Charles Portis, Author of 'True Grit,' Dies

The Washington Times reports on the death of writer Charles Portis, the author of True Grit, which was made into a classic Western film starring John Wayne.

Novelist Charles Portis, a favorite among critics and writers for such shaggy dog stories as “Norwood” and “Gringos” and a bounty for Hollywood whose droll, bloody Western “True Grit” was a best-seller twice adapted into Oscar nominated films, died Monday at age 86.

Portis, a former newspaper reporter who apparently learned enough to swear off talking to the media, had been suffering from Alzheimer’s in recent years. His brother, Jonathan Portis, told The Associated Press that he died in a hospice in Little Rock, Arkansas, his longtime residence.

Charles Portis was among the most admired authors to nearly vanish from public consciousness in his own lifetime. His fans included Tom Wolfe, Roy Blount Jr. and Larry McMurtry, and he was often compared to Mark Twain for his plainspoken humor and wry perspective. 

Portis saw the world from the ground up, from bars and shacks and trailer homes, and few spun wilder and funnier stories. In a Portis novel, usually set in the South and south of the border, characters embarked on journeys that took the most unpredictable detours.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/feb/17/true-grit-novelist-charles-portis-dies-at-age-86/

John Wayne: True Grit Indeed: A Look Back At 'True Grit' On The Classic Western Film's 50th Anniversary

The late, great actor John Wayne is one of my favorite actors and True Grit is one my favorite films.

The Duke won his only Oscar for his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn, an old, rugged and drunk deputy U.S. Marshal.

When I read Charles Portis' True Grit novel I knew the Duke would be perfect as Rooster Cogburn. (Portis can be seen below in a photo with John Wayne).

Henry C. Parke at True West Magazine looks back at True Grit on the classic Western film’s 50th Anniversary.

Half a century ago, audiences awaited the premiere of True Grit with some trepidation. After all, its star, John Wayne, had lost a lung to cancer. He’d done movies since, but none as vigorous as this, and his recent film, The Green Berets, had received a tepid-to-terrible reception due to its gung-ho support of the nation-polarizing Vietnam War. Joyously, his fans’ doubts were misplaced. It was a wonderful story, a wonderful film, and Wayne’s performance would earn an Oscar. 

True Grit is the story of 14-year-old Mattie Ross’s battle for justice after her father’s murderer escapes into Indian Territory. Mattie hires notoriously tough and disreputable Rooster Cogburn and, joined by Texas Ranger Le Boeuf, they try to bring the killer back to Judge Parker’s court for trial. 

When Wayne read Charles Portis’s novel, his Batjac Productions immediately bid for the film rights, only to be outbid by legendary producer Hal Wallis, who four years earlier had produced The Sons of Katie Elder with Wayne! Duke confronted Wallis and learned to his surprise that Wallis had bought it intending for Wayne to star. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://truewestmagazine.com/article/true-grit-50-years/?mc_cid=eb2f1f0b96&mc_eid=53715224b5

True Grit: I Like The Duke Better

I finally saw the Coen Brothers' film True Grit. I watched the film on cable last night.

As I'm a fan of the 1969 Henry Hathaway film that starred John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn, the big, fat, boozy deputy U.S. Marshal with considerable "true grit," I've been looking forward to seeing what the Coen brothers do with the material.

Although the Coens insist their film is not a remake of the John Wayne film, comparisons are inevitable.

I like the Coen's small, odd, comic touches, such as the scene with Mattie Rose (Hailee Stein) talking to Rooster (Jeff Bridges) while he is in an outhouse.

I liked the look of the Coen film. I liked the music. I also liked hearing Mattie Ross' voice over narration at the beginning of the film and seeing her as a grown woman at the end of the film.

I thought Matt Damon was an improvement over Glen Campbell (who was not an actor), and although I thought Hailee Stein was very good for such a young girl, I also liked Kim Darby's performance as Mattie Ross in the original film.

Jeff Bridges is a fine actor, and I loved him as "the Dude" in the Coen brother's The Big Lepowski, but I don't think he measured up to John Wayne as Rooster.

