The War Wagon (1967)

Most DVD viewers today know who John Wayne is, but chances are that if you’re over 30 you’ve probably never actually seen a John Wayne film with the possible exception of catching parts of The Quiet Man between beers on St. Patrick’s Day. People know he’s a screen legend. They just don’t know why.

While there are certainly more critically acclaimed Wayne movies than The War Wagon, there are few that are as much silly fun to watch. The film also has the added bonus of letting you watch Wayne, who plays a bad guy for just about the first time n his career in this movie, go toe-to-toe in a scenery chewing contest with his dimple-jawed co-star Kirk Douglas.

The film is the story of ex-con Taw Jackson (Wayne) who organizes a small band of desperate desperados to help him rob the old west version of a Brink’s armored car, an iron-clad buckboard known as the War Wagon.

Even though he is the ‘bad’ guy of the movie, Wayne doesn’t stray too far from the formula that made him a box office legend. He may snarl a bit more and he may let himself be the butt of his co-stars jokes a little more often. He may even take a few more punches than he normally does during the big salon fight, but he doesn’t stray too far from his strengths, which is fine. It’s not his best performance, but it’s good enough to introduce new viewers to the cinematic world that John Wayne ruled over for so many years.

Starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas.

IMDB Site.