# Rooster Cogburn (film)
*Rooster Cogburn* is a 1975 American Western directed by Stuart Millar and produced by Hal B. Wallis, in which [John Wayne](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-wayne) reprises his role as the one-eyed U.S. Deputy Marshal Rooster Cogburn from the Oscar-winning *True Grit* (1969), this time teaming him with [Katharine Hepburn](https://www.edgepedia.org/katharine-hepburn) as Eula Goodnight, the daughter of a murdered missionary.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55625-ROOSTER-COGBURN?cp=1&cxt=Filmography2&pos=7&sid=0a9c453c-744b-4508-aae7-642ba4fa17cf&sr=0.026279245) • [2](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/rooster-cogburn) The character originated in Charles Portis's 1968 novel *True Grit*.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55625-ROOSTER-COGBURN?cp=1&cxt=Filmography2&pos=7&sid=0a9c453c-744b-4508-aae7-642ba4fa17cf&sr=0.026279245) It was the only film in which Wayne and Hepburn appeared together.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55625-ROOSTER-COGBURN?cp=1&cxt=Filmography2&pos=7&sid=0a9c453c-744b-4508-aae7-642ba4fa17cf&sr=0.026279245)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 1975; theatrical release October 17, 1975 per Rotten Tomatoes, wide domestic release January 1, 1975 per The Numbers[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rooster_cogburn) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rooster-Cogburn) |
| Director / producer | Stuart Millar (director), Hal B. Wallis (producer), Universal Pictures[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55625-ROOSTER-COGBURN?cp=1&cxt=Filmography2&pos=7&sid=0a9c453c-744b-4508-aae7-642ba4fa17cf&sr=0.026279245) |
| Screenwriter | Martha Hyer, credited under the pseudonym Martin Julien, from the Charles Portis character[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073636/fullcredits/) |
| Leads | John Wayne (Rooster Cogburn), Katharine Hepburn (Eula Goodnight); their only film together[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55625-ROOSTER-COGBURN?cp=1&cxt=Filmography2&pos=7&sid=0a9c453c-744b-4508-aae7-642ba4fa17cf&sr=0.026279245) |
| Runtime / rating | 107 minutes per AFI, 108 minutes per other listings; rated PG[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55625-ROOSTER-COGBURN?cp=1&cxt=Filmography2&pos=7&sid=0a9c453c-744b-4508-aae7-642ba4fa17cf&sr=0.026279245) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rooster-Cogburn) |
| Setting | 1880s Arkansas, Western District of Arkansas[6](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/rooster-cogburn) • [7](https://ead-pdfs.library.yale.edu/1244.pdf) |
| Box office | $8,000,000 domestic, a 100.0% domestic share of its worldwide total[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rooster-Cogburn) |
| Reception | 50% Tomatometer (12 reviews), 69% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rooster_cogburn) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Set in 1880s Arkansas, the film follows an aging, trigger-happy Cogburn who has been de-badged by a fed-up judge for excessive violence. The judge, played by [John McIntire](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-mcintire), offers reinstatement if Rooster pursues the vicious killer Hawk ([Richard Jordan](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-jordan)) and his accomplices, who have hijacked an army stockpile of nitroglycerin intending to use the explosives to rob a bank.[6](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/rooster-cogburn) Rotten Tomatoes' synopsis frames the premise the same way: the trigger-happy Rooster tries to win back his law badge by hunting a gang of bandits and a stolen shipment of explosives, complicated by the daughter of one of the gang's victims, who insists on coming along.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rooster_cogburn)
After Hawk's men ravage a Christian settlement of Native Americans, Rooster takes the feisty preacher Eula Goodnight (Katharine Hepburn) and Wolf (Richard Romancito), a Native youth, along on the pursuit.[6](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/rooster-cogburn) Universal's own synopsis describes a tenderhearted relationship developing between the rough-and-tumble lawman and the flinty reverend's daughter as they join forces to secure justice.[2](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/rooster-cogburn) The outlaws killed Eula's father, Reverend Goodnight (Jon Lormer), and she enlists the marshal to bring his killers to justice.[8](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/rooster-cogburn)
The trail combines standard Western material, riding and shooting, ambushes, and a bank-robbery plot, with the pair's growing mutual admiration, including a raft run carrying the nitroglycerin through river rapids.[6](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/rooster-cogburn) • [9](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rooster-cogburn-1975)
## Production
The screenplay was written by [Martha Hyer](https://www.edgepedia.org/martha-hyer) under the name Martin Julien, from Portis's character, and a second revised final screenplay dated August 26, 1974 carried the working subtitle *A Man of True Grit*.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073636/fullcredits/) • [10](https://www.royalbooks.com/images/upload/catalog-68-web.pdf) The Yale Western Filmscripts Collection records a final script dated July 22, 1974, set in the Western District of Arkansas and produced and distributed by Universal Studios.[7](https://ead-pdfs.library.yale.edu/1244.pdf) The film was shot on location in Oregon.[10](https://www.royalbooks.com/images/upload/catalog-68-web.pdf)
Behind the camera, the credits list Harry Stradling Jr. as cinematographer, Robert Swink as editor, Laurence Rosenthal as composer, and Preston Ames as production designer.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55625-ROOSTER-COGBURN?cp=1&cxt=Filmography2&pos=7&sid=0a9c453c-744b-4508-aae7-642ba4fa17cf&sr=0.026279245) • [11](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/roostercogburn/) For producer Hal B. Wallis, whose notable credits included *Casablanca* (1942), *The Maltese Falcon* (1941), and *True Grit* (1969), the picture was his final film credit.[10](https://www.royalbooks.com/images/upload/catalog-68-web.pdf)
