StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

sausalito-93893 I saw this at the pictures as a kid in the 60s and loved the action scenes at the film's climax. 50 or so years on I find I can happily sit through an afternoon showing of it on TV. It's fairly formulaic for Wayne but its strengths are in the (relatively) inventive plot and the expert interplay between Wayne and Douglas. One if those movies Wayne made now and again that have a big more spark in the dialogue.One notable line near the beginning is where Douglas' character refers to Keenan Wynn's as a 'crazy old man'. In reality Wynn was less than 5 months older than Douglas.

tomgillespie2002 There's a sense of overwhelming square-jawed machismo running through the action-packed western The War Wagon. Playing to the barrel- chested strengths of Golden Age superstars John Wayne and Kirk Douglas, the film goes about its business with a lack of fuss, packing in everything from chaotic saloon brawls, quick-draws and comedy-tinged bickering between its two towering stars, before climaxing with an exciting little set-piece involving the armoured beast of the title. This is the kind of old-fashioned western that inspires comments of "they don't make 'em like that anymore."Taw Jackson (Wayne) returns to his home town after a stretch in prison. His presence is immediately noticed by corrupt businessman Frank Pierce (Bruce Cabot) who, three years earlier, framed Taw for a crime and confiscated his land in the process. The land turned out to be full of gold, and Taw wants his piece. He plans to steal a shipment of gold being transported in a 'war wagon', a heavily- armoured stagecoach fitted with a steerable Gatling gun on its top, and rounds up a crew of trusted misfits to help him carry out his plan. The final piece of the puzzle is skilled gun-for-hire Lomax (Douglas), the man who played a key role in sending Taw to prison years earlier while in the employ of Pierce. Needing his muscle as well as his skills as a safe-cracker, the two strike up a reluctant friendship and mutual respect, despite their clashing personalities.Working together for the third time in as many years after In Harm's Way (1965) and Cast a Giant Shadow (1966), Wayne and Douglas have an easy-going chemistry, with Wayne playing the righteous, no-nonsense frontiersman, while Douglas gets to have more fun as the lovable scamp, flirting with anything that moves and leaping onto his horse in various showboating ways. Director Burt Kennedy - who 24 years later would throw cinematic acid in our face with Suburban Commando - has no problem handling these huge matinée idols, and delivers a handsome-looking genre piece. While the film's simplicity and lack of ambition to be anything other than a piece of entertainment doesn't damage the film, it prevents it from being great. But if you're looking for an easy-going 90 minutes, The War Wagon doesn't disappoint.

Neil Welch War Wagon is one of John Wayne's late period westerns, when he was churning them out according to formula while he was still relatively close to being the world's top box office draw.It is essentially a wild west caper movie - bags of colourful scenery, action, a jocular script, and some decent on-screen chemistry between Wayne and co-star Kirk Douglas. Howard Keel plays an interesting third fiddle as a comedy relief Indian, and there is an interesting subplot between Robert Walker and the "trophy wife" of objectionable Keenan Wynn - an odd touch for a film of this type and era, but it isn't really pursued with any great commitment.Overall, this is a movie of no great significance, but with moderate - if transitory - entertainment value.

ctomvelu1 John Wayne and Kirk Douglas, both big stars of the period, team up in THE WAR WAGON to steal $500,000 in gold and wreak revenge on a nasty land baron (Bruce Cabot) who has stolen Wayne's ranch while Wayne was in prison. Douglas' gunslinger character initially is hired by Cabot to eliminate Wayne, but ends up falling in with Wayne when promised a much bigger payoff. Along the way, they gather together a motley group (including Howard Keel as a feisty Indian and Robert Walker Jr. as an explosive expert) to grab Cabot's gold. A grizzled Keenan Wynn also is along for the ride. The title refers to a steel-plated wagon, an early version of an armored car, that Cabot uses to transport his gold. Douglas, who appears to have done all his own stunts, steals virtually every scene he is in, but he and Wayne manage to play very well together. An unusual role for the Duke, playing an ex-con with robbery and murder on his mind. Watch for a very young Bruce Dern as a hired thug.