The War Wagon

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The War Wagon
War Wagon film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBurt Kennedy
Written byClair Huffaker (novel and screenplay)
Produced byMarvin Schwartz
Starring
CinematographyWilliam H. Clothier
Edited by
Music byDimitri Tiomkin
Production
companies
Batjac Productions
Marvin Schwarz Productions
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • May 27, 1967 (1967-05-27)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$9,528,000[1]

The War Wagon is a 1967 American Western film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. The picture has the form of a light-hearted heist movie. Released by Universal Pictures, it was produced by Marvin Schwartz and adapted by Clair Huffaker from his own novel. The supporting cast includes Howard Keel, Robert Walker Jr., Keenan Wynn, Joanna Barnes and Bruce Dern. The picture received generally positive reviews.

Filming took place in Sierra de Órganos National Park in the town of Sombrerete, Mexico.[2]

Plot[]

Rancher Taw Jackson returns to his hometown to settle a score, after being released early from prison for good behavior. Three years earlier, he was framed by corrupt businessman Frank Pierce and wrongfully imprisoned, while Pierce appropriated his ranch and lands, as well as the recently discovered gold on the property.

Jackson decides to steal Pierce's largest gold shipment, worth $500,000 (approximately $12M-$13M today). Jackson learns the date of the shipment from Wes Fletcher, an elderly wagon driver employed by Pierce. He then hires a marksman and safecracker known only as "Lomax" to assist him, even though Lomax had helped Pierce send Jackson to prison. The safe of gold dust is being transported in a "war wagon", a heavily armored stagecoach surrounded by armed guards on horseback.

Lomax and Jackson rescue Levi Walking Bear, a Kiowa translator, from a gang of Mexican banditos. Lomax is then sent to pick up Billy Hyatt, supposedly an expert on explosives, and is dismayed to find he is a teenage drunkard. Jackson, Fletcher, Hyatt, Lomax and Levi meet up to discuss their next move, and Fletcher instantly objects to Hyatt's presence around his teenage "wife" Kate.

Lomax rides into town and is confronted by Pierce, who offers him $12,000 for Jackson's head. Lomax spends the night with Lola, an old acquaintance, at one point having to stop Hyatt, who has become drunk again, from spilling the beans about the robbery. Jackson and Levi return from negotiations with the Kiowas, during which the warriors agreed to help, since Pierce is starving the tribe out. Jackson sends Hyatt to wait at Fletcher's farm. Kate, in Fletcher's absence, reveals to Hyatt that she is not married and was actually sold by her abusive parents. Hyatt starts trying to defend Kate from Fletcher's harsh behaviors, and Jackson has to stop Fletcher from killing Hyatt.

Levi, Jackson, and Lomax cause a disturbance in town to confuse Pierce's men. The conspirators later sneak onto Jackson's old ranch to steal some nitroglycerin from a safe in the mining shack. Jackson keeps Pierce distracted by pretending to collect some of his old things, while Lomax and Hyatt put the nitro in bottles.

The next day, Hyatt rigs a bridge to explode with the bottles of nitro, Levi blocks the normal route with a felled tree, and Lomax and Jackson set up a booby trap in a narrow gorge. Pierce reveals he has added a turret with a Gatling Gun to the war wagon, and he and his guards set out with the shipment. The Kiowa warriors create a dust screen and separate the guard riders from the War Wagon. The bridge explodes behind the wagon as it crosses, stranding the guards on the other side of the cliffs. Chief Wild Horse and some more Kiowa warriors attack the wagon and try to take all the gold for themselves, but many are killed by the Gatling Gun.

When the wagon is diverted into the gorge by the fallen tree, Jackson and Lomax spring their trap, killing the drivers. Pierce shoots the last two of his men when they try to desert him and the wagon, but one of them shoots back as he dies, killing Pierce. The wagon crashes into a gulch, and the conspirators quickly load the gold dust into some flour barrels on Fletcher's cart. However, the Kiowa warriors kill Fletcher and attempt to take all the gold (and the flour) for themselves. Hyatt uses the last bottle of nitro to kill the chief and scare the warriors off, but the cart horses spook and run off. The flour barrels are lost and broken, with the Kiowa women, unaware of all that transpired, gathering up the flour to feed their families.

