La caravane de feu

I generally don't like caper films. Usually, when they end, I'm still waiting for a beginning. This one is much better than usual, largely due to the action packed finale, bawdy humor and a flamboyant performance by Kirk Douglas. Wayne, as Taw Jackson, has an unusual role. Possibly for the first time since TROUBLE ALONG THE WAY, he plays a loser. He's lost his ranch, been shot and falsely imprisoned for three years by Bruce Cabot. How this has happened is never made clear; and one wonders why Wayne seems universally disliked by his former neighbors. Considering his former wealth, one would imagine at least one of his ex-ranch hands would treat him well. Just WHERE are his ranch hands. This is never made clear, and it weakens the believability of the story.

However, the caper is the thing and, whoah, it's a doozie. Getting there is a lot of fun and worth seeing. It's also interesting the cynicism presented her. In one scene, a stablekeeper dismisses Wayne with contempt, while Douglas, a hired killer, is treated with the greatest of respect(!) By 1967, Wayne had come a long way from his denunciation of HIGH NOON for it's unsympathetic, cowardly townspeople.

While not a must see, THE WAR WAGON is very entertaining. I give it a "7".

Framed ex-con/rancher Taw Jackson (John Wayne) is out for revenge. He plans to steal the title vehicle and $500,000 in gold, which belongs to Frank Pierce (Bruce Cabot), the man who framed him and stole his land. To help him carry out his plan, Jackson recruits gunfighter Lomax (Kirk Douglas); Levi Walking Bear (Keel); explosives expert Billy Hyatt (Robert Walker Jr.); and inside man Wes Catlin (Keenan Wynn). Nothing goes exactly as planned, and there are enough twists and turns along the way to keep the film from being a bore.

Keel walks off with the acting honors with his parody of the Indian sidekick of the hero. Wynn yells like he's being paid by the decibel. Walker Jr. is sincere and occasionally funny. Douglas and Wayne's scenes together play like duels to see who can steal the scene.

This film boasts one of Dimitri Tiomkin's last scores. William Clothier (photographer of 1960's "The Alamo" and 1964's "Cheyenne Autumn") did the very good cinematography. This is not one of either Wayne's or Douglas' best, but it is good enough to warrant a watch. Made by Universal, this is one of the few pre 1970 (heck, pre 2000 for that matter) films of any genre that AMC (Always More Commercials) still plays.

I didn't like the "War Wagon" when it was first released, I found it rather silly and vaguely offensive. The problem was me, I was not ready to recognize, let alone relate to, a subtle parody of the western genre. I should have been more receptive because in the mid-60s a huge amount of genre parody began to appear on television ("Batman", 'Wild Wild West", "F- Troop", "Get Smart"), which could be traced back to gently tongue-in-cheek series like "Maverick" and "Zorro".

"Cat Ballou" (1965) was the first feature length parody of Western genre clichés. But its parody elements were obvious, even if you were not that familiar with the conventions of the Western genre you could recognize exaggerations and revisions. In addition, up to this point John Wayne films had given the Western genre only very traditional treatments.

But "The War Wagon" was only the first example of director Burt Kennedy's tweaking of the genre. He would follow it up with "Support Your Local Sheriff" (1969), "Hannie Caulder" (1971), and "Support Your Local Gunfighter" (1971). Wayne would toy with parodic elements two years later with "True Grit", and would stay much less traditional with the remainder of his westerns.

"The War Wagon" is also a genre hybrid as western is mixed with buddy picture and big heist movie. Taw (John Wayne) recruits an old enemy Lomax (Kirk Douglas) as he seeks revenge on a ruthless mine owner (Bruce Cabot) who not only framed and sent to him prison, but appropriated his ranch and personal possessions after a huge gold strike was discovered on ranch property (here we go with the exaggeration-the only things missing are stealing Taw's wife, adopting his children, and leaving his toilet seat up). Cabot transports his gold in a "Wild Wild West" inspired armored wagon.

The interplay between Wayne and Douglas (who always seems right on the verge of accepting Cabot's standing offer of $12,000 to kill Wayne) is clever and sarcastic, working with the many exaggerated elements to provide the film's considerable humor.

"The War Wagon" finds Wayne on the wrong side of established authority, for at least the third time as his Ethan Edwards character in "The Searchers" also operated well outside the law and Quirt Evans in "Angel and the Badman" had to be bad enough that he could be reformed by Gail Russell.

Howard Keel plays the civilized Indian sidekick mostly for comic relief and the characters actually demonstrate an awareness of the movie context when they self-reflexively (deliberately drawing attention to their playing characters in a movie) refer to a tactic as an old Indian trick. Ultimately the joke (and the irony) is on Wayne and Douglas, as their seemingly one-sided deal with the Indians (a few blankets in exchange for their participation) causes the Indians to end up with most the rewards.

"The War Wagon's" understated parody style would inspire John Huston ("The Life & Times Of Judge Roy Bean") and George Roy Hill ("The Sting"); and of course many others.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

This is a "caper" film, about what would be a heist in other circumstances. Since the ethics of the perpetrators are those which should have made the authorities make the robbery unnecessary, their act is justified in this situation. This noir western is a bit slick-appearing at some times; but it is physically attractive, has a good cast portraying colorful and somewhat desperate characters, and a strong theme song. Dimitri Tiomkin supplied the very capable score; and Burt Kennedy did a solid job of directing throughout. The very appealing storyline concerns Taw Jackson, played ably by John Wayne, who returns from prison to get back what he can from Bruce Cabot, who stole his ranch and framed him. All he can do is to recruit a group of "mission fighters", beginning with the man who had shot him 5 years earlier, Lomax, played by dynamic Kirk Douglas-and raid the "war wagon"--his enemy's vehicle for transporting gold, a Gatling-Gun-equipped armored stagecoach. Taw's team includes a drunken young dynamite expert he met in prison Robert Walker Jr., Keenan Wynn who is insanely jealous of his young wife, Valora Noland as the wife, Levi Walking Bear in the charismatic person of Howard Keel, his liaison to needed Indian allies, and more. Gene Evans, Joanna Barnes, Ann McRea, Terry Wilson and Frank Mcgrath are among those also doing good professional work in this interesting narrative. Only Noland is a bit weak in this cast. There are some humorous lines and interesting character moments as Wayne assembles his group and plots an attack worthy of "The Dirty Dozen" or "Where Eagles Dare", involving trees that fall at the right moment, Indians faking an attack as a diversion, dynamite used to block off access to a bridge, and a log that swings down and opens the rolling piggy bank violently. What happens after this successful robbery leads to a compromised denouement and ending; but the film is vividly put together, professionally mounted and decently scripted by Clair Huffaker from his own novel. The film stands as a reminder of what any well-made film about an ethical central character can provide relative to any un-ethical and not-fictional man's story competing for a cinema viewer's attention. Moments such as Wayne's visit to his ranch and his talk with the man who stole it, the recruiting of Lomax, the relations of the group, and the raid itself are all memorable. Underrated and always visually interesting.

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.