The War Wagon (1967)

The Duke plans vendetta on a powerful mine owner (Bruce Cabot) who stole his gold claim and accused him for killing for which he spent a great number of years in prison . Wayne then assembles a band to support him , including an impulsive , wise-cracking young (Robert Walker) , a dumb renegade Indian (Howard Keel) , an old man (Keenan Wynn) accompanied by a young girl , and , and of course , the fastest gun in the West , Kirk Douglas , as the hired hand sent by the ambitious owner who framed him to kill him . They are happily joined in harness against Cabot and his hoodlums . As the gang has to assault a heavily armored stagecoach where the nasty owner transports his gold from ¨Pierce Mining Company¨ .

This Burt Kennedy Western contains noisy action , adjusted acting , being well-paced and nicely directed . Thrilling and well-written Western with lots of action dealing with an amusing caper in which Wayne has a twisted as well as moving plan : to rob the gold being shipped in an armor-plated stagecoach , ¨The war Wagon¨. Stirring as well as funny screenplay that keeps solidly in the best traditions , adding humor , from the prestigious Clair Huffaker who wrote a lot of Westerns and based on his book titled ¨Badman¨. John Wayne gives a nice acting , as always , here sits well with such other big successes of the sixties and seventies such as : McLintock , Undefeated , El Dorado , The son of Katie Elder , Train robbers , Rio Lobo , Chisum , Big Jack , Cahill , The cowboys , and his greatest hit : Tue Grit . Support cast is frankly excellent as Howard Keel , bizarrely cast as an ironic Redskin , Robert walker as a brave, stubborn young gunslinger , the beautiful Joanna Barnes ; add a succulent cast of villains that include Bruce Dern , Emilio Fernández , Gene Evans , Terry Wilson and a great secondary : Bruce Cabot , John Ford and Wayne's usual . It packs a colorful and evocative cinematography by William H. Clothier . And rousing and enjoyable musical score by the classic Dimitri Tiomkin .

The motion picture was well directed by Burt Kennedy who maintains comfortably in the ordinary traditions , though has some flaws . Kennedy was a good professional , a fine director who made several Westerns and being usual screenwriter of the notorious filmmaker Budd Boetticher . As Kennedy directed quite a few Westerns as ¨Return of the Magnificent seven¨ , ¨Support you local sheriff¨, ¨The good guys and the bad guys¨ , ¨Rounders¨ , ¨Hannie Caulder¨, ¨Ride to Glory¨, ¨Train robbers¨, ¨More Wild Wild West¨, ¨Wild Wild West revisited¨ , and ¨Dynamite and gold¨, among others .

Fmovies: The chemistry between John Wayne and Kirk Douglas really came through. Howard Keel was very good as an Indian trying to move with the times. Great photography of the scenery around Durango, Mexico. Should be considered a John Wayne classic.

John Wayne and Kirk Douglas appeared together in three films between 1965 and 1967. First off was "In Harm's Way" in 1965, then the ensemble picture that was "Cast a Giant Shadow" in 1966. Then came this film, their first Western, and sadly their last outing together. Sadly because The War Wagon shows a real genuine chemistry between two men who were very different socially; but on screen they clearly had regard for what each one gave to a movie. Directed by Burt Kennedy and coming out of Wayne's own Batjac Productions, The War Wagon centres around two old friends (some what grudgingly it seems) who plan to rob the vehicle of the title. An armoured stage coach, resplendent with Gatling Gun, manned front middle and centre with crack shot gunmen, and full of gold, lots of gold! Adding fuel to the fire is that the Wagon is run by a man called Frank Pierce (Bruce Cabot), who stole Taw Jackson's (Wayne) ranch as he "cough-cough" served time in jail. Further upping the intrigue is that Pierce wants to hire known gunman Lomax (Douglas) to kill Jackson, oblivious that the two men are plotting to rob him.

If that all sounds like a caper movie then you would be right, because it is, and a splendid one at that. A caper movie in a Western setting, lusciously photographed by Duke Wayne's favourite cinematographer, William H. Clothier at Durango in Mexico, and rattling along at a fair old clip. Support comes in the form of Howard Keel (a humorous turn as Indian Levi Walking Bear), Robert Walker Jr, Keenan Wynn, Valora Noland and look out for Bruce Dern in a short but effective role. We got quips aplenty as the two machismo fuelled stars play off each over with glee, we got one almighty punch up that had me personally laughing out loud and for those that like good stunt work, well we are well served there also. It's also a film to note because it sees Wayne playing a baddie, an ex convict leading an odd bunch of robbers, driven by revenge and greed. A role that by the looks of it, Wayne loved immensely. So saddle up folks, and as soon as you hear the quirky strains of Ed Ames' warbling "Ballad of The War Wagon," you should know you are in for a smashing little treat. 7/10

The War Wagon fmovies. (6.5/10) Fun tongue in cheek Western that survives an initial slow start to be entertaining afterwards throughout. Both John Wayne and Kirk Douglas do great and have tremendous on screen chemistry together. Their friendly, competitive rivalry that mirrors their off screen persona's. Works extremely well and carries what would have otherwise been an average western. Even though they had their differences in real life, such as politics, you can tell they had a real respect for one another, and this movie does a good job of capturing that. One of the few roles that put the Duke on the wrong side of the law. Let down by the Western scenery, but was impressed with Howard Keel. I liked it but seeing Wayne and Douglas jell as well as they did makes me wish they could have joined together for a better Western. Good but unspectacular movie is highlighted by a hilarious bar room brawl and an extremely catchy theme.

As far as westerns go I really can't think of many that John Wayne has failed at. The only way to rate a John Wayne movie is to compare it with other John Wayne movies. In do so I would give The War Wagon a firm 5 stars.

In The War Wagon you will find some humor, drama, deceit, love and adventure. You will see John Wayne (Taw Jackson) put together a rag tag group of hold up men that you will think couldn't complete a game of checkers without killing each other. In a period of only 4 days this group plans to pull a robbery of $500,000.00. The target - a modified stagecoach built of iron, 47 feet long counting the horses, called "The War Wagon". A great John Wayne movie suitable for the whole family

Solid entertainment in the Wayne style, as John and Kirk team up to liberate a gazillion bars of gold from Bruce Cabot, the man who stole Wayne's ranch and goldmine. John Wayne is in fine form as usual; Kirk is equally fine as the hired gun who is willing to doublecross Cabot. Kirk shows a fine comic ability as he taunts both Cabot and Wayne. You can tell he's having a good time in the film; each time he grins it makes me laugh.

Keenan Wynn is pretty unlikable as one of Cabot's men who is on Wayne's side, but then his character is supposed to be unlikable. Robert Walker Jr. is nervous and unsure as the explosives expert that Wayne met in prison. Howard Keel is new to the John Wayne guild, but he's a welcome addition. Always a great comic actor, he is wonderful as Wayne's indian friend who continually needs to be rescued from his own ineptitude. Bruce Dern has a juicy but small role as one of Cabot's hired guns; he throws big toothy grins about and has a lot of fun with his job.

Pure action entertainment, and also a lot of fun. Pick up this film on the new DVD widescreen version; it's a great way to watch it.