Rooster is a larger-than-life character and only an actor with an immense screen presence like John Wayne can do the character justice. Wayne gave a much more animated, robust and funnier performance than Bridges, in my view.

Of course, a remake of a film does not cancel out the older film.

We have both films and we can like both of them for different reasons. And I hope the Coen Brothers' film helps to bring Charles Portis new and younger readers.

You can read my earlier post on True Grit via the below link:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2010/09/true-grit-updated-by-coen-brothers.html

You've Seen The True Grit Movies, Now Read Charles Portis' Novel

My hope is that as a result of the debate over which True Grit film is better, the new Joel and Ethan Coen version starring Jeff Bridges, or the 1969 Henry Hathaway version starring John Wayne, film goers will go to the source material - the 1968 novel by Charles Portis.

After watching the original film with the Duke as Rooster Cogburn in 1969, I went out and bought the novel and quickly read it. I thought it was a fine novel.

Jim Cullen at the History News network offers a review of Portis' novel True Grit.

You can read the review of the novel via the link below:

http://www.hnn.us/roundup/entries/136335.html

John Wayne's True Grit Out On Blue-Ray

In an earlier post I noted that TCM was airing the 1969 film True Grit, starring John Wayne, on Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. to coincide with the theatrical release of the Coen brothers new version of True Grit, starring Jeff Bridges.

The Duke (John Wayne) is also competing with The Dude (Jeff Bridges) with the release of John Wayne's True Grit on Blu-Ray.

You can read the Blu-Ray review via the below link:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/True-Grit-Blu-ray/16875/#Review

You can read my earlier post via the below link:

 

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2010/12/day-with-duke-tcm-offers-true-grit-and.html

'True Grit' Updated by the Coen Brothers

I'm not one of those film buffs who believes that remaking classic films is sacrilegious. It is not an either/or situation and the new one does not cancel out the old.

I believe that director John Huston had it right when he suggested that film makers should remake film failures rather successful films (as he did with The Maltese Falcon), but film makers today like to remake successful films.

So it does not bother me that Joel and Ethan Coen are offering a remake of True Grit, even though I am quite fond of the 1969 Henry Hathaway film staring John Wayne.

Wayne, you may recall, received his only Oscar for portraying Rooster Cogburn in this film.


I like the Coen brothers' odd and funny films, so I look forward to seeing their version of True Grit. I also like Jeff Bridges and I'd like to see what he does with the Rooster character.

I read Charles Portis' fine novel True Grit shortly after seeing the Hathaway/Wayne film in 1969. The Coen brothers claim their film is closer to the Portis' novel than the earlier version. We shall see.

Tom O'Neil of The Los Angeles Times wrote an interesting piece about the Coen brothers' remake. You can read his piece and view the trailers for both the original film and the remake via the below link:

http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2010/09/true-grit-jeff-bridges-oscars-news.html

O'Neil made the comment that John Wayne's Oscar was undeserved.

I disagree.

I thought John Wayne's comic, self-mocking character was wonderful. (I also think the Duke should have won an Oscar for a number of other films, including his greatest film , in my view, The Searchers.

I thought Wayne was truly great in True Grit when sitting on his horse facing four outlaws on their horses across a field, he yells "Fill your hands, you son of a bitch," and then charges the outlaws, a rifle in one hand, his revolver in the other, and the horse's reins in his teeth.

True grit, indeed.

I also like that director Henry Hathaway populated the film with great character actors like Kim Darby, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper and Strother Martin. (Glen Campbell, a singer and not an actor, was the weak point in the film).

I recall Mad magazine's 1969 satire of True Grit, which they called True Fat.

In the comic satire, Mattie tells Rooster that she wants a fat man for the job because fat men are jolly.

"Well, sister," Rooster replies. "I may be fat, but I ain't jolly."

"The job pays $500."

"Ho, ho, ho!" Rooster shouts out.

Very funny, I thought.

One last thought on classic film remakes. Even the poor remakes urges one want to see the original film. The remake may also introduce the original film to young people who have not seen or heard of it. And the films often make one want to read the novel the films were based on.