Is John Wayne’s ‘True Grit’ a True Story?

True Grit is one of John Wayne‘s most memorable roles. The Western star played a tough U.S. Marshal, alongside costars Glen Campbell and Kim Darby. The movie’s story seems so realistic that many have wondered if it was based on a true story.

Is ‘True Grit’ based on a true story?

The 1969 movie was based on a book of the same name, written by Charles Portis. True Grit tells the story of U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Wayne), who is hired by a young girl named Mattie to apprehend her father’s killer.



Many have assumed Cogburn was a real U.S. Marshal, but in actuality, there was no Cogburn. Portis created the character to serve as an amalgamation of many real-life marshals in the Fort Smith area, where the movie takes place.

According to Fort Smith’s official website, Portis wanted the character of Cogburn to be “a representative figure of those hardy deputy marshals who worked for Judge Parker’s court.” With the author’s vivid characters and impressive performances from Wayne, Campbell, and Darby in the film, it’s no surprise many people think True Grit is a true story.

Attachment 61451

True Grit won Wayne an Oscar and the actor has spoken fondly about his time on set. His favorite scene involved some impressive stunt work. In the scene, Wayne’s character tells Mattie to “come see a fat, old man sometime,” then rides away on his horse and jumps over a fence.

At the time of filming, Wayne was 61 years old and missing a lung as the result of a procedure intended to rid him of lung cancer. Many assumed he wouldn’t be able to complete the stunt, but Wayne did, jumping the fence in one take.

John Wayne’s fond memories of making ‘True Grit’

Wayne has been in dozens of Western movies over his lengthy Hollywood career, so it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that he didn’t have good experiences on every set. However, his time working on True Grit was one of Wayne’s favorite career moments.

The actor was a fan of the book long before he was cast in the film adaptation, telling Roger Ebert that he even tried to buy the rights to Portis’ novel himself, offering to pay as much as $300,000. Wayne was outbid by another producer, who turned to the actor once it was time to start casting True Grit.

Attachment 61453

Wayne didn’t just love the original book — he was also a huge fan of the dialogue written for the film adaptation. “I like so many things about the movie,” he said. “The dialogue, for one. It’s the authentic stuff, the way people talked.”

The actor also spoke favorably about True Grit‘s director, Henry Hathaway. Wayne praised Hathaway for his “dreamlike” approach to making the movie, saying, “[he] made it a fantasy and yet he kept it an honest Western.”