Ron Yearwood This is a great and fun old western. She's awesome and The Duke is at his late career best as Rooster Cogburn. It's not a comedy but there's lots of laughs in this one. Some very cute scenes between the two of them and also a fun adventure to boot.

mark.waltz "I ain't had a drink since breakfast!". So says John Wayne, repeating his "True Grit" role as "Rooster Cogburn". "I do not fear a skunk. I simply do not care for its odor". So says Katharine Hepburn, playing basically the same part she had essayed 25 years earlier in "The African Queen". With those two lines, the personalities of these two characters are put into perspective. I could spend my entire review quoting this movie, a witty comedy western with romance, plenty of action and two stars that totally compliment each other. This is a reminder of how much fun movies USED to be.The basic storyline, an official sequel to "True Grit", is a re-tread of "The African Queen" with Wayne back as Rooster, taking over what Humphrey Bogart did in John Huston's 1951 masterpiece. Instead of taking on Nazis like Bogart and Hepburn did in Africa, Wayne and Hepburn are pursuing the brutes who killed Hepburn's missionary father in cold blood. Along the way, the prim and proper Hepburn opens her eyes a bit and begins to enjoy life a little more, sparkling as she breaks many of her own rules as she shoots a rifle at the villains. You have to watch everything she does because Hepburn pulls out all the stops in her characterization. It is obvious that she was having a blast making this film.Wayne, in his second to last western ("The Shootist", a wonderful film, was his last movie, released the following year), is not simply repeating his Oscar Winning role or making him a buffoon. He simply allows Hepburn's prim and proper spinster to bring out the best in him, enjoying every fight they have. This gives many more dimensions to a character that audiences had already come to love. Richard Romancito is truly memorable as the Native American boy taken in by Hepburn's father. His curiosity over Wayne's adventures is a touching bit of plot thrown in for good measure.This is a film that deserves regular repeat viewings to pick up on all the comic tidbits that Wayne and Hepburn have to deliver. More clever than just simple entertainment and high ranking on Wayne's gallery of already classic portrayals, "Rooster Cogburn" is an extraordinary delight that younger audiences today should see as an example that sometimes "less" ends up being "so much more".

wes-connors "Two of the most popular stars in screen history are brought together for the first time in the follow-up to 'True Grit'. The film returns John Wayne to the role of the rapscallion, eye-patched, whisky-guzzling Deputy Marshall that won him an 'Academy Award'. Katharine Hepburn is prim Eula Goodnight, a bible-thumping missionary who teams up with the gunfighter to avenge the death of her father. While in pursuit of the outlaws, a warm rapport develops between the rough-and-tumble lawman and the flinty reverend's daughter," according to the film's promotional description.While not promoted as such, this also seems to be a sideways follow-up to "The African Queen" (1951), which starred Ms. Hepburn. Realized by veteran producer Hal B. Wallis and wife Martha Hyer, the idea to bring the two legendary film stars together was a terrific one. But, the result stopped at stunt casting. Probably done when considering their age and potential for fireworks, everything seems to have been arranged to make it an easy assignment for the old pros. As a result, you have John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn going through the motions, and no fireworks.**** Rooster Cogburn (10/17/75) Stuart Millar ~ John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Jordan, Anthony Zerbe

ianlouisiana Carefully and lovingly made,"Rooster Cogburn" is a Western not unlike "Shane" in that every shot seems very deliberately set out and composed to maximise the effect the director was looking for.This is no mere showcase for the two principals with everything else merely ancillary,this is a movie where everything comes together very satisfactorily and the end - product is rather memorable in its own way. It has been Miss Hepburn's destiny to play a succession of ballbreakers throughout her long career and she comfortably fits into the role of the Preacher's daughter whose father is murdered by the very gang sought by Marshall Mr Wayne for killing some cavalry soldiers and stealing a waggon of explosives. Wayne is unable to rid himself of this troublesome woman and,together with the young son of an Indian also killed by the gang,they set off bent on revenge. As Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn,Mr Wayne is able to play someone of his own age with weaknesses and prejudices,stubborn and bloody - minded,but not unkind.His brand of personal justice,which served him well for many years is now becoming embarrassing for the local Judge (Mr John Mcintyre)but Cogburn is the only game in town when evil passes through. The villains include the excellent Mr Anthony Zerbe,an actor who defies categories and who never fires on less than all six cylinders. As Mr Wayne has proved before,he is very adept at comedy without being "comic" and his "Rooster"is a splendidly rounded character. Miss Hepburn often seems to be wobbling on the edge of self - caricature but she never topples over the edge here as she did so disastrously in "On Golden Pond" a few years later. Comedy Westerns/Western Comedies are a neat trick if you can them off and in "Rooster Cogburn" we have the best one since "McClintock".