El alguacil del diablo

This movie is more than just a lot of fun to watch. John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn are wonderful, but only because they are together. The chemistry between them is electrifying.

Richard Jordan plays his villan role to a "T". He is mean and nasty, and he keeps his character believeable to the end. There is a scene between him and Katharine Hepburn at Fort Ruby that is absolutely brilliant, you could feel the lightning flashing between their characters.

Think about the scene where the wheel broke off the wagon: Hawk gets furious with his men and Jordan's character did a great job with his part: he seem really angry, as if looks could kill. His expressions, well, it gave me the willies.

Don't you agree that Anthony Zerbe created a believeable "Breed". The two of them, Jordan and Zerbe are so believeable together. Remember the scene in the saloon when Hawk learns about the wagon being taken by Rooster? He starts to go out and Breed tells him, that he worked with Rooster for three years...and that he knows that Breed will never take Rooster? There is some great chemistry in that scene! They have tried to make movies like this before, but it hasn't happened yet: movies that made the actors create a film a success that was not relying on special affects alone, but just the characters and the story.

Hired to track down a vicious gang, federal marshal Rooster Cogburn reluctantly lets a missionary and a Native American lad accompany him after their mission is ransacked by the gang in this belated sequel to 'True Grit'. John Wayne reprises the title role with just as much gusto despite noticeably looking older. Katharine Hepburn also puts in a strong turn as the missionary with the best scenes being the banter between the pair. The villains are not particularly interesting and the plot is no great shakes; in fact, 'Rooster Cogburn' feels more like a remake rather than sequel to 'True Grit' at times with Hepburn also seeking vengeance for a father killed. The plot is more complex than it first seems though. While most are quick to praise the chemistry between Wayne and Hepburn, it is the bond that slowly develops between Wayne and the young Amerindian, played by Richard Romancito, that is ultimately most touching. Romancito becomes a surrogate son of sorts to the once hardened old man who inadvertently finds himself with a 'family' for the first time as he pursues the gang. One wonders though just what messages (if any) the filmmakers had in mind with the project. Early on, Wayne is told "the west is changing and you aren't changing with it", and yet minutes later he hired because, again, he has "grit". Is the film meant to be a tribute to the virtues of old ways or a film about learning to change (unwillingly accepting companions)? Topped off with a memorable explosive climax, one thing for sure is that this is a more dynamic sequel than one might expect.

If you're expecting a highly original western with highly original characters who really stand out amidst the 1975 landscape, rent Bite the Bullet. You won't find those elements in Rooster Cogburn, but you will find two iconic legends of the silver screen, Katharine Hepburn and John Wayne, paired together in pretty much a remake of two movies. Obviously, Wayne is reprising his one-eyed Oscar role, and Hepburn is basically reprising Rose from The African Queen. She's a religious old maid who lives with a male missionary in her family, and when he's killed, she joins up with a rugged heathen-type to get revenge. This isn't a criticism, mind you; I'm just letting you know what to expect. This clean, sweet movie is for the older folks in the audience who grew older alongside the actors, those who don't like the way cinema and the rest of the world have deteriorated. If you long for the good old days and the good old movies, Rooster Cogburn will warm your heart.

Although, speaking of hearts, my one regret of this movie is that it wasn't as romantic as it could have been. The African Queen is one of the greatest love stories, but Wayne and Hepburn develop platonic feelings for each other. There's genuine affection and respect, but don't expect any, "Dear, what is your first name?" cutesy scenes. You will see a remarkable amount of action, given the two leads' age and health. Hepburn can still make it down the rapids and shoot at the bad guys, and even with one eye (and one lung in real life), Wayne can ride a horse and protect his woman.

Don't get me wrong, True Grit is a good western and worthy of its classic status, but I've always found John Wayne's first go round as Rooster Cogburn to be uneven, at times colorfully into character but just as often just playing John Wayne. He won his only Oscar for it of course, but he hadn't yet completely found ol' Rooster's voice.

In this sequel co starring Katharine Hepburn, the Duke has every aspect of Rooster down pat. The scenes he and Hepburn share, trading their philosophies and anecdotes while they come to know and admire (and platonically fall in love with) each other is the engine of this film. Forget the plot, it's passable enough but very much secondary, this story gets along strictly on the strength of the two lead characters and it's worth seeing again and again just to watch these two Hollywood legends banter and spar in their one and only movie together.

This was the first John Wayne film I ever saw in a movie theatre (I was 9 years old in 1975) and it made me a lifelong fan. This is easily one of his most entertaining adventures. Hepburn and Wayne together is even more fun than Bogart and Hepburn in The African Queen. A timeless treasure.

Someone in Hollywood had the bright idea of taking the leading character from "True Grit" and putting him in a story redolent of "The African Queen", casting a much older Katharine Hepburn, then experiencing a revival in her career, in the same part she played opposite Bogie. And it worked. If anything Wayne, with an unerring ear for the comic potential of his character, is even better than he was in "True Grit". It's a genuinely funny performance. Hepburn's character is too much an amalgam of Rose Sayer and Mattie Ross; she could be "True Grit's" Mattie 50 years on. But the chemistry between her and Wayne is palpable; they spark off each other.

The plot isn't up to much. It's been cobbled together from scraps of better movies and there is a terrible bit of over-acting from Richard Jordan as the chief villain, but it looks great, (the scenery is terrific), and is very enjoyable.