Rooster Cogburn

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.

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.

A reading of the other reviews of Rooster Cogburn indicate that only fans of the two stars should look at this film. That's not saying a whole lot since this was a vehicle created for the two stars and only the two stars in this film could have brought it off.

It was a happy marriage of convenience with John Wayne's character of Rooster Cogburn from True Grit being so popular that a sequel was inevitable given Wayne's health holding up and Katharine Hepburn looking for something she could co-star with Wayne.

Hepburn was one of John Wayne's biggest boosters of his talent, politics aside. I remember reading that she thought John Wayne projected the same sense of integrity that Spencer Tracy did on the screen. Coming from her, I've got to believe that's the best compliment she could offer.

Wayne as Cogburn is on the trail of a gang that massacred an army patrol and stole a gatling gun and nitroglycerin for use in a planned bank robbery. The gang headed by Richard Jordan with Anthony Zerbe who used to scout for Wayne go to an Indian settlement with a missionary school headed by father and daughter preacher and teacher Jon Lormer and Katharine Hepburn. The gang shoots up the place and kills Lormer.

When Wayne comes he gets a lot more than he bargained for when he finds himself saddled with Hepburn and young Indian boy Richard Romancito. They accompany him on the trail of Jordan and his gang and get enough adventure to last a lifetime.

Everyone compares Hepburn as Eula Goodnight to her portrayal of another missionary, Rose Sayer in The African Queen. Both are on a chase in The African Queen with Bogey after the Germans who destroyed the mission in East Africa and killed her brother and with Wayne after some outlaws. And both films feature a very fine sequence of the two stars riding some rapids. But I think Eula Goodnight is a far more experienced woman of the world than Rose Sayer. Both disapprove of the alcoholic behavior of their male counterparts. Rose however takes some direct action.

As the film was designed around the two stars they settle comfortably in their roles. The chemistry between them is infectious, that they liked each other would be obvious to an alien from another planet.

I really envy young Richard Romancito to be in all those scenes and be able to watch a pair of screen legends.

This is one of a few movies that I can watch over and over again and still enjoy. That said, it's also my favourite Western. (And I'm not a big fan of the genre.)

The story is simple. Cogburn (Wayne) is tracking down a load of nitro stolen by Hawk (Jordan)and his gang. As the gang of outlaws bid a hasty retreat, they stumble upon Eula (Hepburn), her minister father, and several Indians including a teen-aged boy named Wolf.

The plot is simple and had their characters been played by any other actors besides Wayne and Hepburn, the film would have been mediocre at best. Their performances make the film shine. Every scene they have together crackles with chemistry. When Wayne says to Hepburn, "being with you pleases me", I got the feeling he meant it and that Hepburn received the compliment with genuine pleasure. Well, maybe it's just good acting.

In any event, the film is a nice way to pass some time for those unfamiliar with Wayne or Westerns and a must-see for all Wayne and Hepburn fans.

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.