The supporting cast included [Anthony Zerbe](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthony-zerbe) as Breed, Richard Jordan as Hawk, John McIntire as Judge Parker, Strother Martin as McCoy, Paul Koslo as Luke, Jack Colvin as Red, Lane Smith as Leroy, Richard Romancito as Wolf, and [Tommy Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/tommy-lee) as Chen Lee.[12](https://www.foxtel.com.au/watch/movies/rooster-cogburn.html) Richard Farnsworth appears as Rooster's deputy.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rooster-Cogburn)
## Reception
The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics and a warmer response from audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes the Tomatometer stands at 50% across 12 reviews, while the Popcornmeter (user ratings of 3.5 stars or higher) sits at 69% from more than 5,000 ratings.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rooster_cogburn)
**Critics singled out the dialogue.** Barbara Shulgasser, reviewing for Common Sense Media, called the literate script and cut-above dialogue the best thing about the film, noting that the repartee between the blustering marshal and the obstinate religious teacher carries the movie while the plot stays secondary.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rooster_cogburn) • [6](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/rooster-cogburn) David Sterritt of the Christian Science Monitor described it as a genuine old-fashioned horse opera built on two great old American stars.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rooster_cogburn)
**Negative reviews outnumbered the positive.** Giving the film a single star out of four, Roger Ebert of the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times) complained that it felt so artificial and so plainly built around its stars and their earlier, more successful roles that the viewer is left simply dispirited; he also judged the nitroglycerin raft sequence inferior to the rapids scene in *The African Queen* (1951).[9](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rooster-cogburn-1975) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rooster_cogburn) [Pauline Kael](https://www.edgepedia.org/pauline-kael), writing in [The New Yorker](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-yorker), criticized director Stuart Millar for being unable to find a discreet enough distance for the camera.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rooster_cogburn) Brian Orndorf of Blu-ray.com gave it a B-, judging that there are worse ways to spend 108 minutes than watching two acting legends, and noting it is not every day one gets to see Katharine Hepburn man a Gatling gun.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rooster_cogburn)
At the box office the film grossed $8,000,000 domestically, with The Numbers recording a domestic share of 100.0%, meaning its recorded worldwide gross equals its domestic gross.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rooster-Cogburn)
## Legacy and home media
The film functions as a legacy sequel in the *True Grit* franchise, which also contains the 1969 original and the [Coen brothers](https://www.edgepedia.org/coen-brothers)' 2010 remake in which [Jeff Bridges](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-bridges) played Cogburn.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rooster-Cogburn) • [6](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/rooster-cogburn) A video release followed on April 1, 2014 through Universal Home Entertainment, and the film remains available on digital, Blu-ray, and DVD.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rooster-Cogburn) • [2](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/rooster-cogburn)
Common Sense Media notes that John Wayne, then 61, and Katharine Hepburn, then 68, play characters with opposite perspectives who come to respect, trust, and even love one another in a time of crisis, and that the story echoes *The African Queen*'s dangerous rapids trip and plot built on explosives. The same review flags the film's dated views, including a marshal's prejudiced notions about women and the depiction of Native Americans.[6](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/rooster-cogburn)
## References
1. [Rooster Cogburn (1975), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55625-ROOSTER-COGBURN?cp=1&cxt=Filmography2&pos=7&sid=0a9c453c-744b-4508-aae7-642ba4fa17cf&sr=0.026279245)
2. [Rooster Cogburn, Universal Pictures At Home](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/rooster-cogburn)
3. [Rooster Cogburn, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rooster_cogburn)
4. [Rooster Cogburn (1975), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Rooster-Cogburn)
5. [Rooster Cogburn (1975) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073636/fullcredits/)
6. [Rooster Cogburn Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/rooster-cogburn)
7. [Guide to the Western Filmscripts Collection, Yale University Library](https://ead-pdfs.library.yale.edu/1244.pdf)
8. [Rooster Cogburn streaming: where to watch online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/rooster-cogburn)
9. [Rooster Cogburn movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rooster-cogburn-1975)
10. [Rooster Cogburn screenplay listing, Royal Books catalog](https://www.royalbooks.com/images/upload/catalog-68-web.pdf)
11. [Rooster Cogburn, Dennis Schwartz Reviews](https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/roostercogburn/)
12. [Watch Or Stream Rooster Cogburn, Foxtel](https://www.foxtel.com.au/watch/movies/rooster-cogburn.html)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Westerns before 1980 › Released 1961 to 1979*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license