Rooster Cogburn played by John Wayne, is a tough old deputy marshall with a reputation to match. The local judge decides that enough is enough when he realises that in the last 8 years he has killed 60 of the 64 suspects he has been sent to arrest, and takes his badge. But it’s not long before the judge comes begging for Rooster’s help. Hawke and his gang of nine men have robbed the army and stolen a shipment of Nitro Glycerine, and Rooster is the only one tough enough to bring them to justice.

Hawke shoots up a small mission settlement and kills the reverend and several of the Indian settlers, so when Rooster arrives hot on his trail, he decides the best way to protect Miss Goodnight (the reverend’s daughter) and a young Indian boy from the settlement, is to take them with him to the nearest settlement. Miss Goodnight - played by Katharine Hepburn, is a single minded determined woman who insists on riding with Rooster and helping bring her fathers killers to justice. She is a crack shot and well able to take care of herself in the wild. During the chase Rooster and Miss Goodnight form a love hate relationship, but they work together to make a formidable team. Hawke won’t know what’s hit him.

The scenery in this is beautiful- filmed in Oregon the whole setting is just wonderful. Some of the scenes shot at night are a bit dark and hard to see but I guess that comes with the available technology at the time it was filmed. Full of action and lots of gun fights, the acting is brilliant. I am such a fan of the old westerns especially when the marshall is every bit a match for the bad guys, and I really enjoyed this one.

THE EXTRAS

No special features just language selection and scene selection.

CONCLUSION

Rooster Cogburn played by John Wayne, is a tough old deputy marshall with a reputation to match. The local judge decides that enough is enough when he realises that in the last 8 years he has killed 60 of the 64 suspects he has been sent to arrest, and takes his badge. But it’s not long before the judge comes begging for Rooster’s help.