MAGNET contributing writer Jud Cost is sharing some of the wealth of classic films he’s been lucky enough to see over the past 40 years. Trolling the backwaters of cinema, he has worked up a list of more than 100 titles—from the ’20s through the ’80s—that you may have missed. A new selection, all currently available on DVD, appears every week.
True Grit (1969, 127 minutes)
U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne), a rugged, overweight man in his 60s, roughly dressed with a black patch covering his left eye, is transferring eight shackled prisoners from a horse-drawn, barred carriage into the jail at Fort Smith, Ark. The last prisoner to hit the ground is too slow for Cogburn’s liking. “Go on!” shouts the marshal as he gives him a swift kick in the pants.
Mattie Ross (Kim Darby), a young girl of about 17, has just arrived in Fort Smith to have her father’s body shipped back home and to hire someone to help her track down his killer, Tom Chaney, a former family employee. Three men are about to be hanged in the town’s central park, amid a festive atmosphere of kids playing on swings and adults eating tamales cooked by local merchants. “That’s Judge Parker, the hanging judge,” says a deputy sheriff to Mattie, pointing at a man peering out a second-floor window of the courthouse across the street.
“Why aren’t you out looking for Tom Chaney?” the headstrong girl bluntly asks the sheriff (John Doucette), the next morning. “He’s fled to the Indian nation. I have no authority there. He’s now the business of the U.S. Marshal,” replies the sheriff. “And who is the best marshal they have?” Mattie inquires. “The meanest one is Rooster Cogburn, a pitiless man, double-tough. Fear don’t enter into his thinking,” he says. “He’s testifying before Judge Parker tomorrow.”
Mattie is seated in court the next afternoon as a trial is about to resume. “Defense will cross-examine,” orders Judge Parker, sucking on a mint for a sour stomach. “According to your testimony this morning, Mr. Cogburn, C.C. Wharton grabbed a shotgun and killed Marshal Potter,” states the defense attorney (Alfred Ryder). “He turned the gun on you, you say, and you shot him. Then the father swung his ax, and you shot him, too. The defendant, here, tried to run, and then you shot him.” “I just winged him, or he wouldn’t be here to pay up!” barks Cogburn, glaring at the lawyer with his good eye.
“How many men have you shot since you became a marshal, Mr. Cogburn?” asks the attorney. “I never shot nobody I didn’t have to!” bellows Cogburn. “That wasn’t the question!” retorts the attorney. “Well, 12 to 15, stopping men in flight and defending myself,” admits Cogburn. “Come now, Mr. Cogburn. I have examined the records. It’s more like 23 men killed in four years,” declares the attorney. “It’s a dangerous business,” says the marshal. “Much more dangerous for those arrested by you,” scoffs the attorney.
Impressed by such an outstanding resumé, Mattie scampers down the courthouse steps in pursuit of the burly marshal, certain that Rooster Cogburn is just the man to bring Tom Chaney to justice.
