Scott LeBrun The Duke and Kirk Douglas are paired in this enjoyable Western / action film generally laced with knowing humor. The Duke plays Taw Jackson, former rancher who's released from prison after being wronged by a nefarious character named Pierce (Bruce Cabot). Taws' idea of revenge will be to plan a daring heist of the gold being transported in Pierces' "war wagon" of the title, an iron plated, gun equipped stagecoach that resembles a tank. Taw rounds up a few associates to participate in the heist: wise guy Indian Levi Walking Bear (Howard Keel), alcoholic young explosives expert Billy Hyatt (Robert Walker Jr.), transporter Wes Fletcher (Keenan Wynn), and a man named Lomax (Douglas), a gunslinger who Pierce wants to hire to kill Taw.Clair Huffaker wrote the screenplay, based on his own novel, and director Burt Kennedy, a man who often specialized in Westerns with strong comedy content, does a fine job of bringing it to life. The action is first rate, with an impressive explosion, a chase sequence, and a riotous barroom brawl adding to the fun. The War Wagon itself is pretty amusing to behold.Kirk and The Duke make a good team, generating a proper amount of chemistry. The supporting cast is solid and full of familiar faces. Cabot is great as the unrepentant villain, Wynn is at his loudest and funniest, and Keel regularly steals his scenes. Bruce Dern, Gene Evans, Terry Wilson, and Sheb Wooley all make the most of their screen time.Given a rousing score by Dimitri Tiomkin, this may not be among The Dukes' all time best, but it's an engaging diversion for an hour and 41 minutes.Seven out of 10.

SanteeFats This movie has gotten some bad reviews and I can not understand why. It is funny, very tongue in cheek, with plenty of action. John Wayne is Taw Jackson, a man wronged by the bad guy, played by Bruce Cabot, and sent to prison. Now, out of said prison, Jackson teams with his old enemy played very ably by Kirk Douglas. They get some shaky sidekicks to help them rob the War Wagon, an armored wagon with a Gatling gun inside and many riders outside. Keenan Wynn plays a very jealous old man with a very young wife/woman that he apparently traded for. There is the explosives expert who is also an alky. Taw also enlists the aid of some local Indians to attack the wagon and force it to go where they want it. The Indians get some stuff but lose some warriors so I think they got taken advantage of in the movie, but hey it is a movie. All in all I think this is a very good movie.

mark.waltz As a huge fan of both John Wayne and Kirk Douglas, I was excited to see this sole pairing between the two legends. However, I was slightly disappointed because of the generic plot in which they were involved in which concerned Wayne being framed for an obvious crime he didn't commit, getting out of prison, and seeking revenge on the mastermind (Bruce Cabot) who wanted the gold on his land. The villain has hired Douglas to assassinate Wayne to keep him from loosing everything, but Douglas holds out for the highest bidder which happens to be Wayne. Using "the War Wagon" to transfer the gold off of Wayne's land, Cabot has the tank-like covered wagon made up with a giant machine gun like contraption which truly looks silly driving across the desert while Indians and his enemies chase him.Even sillier is the casting of MGM musical legend Howard Keel as a Native American who joins forces with Wayne and Douglas. Looking absolutely silly in Indian braids, Keel has every right to seem truly embarrassed over having had to take this role. Keenan Wynn plays the grizzled driver of Wayne's caravan who has a younger wife (Valora Noland) coveted by the young Robert Walker Jr. While the film is exciting as an adventure, the dialog is silly, the chase sequences overwrought with slapstick, and the titled war wagon reminded me of the machine in the fantasy sequence of "Kid Millions" (1934) that shot cherries onto Ice Cream sodas like a machine gun. Poor Joanna Barnes, the delightful "top drawer" Gloria Upson of "Auntie Mame" and the gold-digging Vicky of "The Parent Trap", is absolutely wasted as a floozy bar maid. As entertainment, it ranks as watchable, but as serious filmmmaking, it is weak when compared to other films that Wayne and Douglas are remembered for.

ianlouisiana Mr Douglas was clearly determined to prove that he had lost little of the athleticism he had shown a decade or so earlier in "The Vikings" as he invents more and more imaginative ways to get on his horse.Just about the only approach he doesn't make is from underneath it.Probably if it had had oars he would have run along them. His silk shirt is a tad tight but he dispenses with that at the drop of a hat and bares his chest,grinning ferociously.He wears his ring outside his leather glove,a trait I find rather disturbing in a family Western. As a gunfighter who had previously failed to kill the Duke one might think his days were numbered,but Mr Wayne believes in keeping his friends close and his enemies closer so he hires him and some rather disparate companions to rob a security waggon and recover the ranch he was cheated out of whilst in prison. "The War Waggon" is a fast - moving enjoyable outing for Wayne and Douglas with a little help from Mr H.Keel who wears a wig and talks in a funny voice,pretending to be an Indian.Not,perhaps,his most enduring role, Mr Robert Walker jr and Mr Keenan Wynn make up Wayne's firm and add their particular talents to the mix. The celebrated Mr Bruce Cabot is the uber villain who gets his in the end. Nothing in the least bit surprising happens - and that's half the movie's charm. If you enjoy Kirk and the Duke doing their familiar thing and having fun whilst doing it then I can recommend watching it.