[Jeff Chandler]

The Bridges version was truer to the book.

Which, in my mind, was a problem.

I just couldn't get over the the stilted, formal dialog, although I'm sure the Coens reveled in it. I can understand that in a stylized work like "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", but this is a Western, and I couldn't get into the story. Every time a character spoke, the story came to a screeching halt because there the author was, sticking his nose in.

[IronJack]

Mattie Ross spoke with a rigid formality even in the John Wayne version, although Rooster was a lot less stilted in that one.

It was intrusive, but in a good, "this is out of the ordinary" way. And I thought it gave the characters ... character.