Iconic John Wayne Role Redone

yahoo ^ | 8/19/10 | Jonathan Crow

[Nachum]

In 1969, John Wayne played Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit" -- a grizzled, drunken U.S. Marshal hired by a 14-year-old girl to track down her father's killer. The role ended up winning the aging Western star his first and only Oscar, prompting him to make a rare sequel -- "Rooster Cogburn" -- opposite Katherine Hepburn in 1975. The image of Wayne's craggy, eye-patched visage from "True Grit" has become a cinematic icon.

So film mavens everywhere were taken aback when it was announced last year that Joel and Ethan Coen would been making their own version of "True Grit." But don't expect a straight remake; this movie is based more closely on the Charles Portis novel. And Jeff Bridges, fresh off his Oscar win, was tapped to play Cogburn; that's right, the Duke has been replaced by the Dude.

[Nachum]

I bet Fred Thompson would have made a fun Rooster Cogburn.

[Defiant]

I think you're right about that.

[fredhead]

1. Ricky Nelson, not Martin
2. The second movie with Robert Mitchum was “El Dorado.”
3. Rio Lobo had a slightly similar plot, with co-stars Christopher Mitchum (Robert’s son), Jack Elam (he of the crazy eyes), and villian Victor French (Mr. Edwards on “Little House”).