Jackson finds $100,000 worth of gold dust in a hidden compartment in the cart, where Fletcher had tried to steal it. Lomax angrily takes Jackson's horse as payment, and Jackson gives a small amount of dust to Hyatt, who rides off with Kate while Levi returns to the Kiowas. They plan to meet in six months to divide the rest, when the robbery will be old news.

Cast[]

Production[]

The film was based on the Claire Huffaker novel Badman which was published in 1957.[3] He later said he wrote the novel in ten days.[4]

In September 1962 Huffaker announced he would adapt the novel into a script at Producers Studio for his own Lucifer Productions. They were also going to make Guns of Rio Conchos, The Day Before Tomorrow and Ship on Highway 7.[5] The project eventually went to Universal. Huffaker spent three months writing the script.[4]

In June 1966 John Wayne announced he had signed a two-picture deal with Universal, the movies being The War Wagon and The Green Berets. The film would be a co production between Wayne's company, Batjac, and producer Marvin Schwartz.[6]

It was the eleventh book of Huffaker's that he had sold to the movies. As a result, Trident Publishing put him under contract to write a book a year for five years.[7]

In July 1966 Kirk Douglas was announced for the co-starring role. The same month Burt Kennedy signed to direct.[8]

Filming started 19 September 1966 and went for 12 weeks. The film was shot in Durango, Mexico and Curubusco Studios in Mexico City. "We have great, manly cynical humor going for us now", said Wayne. "One cute scene and we're dead." He added that "We're gaining a day every week. This combined Hollywood and Mexican crew is great. If we can come home a week under schedule, we'll all be home with our families for turkey dinner."[9]

Huffaker was present on set for the first and last three weeks of production. While there he made a number of further changes to the script.[4]

Kennedy said he let Wayne direct himself.[10] The extensive second-unit stunt work was supervised by Cliff Lyons.

Comic book adaptation[]

  • Dell Movie Classic: The War Wagon (September 1967)

Reception[]

Box office[]

Movie poster by Howard Terpning

The film opened at number one at the domestic box office in 1967. It grossed $9,563,000 in total, making it a success.

One account called it a "smash success".[11]

Critical response[]

The War Wagon was met with generally positive reviews from critics. Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, who called it "that comparative rarity, a Western filmed with quiet good humor. It is also a point of departure for John Wayne, who plays a bad guy for just about the first time in his career."[12]

The movie holds a 90% "Fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 10 reviews.[13][14]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1967", Variety, 3 January 1968 p 25. Please note these figures refer to rentals accruing to the distributors.
  2. ^ https://www.imdb.com/search/title?locations=Sierra%20de%20Organos,%20Sombrerete,%20Zacatecas,%20Mexico
  3. ^ HOFFMAN BIRNEY (August 4, 1957). "Western: Roundup". New York Times. p. BR11.
  4. ^ a b c Scheuer, Philip K. (August 13, 1967). "The One-Man Revolt in Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. p. c14.
  5. ^ "Entertainment: Barbara Eden Forms Own Film Company". Los Angeles Times. September 4, 1962. p. C13.
  6. ^ Martin, Betty (June 24, 1966). "Kirk Douglas Will Produce and Star". Los Angeles Times. p. c13.
  7. ^ Martin, Betty (July 7, 1966). "Film Shapes Up for Beatles". Los Angeles Times. p. c15.
  8. ^ "Hope, Diller Team for 'Lam'". Los Angeles Times. July 18, 1966. p. c25.
  9. ^ "'The War Wagon' Rolls in Mexico". Los Angeles Times. October 9, 1966. p. B13.
  10. ^ Goldstein, Richard (February 5, 1967). "THE LAST COWBOY SAINT: "Marion Michael Morrison is an old man...but when he bellows you know he's still John Wayne" COWBOY SAINT". Los Angeles Times. p. a20.
  11. ^ Thomas, Kevin (August 29, 1967). "A Hard Ride to Top of Western Heap: BURT KENNEDY". Los Angeles Times. p. d1.
  12. ^ Ebert, Roger (June 1, 1967). "The War Wagon". Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  13. ^ Dell Movie Classic: The War Wagon at the Grand Comics Database
  14. ^ Dell Movie Classic: The War Wagon at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)

External links[]

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