Places as faces

We talked about how the landscape in "Picnic at Hanging Rock" figured so largely in the film that it could almost be thought of as a character. Landscape was prominent in "The Last Picture Show," too (as a way of explaining character), and in "True Grit" (for character and sheer prettiness). In "Exotica," I think landscape was less important, but we still had the sweeping vistas where the search party roamed. Do you have any favorite movies where landscape played a memorable role? For me, "Out of Africa" and "Babette's Feast" and "Wuthering Heights" come to mind. (And, for Erin's sake, let's not forget "Alive").

Idiots and Mexicans

Whenever I hear racist stuff in movies I always wonder how the audience would have reacted and whether the same stuff could be said in quite the same way today. In "True Grit," there were comments/portrayals regarding Chinese men and American Indians. In LPS, the town whore makes a disparaging comment about "idiots and Mexicans" and Duane makes the comment that his "next piece of ass will be yellow." And no one in the world of the film bats an eye, because that's just how things were ... but the movie came out in the early 1970s, when there was a lot of race consciousness and the Vietnam War was going on. Do you think the audience winced a little then? I'm sure much worse things were being said in small-town Texas at the time, if Bogdanovich was going for verisimilitude.

Jane, get your gun

Wow. George's mentioning "Paint Your Wagon" reminded me of some silly westerns like "The Apple Dumpling Gang" and "Blazing Saddles." Then I remembered the title of a comic western on TV all the time that my mom really loved: "Cat Ballou." I couldn't recall any of the plot, just a few vague scenes with Lee Marvin, so I looked it up and — Get out! — look at this description:

"A woman seeking revenge for her murdered father hires a famous gunman, but he's very different from what she expects. (He's a drunk!)"

Sound familiar? Only, this movie preceded "True Grit" by four years (1965) and Jane Fonda is shown on the movie poster WEARING PANTS.

Quantrill's Raid

Did anybody catch that Quantrill's Raid reference between Rooster and LaBoeuf? Rooster would have rode against our Free Staters -- does that color his perspective on race at all? Do Lawrence natives have an opinion on this? Also, Rooster was angry when LaBoeuf claimed women and children were killed, which historically, we've sinced learned they weren't.

More John Wayne?

I watched "Stagecoach" many years ago, but other than that, John Wayne movies were something playing in the background of my pal's house, circa 1985. (Her dad was an FBI agent who was at the Patty Hearst capture. He liked westerns.)

Would anyone like to recommend some more John Wayne movies? Or westerns in general? My Filmaffinity recommendations keep pulling up "Unforgiven," for one thing.

Black marks

Erin pointed out that Rooster wears a black hat. You can't tell by looking at him whether he's a good guy or a bad guy. By movie standards, he seems to be a bad guy. And then you add the black eye patch, and the impression is even stronger. I can see why the filmmakers gave him a physical flaw (and I assume it's in the book), but I sort of wondered why it was a lost eye vs. a big jagged scar on his cheek or a pronounced limp or something. I know eye patches are associated with daring men — pirates and such, and often with villains — but I don't know if that's the notion here.

And it's curious that the bad guy Chaney is so clearly designated as a villain; he literally has a black mark on his face, which, if I remember correctly, was the result of his being incompetent or merely unlucky in some way with a gun — it's a mark of cowardice or weakness — whereas Wayne's physical flaw, his black eye patch, is more like a badge of courage; he's someone who ignored his mom all those times she said doing something fun or dangerous "could put your eye out."

And Mattie's horse, for what it's worth, is named Blackie.

No romance?

I sort of thought that Mattie and LaBoeuf would end up together, especially after the boarding house banter where he threatens to kiss her.

LaBoeuf: A little earlier I gave some thought to stealin' a kiss from you, although you are very young... and you're unattractive to boot. But now I'm of a mind to give you five or six good licks with my belt.
Mattie Ross: Well, one would be as unpleasant as the other.

Their arguments seem like a cliche prelude to a romantic connection, but that never transpires. It makes sense to me that that would be part of the parody — defying our expectations of romance. When LaBoeuf died, I had a sense that it was a way of saying he was weak somehow — maybe he lacked grit — and that he wasn't, in the end, man enough for Mattie. Is that wacky of me? Or maybe putting him in that position would detract from John Wayne's leading man status.

H.W. Gim

What did you think of Gim's role (Chen Lee) in the film? Do you think he was meant to be the stereotypical "Chinaman servant" type in the West? Or is there more there? Rooster obviously enjoyed his company. They shared meals, played cards, etc. When Rooster shot the rat indoors, Chen Lee yelled at him like a wife.

