Okay, folks, settle in. Had a bit of a mission recently, trying to track down where they actually filmed “True Grit”. You know how it is, you watch a movie, especially one with landscapes like that, and you start wondering, “Where on earth is that place?”
My Starting Point
So, I kicked things off the usual way. Fired up the computer, started punching in searches. Right away, got a bit messy. Lots of talk about Arkansas and “Indian Territory” because that’s where the story is set. But movie people, they don’t always film where the story happens, right? Found mentions scattered all over.
Digging into the Details
I had to figure out which “True Grit” people were even talking about sometimes – the old one or the newer one. Focused on the newer one by the Coen brothers, seemed more folks were chatting about that. Started seeing mentions of New Mexico popping up. Okay, that’s interesting. Not Arkansas at all.
Then I hit a few posts, some random comments here and there. People were saying stuff like:
- Lots of the outdoor scenes, the gritty wilderness stuff, were filmed near Santa Fe.
- Some specific ranch names came up, like San Cristobal Ranch and another called Charles R Ranch.
So, New Mexico looked like a solid bet for all those wide-open, rugged shots when Mattie and the lawmen head out.
Another Piece of the Puzzle
But wait, there was more. Found some chatter about Texas. Specifically, Austin. Someone mentioned a street scene, meant to look like old-timey Memphis, Tennessee, where part of the story happens early on. They apparently used a street in Austin, Ninth Street I think it was.
Found out there’s an old building there, The Austin Club, built way back in the 1870s. Perfect for making it look like the right time period. So they weren’t just sticking to one state.
Putting it Together
It started making sense. They used New Mexico, near Santa Fe and maybe Las Vegas (NM), for the rough “Indian Territory” landscapes. Makes sense, that area looks the part. Then, for a town scene meant to be Memphis, they hopped over to Austin, Texas, and used a historic street there.
So, the answer wasn’t just one place. It was a mix:
- New Mexico: For the main outdoor, wilderness journey parts (near Santa Fe).
- Texas: For at least one specific town scene (Austin’s Ninth Street).
It’s kinda cool how they piece together different spots to create the world you see on screen. Took a bit of digging, sorting through the noise, but I feel like I got a handle on it now. Just wanted to share how I tracked that down. Always fun figuring out this movie magic stuff.
