Weekend Buff

Rooster Cogburn (1975)

Sep 18, 2026

Rooster Cogburn (1975)

After the 25^th Anniversary of the September 11^th attacks, it seemed like a good idea to go in a more relaxing direction for this installment of Weekend Buff.

In the aftermath of the attacks in 2001, the country was united, there were flags flying, and America, despite taking a punch, was clearly not down. This was the good “old fashioned” patriotic idea of America that we hadn’t seen since before Vietnam.

Well, that didn’t last long. Now America is divided on issues of race, politics, and income disparity, with one side of the isle doing most of the work fomenting those feelings. We have been through that before, and hopefully America will weather the storm.

I wanted to go back to those post-9/11 days, when America was patriotic, united, and had a mission.

What better vehicle to capture that feeling than a John Wayne movie. The Duke seemed to encapsulate all that was good about America for decades. He was a patriot and an advocate for the idea of traditional America, or at least his conception of it. As the winds of societal change began blowing in the late 60’s, Wayne stuck to his guns with films like The Green Berets, and Big Jake.

But I digress. The recommendation for this installment of Weekend Buff is Rooster Cogburn (1975). This is Wayne’s penultimate film, as cancer was already killing him. Here he reprises his role as Marshall Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn first introduced in True Grit.

Cogburn, like Wayne himself is a little worse for wear. Rooster’s jacket doesn’t fit across his girth, his patience is non-existent, he is drinking too much, and he is doing less asking questions and more shooting.

As the film begins, Marshall Cogburn is tracking down a dangerous group of wanted men, and as so often happens, he is forced to let a few rounds go, killing the wanted men.

Judge Parker has had enough. He views Cogburn an anachronism of days past and a believes he is breaking the law by killing so many of the outlaws he tracks down. When a judge thinks you are committing crimes, it might be time to retire. Parker says, “The West is changing, and you haven’t changed with it. I want your badge.” Cogburn turns it in and settles into a relatively depressing and lonely retirement.

How many old timers in the police department have felt that sentiment? Crime goes down, standards of professionalism and use of force get stricter, and somehow the way you always did things is no longer mentioned in polite society. But every now and then, things get crazy in the streets and bosses are glad you are there to handle things.

Cogburn is in the same boat. Shortly after removing Cogburn’s badge, Judge Parker is at his door, hat in hand, asking him to take up the gun and shield again.

Bank Robbers, led by Hawk, have killed a platoon of soldiers and stolen a shipment of nitroglycerine they intend to use to break into banks. They are outlaws on a rampage, killing indiscriminately as they make off with their stolen explosives. Perhaps times have not changed as much as Judge Parker thought!

They murder Reverand George Goodnight and terrorize his daughter Eula and thier congregation. Cogburn becomes an unwilling partner of the outspoken and upright Eula Goodnight, and together they go after the outlaws.

What follows is relatively straightforward from a cops and robbers’ perspective. The dynamic here is the relationship between Wayne’s Cogburn and Aubrey Hepburn’s Eula Goodnight. The two couldn’t be more different in every way but one, they both speak their mind. The conflicts, compromises, and camaraderie between the two make the movie.

Rooster Cogburn runs about an hour and 45 minutes. There is some action, but Wayne was 68 when the movie was released – and it shows. But it is still a classic, good guys vs bad guys, American Western and well worth the watch. I couldn’t find it for free, so you will have to rent it from a streaming service.

This weekend, enjoy a last look at The Duke, before we lost him to eternity. The movie is a reminder to all those who think that we are too civilized these days to ever need someone like Rooster Cogburn again - Society may change, but man’s nature stays the same.