The War Wagon (1967)

Director:

Burt Kennedy

Writers:

Clair Huffaker (screenplay)
Clair Huffaker (novel)

Release Date:

27 May 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Western

Tagline:

The War Wagon Rolls And The Screen Explodes!

Plot:

Taw Jackson returns from prison having survived being shot, to the ranch and gold that Frank Pierce stole from him...

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Ranch | Caper | Wagon | Gold Shipment

Awards:

1 win

Cast

John Wayne	...	Taw Jackson
Kirk Douglas	...	Lomax
Howard Keel	...	Levi Walking Bear
Robert Walker Jr.	...	Billy Hyatt (as Robert Walker)
Keenan Wynn	...	Wes Fletcher
Bruce Cabot	...	Pierce
Joanna Barnes	...	Lola
Valora Noland	...	Kate
Bruce Dern	...	Hammond
Gene Evans	...	Deputy Hoag
Terry Wilson	...	Sheriff Strike
Don Collier	...	Shack
Sheb Wooley	...	Snyder
Ann McCrea	...	Felicia
Emilio Fernández	...	Calita (as Emilio Fernandez)
Frank McGrath	...	Bartender
Chuck Roberson	...	Brown
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	...	Early (as Red Morgan)
Hal Needham	...	Hite
Marco Antonio	...	Chief Wild Horse
Perla Walters	...	Rosita
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chuck Hayward	...	Blacksmith (uncredited)
Margarite Luna	...	Asian Girl (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	...	Outrider (uncredited)
Miko Mayama	...	Asian Girl (uncredited)
Midori	...	Asian Girl (uncredited)
José Trinidad Villa	...	Townsman at Bar (uncredited)

Directed by
Burt Kennedy

Writing credits
Clair Huffaker		(screenplay)
Clair Huffaker		(novel "Badman")

Produced by
Marvin Schwartz	....	producer

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
William H. Clothier		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Harry W. Gerstad		(as Harry Gerstad)

Art Direction by
Alfred Sweeney

Set Decoration by
Ray Moyer

Costume Design by
Oscar Rodriguez

Makeup Department
Dave Grayson	....	makeup artist
Donald W. Roberson	....	makeup artist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup supervisor (uncredited)

Production Management
Joseph C. Behm	....	unit production manager (as Joseph Behm)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Al Jennings	....	assistant director
Cliff Lyons	....	second unit director

Art Department
Julius Rosenkrantz	....	property

Sound Department
Robert R. Bertrand	....	sound
Clem Portman	....	re-recording
James Nelson	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Albert Whitlock	....	mattes

Stunts
Jim Burk	....	stunts (uncredited)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Everett Creach	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddy Donno	....	stunts (uncredited)
Richard Farnsworth	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Gatlin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom Hennesy	....	stunts (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	....	stunts (uncredited)
Frank McGrath	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary McLarty	....	stunts (uncredited)
Boyd 'Red' Morgan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hal Needham	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Roberson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Alex Sharp	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dean Smith	....	stunts (uncredited)
Robert Warner	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Williams	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bernie Abramson	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Álex Phillips Jr.	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)

Music Department
Dimitri Tiomkin	....	conductor
Gil Grau	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Marshall J. Wolins	....	script supervisor
Orin Borsten	....	publicist (uncredited)
'Chema' Hernandez	....	head wrangler (uncredited)
Arvo Ojala	....	gun coach (uncredited)
Arvo Ojala	....	technical director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (as A Universal Picture)
• Batjac Productions (as A Batjac Presentation)
• Marvin Schwartz Productions (as A Marvin Schwartz Production)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1967) (USA) (theatrical)
• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1967) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1967) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Väinän Filmi (1967) (Finland) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1970) (USA) (TV) (pan/scan)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1980) (Finland) (TV) (MTV1)
• MCA Home Video (1983) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2003) (Finland) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2007) (Finland) (TV) (TV2)
• Tocantins (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD) (5 film collection)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2007) (Canada) (DVD) (5 film collection)

Other Companies

• Cinefx  titles
• Edit-Rite  sound effects (as Edit-Rite, Inc.)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:G (original rating) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | UK:U | West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:K-12 | Norway:16 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Durango, Mexico

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Length of the War Wagon: 47.5 feet, from lead horse to the back end of the wagon.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Taw is standing by the front of Wes' wagon and notices the loose gold near Wes's hiding spot, he turns back to the rest of the gang. When the camera angle changes he turns back towards the gang again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Hoag:Sheriff! Taw Jackson's back in town!
Sheriff Strike:You sure?
Hoag:Well, he's ridin' down the street right now, big as life.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Teen-Age Crime Wave (#6.22)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Ballad of The War Wagon

A Subtle (but Fun) Parody of Traditional Western Movie Conventions

I didn't like the "War Wagon" when it was first released, I found it rather silly and vaguely offensive. The problem was me, I was not ready to recognize, let alone relate to, a subtle parody of the western genre. I should have been more receptive because in the mid-60s a huge amount of genre parody began to appear on television ("Batman", 'Wild Wild West", "F- Troop", "Get Smart"), which could be traced back to gently tongue-in-cheek series like "Maverick" and "Zorro".

"Cat Ballou" (1965) was the first feature length parody of Western generic clichés. But its parody elements were obvious, even if you were not that familiar with the conventions of the Western genre you could recognize exaggerations and revisions. In addition, up to this point John Wayne films had given the Western genre only very traditional treatments.

But "The War Wagon" was only the first example of director Burt Kennedy's tweaking of the genre. He would follow it up with "Support Your Local Sheriff" (1969), "Hannie Caulder" (1971), and "Support Your Local Gunfighter" (1971). Wayne would toy with parodic elements two years later with "True Grit", and would stay much less traditional with the remainder of his westerns.

"The War Wagon" is also a genre hybrid as western is mixed with buddy picture and big heist movie. Taw (John Wayne) recruits an old enemy Lomax (Kirk Douglas) as he seeks revenge on a ruthless mine owner (Bruce Cabot) who not only framed and sent to him prison, but appropriated his ranch and personal possessions after a huge gold strike was discovered on ranch property (here we go with the exaggeration-the only things missing are stealing Taw's wife, adopting his children, and leaving his toilet seat up). Cabot transports his gold in a "Wild Wild West" inspired armored wagon.

The interplay between Wayne and Douglas (who always seems right on the verge of accepting Cabot's standing offer of $12,000 to kill Wayne) is clever and sarcastic, working with the many exaggerated elements to provide the film's considerable humor.

"The War Wagon" finds Wayne on the wrong side of established authority, for at least the third time as his Ethan Edwards character in "The Searchers" also operated well outside the law and Quirt Evans in "Angel and the Badman" had to be bad enough that he could be reformed by Gail Russell.

Howard Keel plays the civilized Indian sidekick mostly for comic relief and the characters actually demonstrate an awareness of the movie context when they self-reflexively (deliberately drawing attention to their playing characters in a movie) refer to a tactic as an old Indian trick. Ultimately the joke (and the irony) is on Wayne and Douglas, as their seemingly one-sided deal with the Indians (a few blankets in exchange for their participation) causes the Indians to end up with most the rewards.

"The War Wagon's" understated parody style would inspire John Huston ("The Life & Times Of Judge Roy Bean") and George Roy Hill ("The Sting"); and of course many others.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.