The War Wagon

1967
Unrated
1h 41m

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

11K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer0:44

Classical Western Drama Western

The story of a man who was shot, robbed and imprisoned who returns to steal a large gold shipment from the man who wronged him. The gold is transported in an armored stage coach, the War Wag... Read allThe story of a man who was shot, robbed and imprisoned who returns to steal a large gold shipment from the man who wronged him. The gold is transported in an armored stage coach, the War Wagon.The story of a man who was shot, robbed and imprisoned who returns to steal a large gold shipment from the man who wronged him. The gold is transported in an armored stage coach, the War Wagon.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

11K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,200

9,428

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win

Videos2

Trailer 0:44

Trailer

Clip 1:26

The War Wagon: Friendship

Clip 1:26

The War Wagon: Friendship

Photos125

+ 120

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
During the production, Kirk Douglas was late to the set because he was shooting a commercial endorsement for the Democratic Governor of California, Edmund G. Brown. John Wayne was furious, and was late to work the next day because he was shooting a commercial for the Republican candidate Ronald Reagan.

Goofs
When the gold wagon crashes it stops with it's right side wheels up. When Taw gets to it, it has it's left side wheels in the air.

Quotes
[after shooting down two bad guys]
Lomax: Mine hit the ground first.
Taw Jackson: Mine was taller.

Connections
Featured in The Dick Cavett Show: Kirk Douglas (1971)

Soundtracks
Ballad Of The War Wagon
Sung by Ed Ames
Music by Dimitri Tiomkin
Lyric by Ned Washington

User reviews69

Review

Featured review

6/10

Caper film straddles the boundary between serious and parody western with middling results.

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.