic lawman earned him his only Academy Award for Best Actor, proving his range beyond his typical screen persona.
When John Wayne read Charles Portis's 1968 novel, he was desperate to play Rooster Cogburn, but as production neared, he grew anxious. The role was outside his comfort zone, and he lacked a clear handle on the character. Director Henry Hathaway helped steady him, even suggesting the gauze eye patch that allowed Wayne to see while maintaining the character's signature look. Wayne was so dedicated to the project that he insisted on performing the film's final stunt himself—jumping a horse over a four-rail fence—despite having undergone lung surgery in 1965.
The production was fraught with tension. Hathaway clashed with his lead actress, 21-year-old Kim Darby, whom he found difficult to direct, and had shouting matches with Robert Duvall. Conversely, Darby found Wayne to be a supportive, grounding presence who created a safe environment on set. Wayne’s commitment extended to the script itself; he championed screenwriter Marguerite Roberts, who had been blacklisted for alleged leftist affiliations, and praised her work as the best he had ever read. He was particularly fond of the film's ending, which he felt captured the spirit of Portis's original writing.
Commercially and critically, the film was a triumph. It premiered in June 1969 and eventually reached number one at the U.S. box office. Upon winning his Oscar, Wayne famously quipped that he would have worn the eye patch 35 years earlier had he known it would lead to an Academy Award. The film’s success spawned a 1975 sequel, a 1978 television movie, and a 2010 remake by the Coen brothers, cementing the story of Mattie Ross and Rooster Cogburn as a lasting piece of American cinema history.
The film's production also highlights the era's shifting standards. Initially rated M, the filmmakers edited out profanity to secure a more family-friendly G rating. While the story is set in Arkansas and Oklahoma, the rugged landscapes seen on screen were filmed in Colorado and California. Through these varied challenges, Wayne’s performance remains a standout, often compared by critics to the character-driven work of Wallace Beery from the 1930s and 1940s.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: True Grit (1969 film)
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