Rooster Cogburn (1975) Reviews

• See it for the actors

  gee-152000-02-15

  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.

• The Same Sense of Integrity

  bkoganbing2006-04-05

  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.

• A great movie starring two legends and two great character actors

  Kim-681999-02-16

  This movie is a lot of fun to watch. John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn are terrific together. You can see the chemistry between them. Richard Jordan does a terrific job as the villain, he is mean, nasty and downright awful! I definitely wouldn't want to get him mad. The scene between him and Katharine Hepburn at Fort Ruby was awesome, you could see the sparks flying. Then there was the scene where the wheel broke off the wagon and Hawk gets furious with his men, Jordan did a great job with that part, talk about angry, if looks could kill, his would, it gave me shivers. Anthony Zerbe also does a great job as Breed. The two of them, Jordan and Zerbe are great together. Like one scene in the saloon when Hawk learns about the wagon being taken by Rooster, he starts to go out when Breed tells him, that he will never take Rooster and that he had worked with him for three years, you can see the daggers between the two. They are definitely two of the best character actors ever. They don't make movies like this anymore, where it was up to the actors to make a film a success and not rely on special affects. And these four actors did this brilliantly. I wish John Wayne and Richard Jordan were still around today.

• Better than True Grit

  cutter-122006-09-18

  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.

• John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn are brilliant and sublime

  ma-cortes2004-06-22

  The couple Wayne and Hepburn or Hepburn and Wayne are top notch , both of whom are wonderful . The film is a first-rate western , is the following-up to ¨True grit" in which Wayne won an Oscar , Academy Award , for his acting. The movie is a remake from "African Queen " in which Hepburn did couple with Bogart , here Wayne and Katharine hand similar roles , even there is one dangerous runaway by a river. The plot line centers the killing of the Hepburn's father. John Wayne and Hepburn set out in pursuit the evil people : Richard Jordan , Anthony Zerbe and Jack Colvin . Direction by Stuart Millar is good , cinematography by Harry Stradling is breathtaking , landscapes are spectacular and gorgeous , it has been shot in natural parks . Lively and rousing musical score by Laurence Rosenthal . Rating : 7/10 very good , well worth watching . However , the film received terrible reviews on release . Many critics felt that it was too obviously derived from ¨African Queen¨ , and that both John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn were too old for their parts . The motion picture will appeal to John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn fans .