True Grit (1969 film) Their adaptation focuses more on Mattie's point of view, as in the novel, and is more faithful to its Oklahoma setting. Hailee Steinfeld portrays Mattie Ross, Jeff Bridges plays Rooster Cogburn, and the cast also includes Matt Damon as La Boeuf and Josh Brolin as Tom Chaney. True Grit (1969 film) True Grit is a 1969 American western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Kim Darby as Mattie Ross and John Wayne as U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn. It is the first film adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Marguerite Roberts.
Rooster Cogburn (character) collapsed, he mercy-killed it with his revolver and then carried her a long distance in his arms to get her to a doctor, both saving her life and proving he really had the true grit Mattie thought he did. Cogburn's relationship with LaBoeuf was strained throughout the film, with the two arguing frequently. Cogburn often made light of the Texas Rangers, much to LaBoeuf's outrage, and irritatedly criticized LaBoeuf's tendency to talk long-windedly. Likewise, LaBoeuf patronized Cogburn for being an ineffective drunk who routinely relents to Mattie's stubbornness. Their greatest point of contention came during an argument about their military