True Grit 50th Anniversary (1 Viewer)

[MCCLOUD]

It is hard to believe that this year is the 50th Anniversary of True Grit. Where did the time go? I have the Blu-Ray of True Grit. This evening I had the pleasure of watching True Grit with my brother and mom at a Cinemark Movie Theater! It was great! Movie watching doesn't get any better than watching John Wayne on the Big Screen! Before the movie TCM had some trivia questions about John Wayne. One question I think TCM had the wrong answer. I wanted to see what the forum members think. TCM claimed John Wayne was only 5 feet 9 inches tall and wore 4 inch lifts. I do not believe this. The biographies and information I have read have John Wayne as 6 feet 4 inches tall. What do the Forum Members think?
Thanks

Robert

 

[Robin9]

I don't know his exact height but he's always looked tall to me and I've never noticed him wearing anything to make him look taller. It's possible TCM have got their wires crossed and are thinking of Clark Gable who was not especially tall.

As for True Grit: thanks for reminding me that it's time I watched that superb Blu-ray disc again. Today seems like the right day.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I don't know his exact height but he's always looked tall to me and I've never noticed him wearing anything to make him look taller. It's possible TCM have got their wires crossed and are thinking of Clark Gable who was not especially tall.

As for True Grit: thanks for reminding me that it's time I watched that superb Blu-ray disc again. Today seems like the right day.

Looking at some photos from when he played football at USC, Wayne looked like he was well over 6 feet tall. Even when you watch some of his early films before "Stagecoach" he looked pretty tall.

As to Gable, I never heard that as he looked like he was 6 feet or slightly taller. Not as tall as Wayne, but definitely a six footer at the very least.

 

[Matt Hough]

I am sure John Wayne was over six feet tall, but I have also heard the story about his using lifts in his boots to give him an inch or two of extra height. One of his co-stars (I don't remember which one) revealed this and found it a little sad that he felt he needed to be even taller than he actually was.

 

[Rick Thompson]

The short star they refer to may have been Alan Ladd, who was only 5'7". The legend is that 5'8" Sophia Loren had to walk in trenches so she'd be shorter on screen. Six-foot tall co-star Hugh O'Brien had to stand in a six-inch deep hole while Ladd stood on the dirt dug out of the hole while filming Sasketchewan in 1954.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I've not seen the 1969 "Grit" in years so I can't recall:

Was there any romance between Mattie and LaBoeuf in that version? Whether explicit or implied?

 

[Robert Harris]

I am sure John Wayne was over six feet tall, but I have also heard the story about his using lifts in his boots to give him an inch or two of extra height. One of his co-stars (I don't remember which one) revealed this and found it a little sad that he felt he needed to be even taller than he actually was.

6'4". I met him when I was in my teens, and probably 5'9" at the time. He gave the appearance of being really big. But really nice.

 

[Dick]

I've not seen the 1969 "Grit" in years so I can't recall:

Was there any romance between Mattie and LaBoeuf in that version? Whether explicit or implied?

Nope. Would have been a little creepy had it been in there. It isn't in the recent remake, either. I haven't read the book -- was it in there?

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Nope. Would have been a little creepy had it been in there. It isn't in the recent remake, either. I haven't read the book -- was it in there?

No idea - never read the book.

There's a hint of potential romance in the 2010 when LaBoeuf meets Mattie and talks about how he thought about kissing her.

That scene made me think that the 1969 movie might've had some romance between those characters.

Does the 1969 film specify Mattie's age?

Kim Darby was 22 in 1969, and I thought they might've made the role older so she could show romantic possibilities with LaBoeuf that'd seem creepy if she's 14 and he's 30 or whatever...

 

[battlebeast]

No idea - never read the book.

There's a hint of potential romance in the 2010 when LaBoeuf meets Mattie and talks about how he thought about kissing her.

That scene made me think that the 1969 movie might've had some romance between those characters.

Does the 1969 film specify Mattie's age?

Kim Darby was 22 in 1969, and I thought they might've made the role older so she could show romantic possibilities with LaBoeuf that'd seem creepy if she's 14 and he's 30 or whatever...

I don't recall her mentioning an age.

 

[Dick]

No idea - never read the book.

There's a hint of potential romance in the 2010 when LaBoeuf meets Mattie and talks about how he thought about kissing her.

I never thought it had any romantic potential, as Mattie is pretty turned off by his remark.

 

[Johnny Angell]

No idea - never read the book.

There's a hint of potential romance in the 2010 when LaBoeuf meets Mattie and talks about how he thought about kissing her.

That scene made me think that the 1969 movie might've had some romance between those characters.

Does the 1969 film specify Mattie's age?

Kim Darby was 22 in 1969, and I thought they might've made the role older so she could show romantic possibilities with LaBoeuf that'd seem creepy if she's 14 and he's 30 or whatever...

I read the book when it was still on the charts, so take this with a grain of salt. There was no romance in the book nor the 1969 movie.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I never thought it had any romantic potential, as Mattie is pretty turned off by his remark.

Let me clarify: LaB mentions a potential desire to kiss Mattie. Yes, Mattie doesn't seem interested and that's that, but LaB broaches the subject.

No idea if that's in the original novel. My main question was whether or not there'd been a hint of romance in the 1969 movie!

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I don't recall her mentioning an age.

Thanks. Apparently she's clearly 14 in the novel, and that's the case in 2010 movie.

I thought I remembered a hint of romantic attraction between M and LaB in the 1969 movie and thought perhaps that's why they cast an older actor as M...

 

[Johnny Angell]

Thanks. Apparently she's clearly 14 in the novel, and that's the case in 2010 movie.

I thought I remembered a hint of romantic attraction between M and LaB in the 1969 movie and thought perhaps that's why they cast an older actor as M...

I did not get that hint at all. LaB (good abbreviation for something I can’t spell) comes across as a bit egotistical, but any romantic interest is on his part only, as I remember it.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I did not get that hint at all. LaB (good abbreviation for something I can’t spell) comes across as a bit egotistical, but any romantic interest is on his part only, as I remember it.

That's why I was asking!

Like I said, I thought I remembered some vague romantic overtones in the 1969 movie, but I've not seen it in a good 7 or 8 years, so I couldn't remember.

I just watched the 2010 for the first time since 2010 and I was curious to find out if the absence of romance - beyond LaB's reference to maybe kissing M - had a connection in the 1969 version...

 

[David Weicker]

The 1969 version has this exchange


LaBoeuf: A little earlier I gave some thought to stealin' a kiss from you, although you are very young... and you're unattractive to boot. But now I'm of a mind to give you five or six good licks with my belt.
Mattie Ross: Well, one would be as unpleasant as the other.

So, no romantic implications.