Leofwine_draca THE WAR WAGON is a 1967 western directed by Burt Kennedy and starring no less than two of the all-time Hollywood greats, John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. They make a great pairing as famous rivals who decide to team up in order to rob the titular vehicle of its precious cargo, namely sacks of gold dust belonging to corrupt businessman Bruce Cabot, once the star of KING KONG.Wayne and Douglas share nearly all of their scenes together and have plenty of dry wit and one liners. Their charisma is genuine here and Douglas in particular shines, particularly when he does pretty much all of his own stunts too (that jump on to the horse is particularly fine). Wayne is his usual solid self, noticeably ageing at this point - little surprise given his near-death real-life experiences - but still full of presence.The story is quite typical and reminiscent of the men-on-a-mission WW2 movies that were being made during the era like THE DIRTY DOZEN. Howard Keel is an unusual choice to play a Native American character but Wayne film regular Robert Walker has fun as the youthful drunk character. The most engaging thing about this film is that it keeps you interested in the story throughout, even if it does take a long time for the plan to pay off at the end; thankfully the climax is suitably chaotic and unpredictable.

Scott LeBrun The Duke and Kirk Douglas are paired in this enjoyable Western / action film generally laced with knowing humor. The Duke plays Taw Jackson, former rancher who's released from prison after being wronged by a nefarious character named Pierce (Bruce Cabot). Taws' idea of revenge will be to plan a daring heist of the gold being transported in Pierces' "war wagon" of the title, an iron plated, gun equipped stagecoach that resembles a tank. Taw rounds up a few associates to participate in the heist: wise guy Indian Levi Walking Bear (Howard Keel), alcoholic young explosives expert Billy Hyatt (Robert Walker Jr.), transporter Wes Fletcher (Keenan Wynn), and a man named Lomax (Douglas), a gunslinger who Pierce wants to hire to kill Taw.Clair Huffaker wrote the screenplay, based on his own novel, and director Burt Kennedy, a man who often specialized in Westerns with strong comedy content, does a fine job of bringing it to life. The action is first rate, with an impressive explosion, a chase sequence, and a riotous barroom brawl adding to the fun. The War Wagon itself is pretty amusing to behold.Kirk and The Duke make a good team, generating a proper amount of chemistry. The supporting cast is solid and full of familiar faces. Cabot is great as the unrepentant villain, Wynn is at his loudest and funniest, and Keel regularly steals his scenes. Bruce Dern, Gene Evans, Terry Wilson, and Sheb Wooley all make the most of their screen time.Given a rousing score by Dimitri Tiomkin, this may not be among The Dukes' all time best, but it's an engaging diversion for an hour and 41 minutes.Seven out of 10.

Robert J. Maxwell By the late 1960s the Western as an art form was pretty much fagged out and this is a nearly perfect example of its decadent period.Douglas is hired to knock off Wayne but discovers that, if he throws in with Wayne's plan, he stands to make much more money. The plan is to rob a wagon train full of gold. The problem is that the wagon is armored and equipped with a Gatling gun. Wayne and Douglas remain friendly enemies and trade wisecracks but they combine their efforts. They dig up a queer crew of gangsters including an Indian, Howard Keel, and a youngster who is an expert in explosive and an abject drunk, Robert Walker, Jr.It's as if everyone involved recognized the futility of continuing CPR on the corpse and just gave up. It was directed by Burt Kennedy, who wrote some of the most interesting little Westerns imaginable for Randolph Scott. His direction is pedestrian.Howard Keel, almost unrecognizable under his make up, I suppose is added for comic effect but isn't funny. Often the producers will insist on adding a younger actor for appeal to a different audience -- Ricky Nelson here, Fabian or some other heart throb there. In "The War Wagon" it's Walker and the attempt fails. He's not cute, talented, or appealing, although for all anyone knows he might be a splendid young man in real life, with a stamp collection and a Shih Tzu.If there's a cliché missing, I didn't notice. It's opens with a lively Country and Western tune about the things men will do for one of those wagons full of gold. (Music by Dmitri Tiomkin. Dmitri -- what happened to YOU?) We have one of those bar room brawls in which everyone is slugging everyone else without reason. Men have sturdy chairs splintered over their backs, then turn around and bash the guy who wielded it. Men are thrown through windows. A piano is flung around. Banter: the two heroes shoot a couple of bad guys. Douglas: "Mine hit the ground first." Wayne: "Mine was taller." A wagon load of flour detaches itself from the horses, as all racing wagons must, before rolling off a cliff and exploding at the bottom. Danger: Radioactive Flour.Even Wardrobe gave up. Wayne is dressed as he was always dressed in his later, less imaginative Westerns: jeans, pink shirt, vest, bandanna up around his chin, and the usual beige hat. Douglas is dressed as no cowboy ever was: an olive-green suede vest and matching boots. He wears what appears to be a pair of leotards. He has a black leather glove on his left hand and a big silver ring on the outside of the glove.No need to go on. I sat through it years ago and tried again recently but couldn't do it. It was almost painful to see some of these actors growing old and flabby, hefting themselves onto horses yet again, for the long ride downhill to the end of the trail.

ianlouisiana Mr Douglas was clearly determined to prove that he had lost little of the athleticism he had shown a decade or so earlier in "The Vikings" as he invents more and more imaginative ways to get on his horse.Just about the only approach he doesn't make is from underneath it.Probably if it had had oars he would have run along them. His silk shirt is a tad tight but he dispenses with that at the drop of a hat and bares his chest,grinning ferociously.He wears his ring outside his leather glove,a trait I find rather disturbing in a family Western. As a gunfighter who had previously failed to kill the Duke one might think his days were numbered,but Mr Wayne believes in keeping his friends close and his enemies closer so he hires him and some rather disparate companions to rob a security waggon and recover the ranch he was cheated out of whilst in prison. "The War Waggon" is a fast - moving enjoyable outing for Wayne and Douglas with a little help from Mr H.Keel who wears a wig and talks in a funny voice,pretending to be an Indian.Not,perhaps,his most enduring role, Mr Robert Walker jr and Mr Keenan Wynn make up Wayne's firm and add their particular talents to the mix. The celebrated Mr Bruce Cabot is the uber villain who gets his in the end. Nothing in the least bit surprising happens - and that's half the movie's charm. If you enjoy Kirk and the Duke doing their familiar thing and having fun whilst doing it then I can recommend watching it.