Go West, Old Man

With the True Grit remake such a hit, thought I'd check out the original to see how big it was.  I knew it was very successful in its day, and won John Wayne an Oscar after a long career (for what some fans saw as a parody of older roles).

According to Wikipedia (which is not entirely reliable--old movie grosses can be tricky), it made $14.25 million, which was a solid hit back then, making it the 9th top grosser of the year. It may not sound so impressive today, but note that the Coen's True Grit did not make the top ten.

It occurred to me that looking at 1969's top ten, you might think it was a big year for Westerns. 

1. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 
2. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? 
3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service 
4. Midnight Cowboy 
5. Easy Rider 

6. Hello, Dolly!
7. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
8. Cactus Flower 
9. True Grit 
10. The Wild Bunch

#1 and #10 are Westerns, but modern Westerns--you could almost call them anti-Westerns.  If you didn't know any better, you might figure #2, #4, #5 and #8 are Westerns, but they're far from it.  Only True Grit is an old-time Western, and then mosty because John Wayne is in it.