The War Wagon Rolls and the Screen Explodes!

Starring: John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel, Robert Walker Jr., Keenan Wynn, Bruce Cabot, Joanna Barnes, Valora Noland, Bruce Dern, Gene Evans, Terry Wilson, Dan Collier, Sheb Wooley, Ann McCrea

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"Have you taken a look lately at the cemetery in Emmett? There's a bunch of cheap wooden crosses in one corner all kind of crowded in together. That's the tribute to the last fools who tried to stop The War Wagon." - Lomax

Why watch this? This time, John Wayne is the bad guy... well sorta.

Plot Summary: The plot centers on Taw Jackson, a man unjustly robbed of his ranch and its recently discovered gold deposits. The culprit is devious businessman Frank Pierce, who greedy plot resulted in Jackson being shot by hired gunman, Lomax, then sent unjustly to prison. Now, Jackson is out of jail and ready for payback. He recruits a motley gang of criminals, including Lomax, to destroy Pierce's iron-clad, armored wagon that Pierce uses to move around all his wealth. The idea is to use the explosive, nitroglycerine to blow up the iron beast and get away with the gold.

Dad's Preview: Two years after In Harm's Way (1965), Duke and Douglas are back together again in this fun, action-packed oater. The bigness (and even outrageousness) of the metal wagon, sporting its murderous Gatling gun, fits the types of films Wayne made in his later years - they were big and bold - just like the Duke himself.

Batjac Productions; Marvin Schwarz Prod.; Universal Pictures