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.

their careers. One can't help but put yourself in the movie each time you watch it and wish Wayne & Hepburn were still there...both of them will be greatly missed!

me,Rooster Cogburn is a well deserved 9/10

gets there he finds the preacher's daughter Eula Goodnight and an Indian boy named Wolf; he agrees to take them to the next settlement but they end up sticking with him. Not long afterwards they catch up with the gang and manage to retrieve the wagon load of explosives… it turns out that was the easy part; the gangs leader is determined to get it back and it won't be easy for them to get the cargo back to civilisation when any bump or stray bullet could cause an explosion! While I don't think this is as good as 'True Grit' it is a very entertaining Western with plenty of exciting shootouts, the use of a Gatling gun, some tense standoffs, white water rafting and an explosive conclusion! John Wayne does a great job as the eponymous hero and Katharine Hepburn puts in a solid performance as is bible-thumping companion. Other notable performances come from Richard Romancito as Wolf; Richard Jordan as the gang's leader, Hawk and Anthony Zerbe as Breed, a former colleague of Rooster's who is now working for Hawk. The film is shot amongst some lovely scenery with Oregon filling in for Arkansas.

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.

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.

those of you who have never seen African QUEEN or TRUE GRIT, you can probably enjoy this movie even more.