John Wayne made a true sequel with one of the greatest actresses of all time, and it was somehow a huge Western flop

John Wayne’s long-awaited sequel to True courage1975 Cogburn Roosterseemed to have everything going for it – including an iconic Wayne co-star – but was still, unfortunately, a flop. Launched in 1969, True courage earned Wayne his first and only Oscar for Best Actor. He had already been nominated for Sands of Iwo Jima in 1949, but he didn’t win until he donned an eye patch to play U.S. Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn in True courage. Based on the novel by Charles Portis, True courage centers around a teenager named Mattie Ross, who recruits Cogburn to find her father’s killer.

True courage marked a drastic tonal shift for Wayne. He made his name playing simple heroes with clear morals who spring into action at a moment’s notice to bring bad guys to justice. But in True couragehe gives a much darker, grayer, and more morally ambiguous performance. Cogburn is reluctant to help Mattie, drinks too much, and is disillusioned with fighting crime in an unfair world. True courage was one of the biggest hits of Wayne’s career, both critically and commercially, and remains a beloved classic, but the sequel failed to recapture that magic.

Rooster Cogburn brought two Hollywood legends together for the first time

True Grit sequel teamed John Wayne with Katharine Hepburn

Six years later True courage became a huge hit, Wayne reprized his iconic role in a sequel called Cogburn Roosterthe only sequel of Wayne’s career. Next, Cogburn loses his badge due to his drinking problem and his history of arrests that end in bloodshed. He gets a chance at redemption when he is tasked with chasing down a band of bank robbers who have stolen a shipment of nitroglycerin. This time, Cogburn is joined by an older, single woman whose father was killed by the gang: Miss Eula Goodnight, played by Katharine Hepburn.

Although Wayne and Hepburn were the same age – both born in 1907, just a few weeks apart – and emerged in Hollywood at the same time, they never appeared in a movie together. Back when they co-starred Cogburn Roosterthey were two of the biggest movie stars in the world. The fact that they were never in the same film can be partially attributed to their very different careers. Wayne was the old Hollywood version of an action hero, appearing mainly in Westerns, while Hepburn starred in traditional dramas. and won a record number of Oscars.

Why the True Grit Sequel Didn’t Work Despite Having Wayne and Hepburn

Rooster Cogburn was a repeat of True Grit (and the African Queen)

Despite having the star power of Wayne and Hepburn, the True courage sequence didn’t work. The biggest problem with Cogburn Rooster and that it was not original enough; seemed derivative of previous films. It’s mostly a repeat of the original True couragefollowing all the same beats: Cogburn is a failed lawman who gets a chance at redemption when a woman asks him to go after her father’s killer. The only difference is that the woman who recruits Cogburn for his return mission is much older in the sequel. Other than that, it’s more or less the same story.

And what Cogburn Rooster was not inspired by its own predecessor, but rather by one of Hepburn’s most iconic previous films, The African Queen. In The African QueenHepburn plays an uptight single woman who is forced to embark on a treacherous adventure with a rude and mean-spirited mechanic, played by Humphrey Bogart. Along the journey, they fall in love with each other. Cogburn Rooster also borrows the pacing from this story, swapping Bogart for Wayne and swapping the Ruiki River for the American border. True courage It worked because it looked different.; Cogburn Rooster no.

Rooster Cogburn was not the end of true courage, but it was for John Wayne’s involvement

Wayne never came back, but Cogburn did

Wayne would never reprise his role as Cogburn after the failure of True courage sequel, but Cogburn still survived in future projects. In 1978, ABC aired True Grit: a new adventurea made-for-TV sequel this sent Cogburn on another adventure with a slightly older Mattie, who was still determined to make him a better man. Warren Oates took over the role of Cogburn from Wayne and Lisa Pelikan took over the role of Mattie from Kim Darby. This was yet another direct sequel to True courage what Cogburn Roosterwho was more of a spiritual successor.

In 2010, the Coen brothers readapted Portis’ novel for the big screen with their own remake of True courage. The Coens’ version stayed closer to the book, telling the story more from Mattie’s perspective than Cogburn’s. Jeff Bridges played Cogburn and Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld played Mattie. While the original True courage from 1969 features one of Wayne’s best performances, the Coens’ remake is undoubtedly an even stronger film.