And on the subject of race, what did you make of the "Indian doctor," the benighted soul who has never heard of germs but on whom they still rely for medical attention? (There was some astoundingly racist comment made about him, but I can't remember what it was).

Music

KC and Erin and I discussed the music during and after watching the film, and I think it was an important aspect of the parody. What do you all think of the music?

They Shoot Horses

From the ones I’ve seen, it was a long standing Western convention that horses didn’t get shot. Many a gunslinger killed a mounted man at more than a hundred yards using a six-shooter. The horses never seemed to be in danger.

Not long ago I watched one of the first spaghetti westerns, “A Fistful of Dollars”. There is a scene where one set of bad guys opens fire on a whole Mexican cavalry unit with a Gattling gun. After firing hundreds of bullets, a couple dozen men are dead, but the horses are hardly bothered. Now this could just be because of low budget filmmaking—it is easier to tell an actor to fall off a horse than to train a horse to fall down. But since spaghetti westerns overturn many Hollywood expectations, I take it to be a jab at convention.

In our movie, two horses get shot out from under their riders. First, Ned Pepper’s horse is killed by “La Beef”. Cogburn makes fun of him for shooting the horse and not the man. Second, in the big gun battle at the end, Cogburn is never hit with a bullet, but Ned Pepper shoots his horse out from under him. So instead of the traditional scene with the hero wounded on the ground with the bad guy closing in, we have the hero stuck under his dead horse with the bad guy closing in. Deliberate parody?

Cinematography

This movie featured beautiful scenic backdrops, with snow-capped mountains, winding rivers and dense woods. You may have noticed it bore little resemblance to Oklahoma, and that's because it was filmed in Colorado. As majestic as it is, the scenery seems quite incongruous with all the references to place names in Oklahoma and western Arkansas.

Subtle parody

Not everyone thinks of "True Grit" as a send-up of old Westerns, but I think it's clear that the movie never takes itself too seriously. It was made at a time when the corny white-hat Western was decidedly on the way out, and the movie is awash with sentimentality. As I said, I think Rooster is played as a subtle parody of Wayne's entire career, and I think the romantic, sweeping vistas and the over-the-top music are part of the joke. The final shootout scene is the ultimate nod to the audience, with Wayne riding out to meet the bad guys across a pastel-colored meadow, holding the reins of his horse in his teeth and shooting with both hands.

Kim Darby

Kim Darby is what makes this movie more than just a John Wayne Western. She is what made this movie stand out to me when I was a kid.

I have heard people say Darby was unbearably annoying in this movie and is a terrible actress in general. I personally think she was adorable and charming and perfect as Mattie. She's stubborn, brave, a pain in the ass, savvy and naive at once. As an actress, Darby is more than capable of handling Wayne in each and every scene. Their relationship development is charming to behold.

John Wayne

"True Grit" was not necessarily Wayne's best acting role, but I think it was sort of a turning point for him. Unlike most of Wayne's previous cowboy heroes, Rooster Cogburn is old and fat, wears the wrong color hat, and "likes to pull a cork." It's a recognition that age is catching up with him and he can't be the same hotshot he used to be. He was a Hollywood legend by this point, and the role was sort of a wink at all the Western hero roles he'd played so often and come to personify.

Favorite lines

I mentioned earlier that I love the dialogue in this movie, which I've heard is mostly directly from the short story by Charles Portis. Wayne had great lines in all his films, but this movie stands out. Here are some of my favorite lines:

Rooster Cogburn
• By God. She reminds me of me.
• Drop that switch, La Boeuf. Put it down, I said. You're enjoying it too much.
• DAMN a man that whistles!
• Young fella, if you're looking for trouble, I'll accommodate you. Otherwise, leave it alone.
• Fill your hands, you son-of-a-bitch!
• Damn that Texan! When you need him, he's dead.

Mattie Ross
• My name is Mattie Ross, of Near Dardanelle in Yell County. My family owns property, and I don't know why I'm being treated like this!
• If I smelled as bad as you, I wouldn't live near people.

Ranger La Boeuf
• The French is 'La Bourf.' I say 'La Beef.'

Ned Pepper
• I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!

Tom Chaney
• Everything happens to me, and now I'm shot by a child!

Up next

After all the naked ladies, how about something G-rated?

This was my favorite John Wayne Western as a child. I fell in love with the title, first of all, and the notion of someone having "grit." The plucky adolescent heroine might have had something to do with it, too. And the dialogue, of course.

I know this movie is not universally loved, so I hope I won't be run out of town for this pick.

And I apologize in advance for Glen Campbell.