The War Wagon

I believe you would have to say that this is the first time John Wayne was not on the side of law and order in a movie since Three Godfathers. Between then and The War Wagon, a past that is less than savory has been hinted at, but only in The War Wagon has it been explicitly said he's an outlaw.

An outlaw with revenge on his mind. He's going rob Bruce Cabot, the slimy villain who's taken over his ranch and discovered enough gold on it to make him a rich man.

This is a caper film, maybe the only one Duke ever made. Though it might not come to mind, this film is definitely in the tradition of Topkapi and How to Steal a Million. Granted the comedy isn't exactly highbrow like the other two films, still the War Wagon is an honorable addition to that genre.

Helping Wayne along in his enterprise are Kirk Douglas a gunfighter/ safe-cracker, Howard Keel a cynical Indian, Robert Walker, Jr. a young alcoholic explosives expert and Keenan Wynn an old codger who works for Bruce Cabot and is essentially their inside man.

Kirk Douglas in his memoirs The Ragman's Son held the Duke in enormous respect even though their political views differed radically. The three films they did together show the good camaraderie they developed.

The title of the film refers to an armored vehicle with a Gatling gun that Bruce Cabot uses to ship gold. I won't say what the plan is on how the War Wagon is dealt with, but anyone who has watched the George Marshall/Glenn Ford film, Imitation General, will have some idea.

A good entertaining John Wayne western which is as good as it gets.

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.

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.

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.

'The War Wagon' will never be considered one of John Wayne's great Westerns like 'Rio Bravo', 'The Searchers', or 'Red River', but it is a an enjoyable Western with fine performances and great rapport between Kirk Douglas and John Wayne. The action sequences are well done, the humor dry as the desert it takes place in, and the caper story line rather refreshing for a John Wayne film.

The problem? When the picture ends it leaves you feeling empty. The characters are not particularly interesting (save for Douglas) and the villain is your standard cattle baron murderous jerk. The war wagon itself is an interesting prop and well used, but never really becomes the menacing character it should've been. I enjoyed the movie as a fan of John Wayne and Westerns in general, yet I doubt most of his fans will find this film particularly impressive when compared to many of his other Westerns directed by Hawks and Ford. That isn't to say you should avoid seeing 'The War Wagon', but you should temper your expectations for what is really just an empty Saturday-afternoon adventure. You'll like it while you're watching it and then forget it as soon as the credits roll.