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 Shipment | Caper | Robbery | Barroom Brawl | Native American Attack

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	...	Frank Pierce
Joanna Barnes	...	Lola
Valora Noland	...	Kate Fletcher
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

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

Art Direction by
Alfred Sweeney

Set Decoration by
Ray Moyer

Costume Design by
Oscar Rodriguez		(costumes)

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	....	sound re-recordist

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

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

Distributors

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

Other Companies

• Cinefx  titles
• Edit-Rite  sound effects

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

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:

Batjac Productions

Trivia:

According to director Burt Kennedy, he gave up half his salary so that he could afford to hire Kirk Douglas (quoted in the Production Notes on the Universal Western Collection DVD).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the Pierce's ranch, after Lomax and Billy enter in the shack, Lomax lights the lampion. Then his shadow holding the lampion is projected on the wall, but the only light inside the shack comes from the lampion itself.

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:

Featured in ... A Father... A Son... Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Ballad of The War Wagon

Interesting, Well-Paced and Colorful; a Fine Noir Western All Round

This is a "caper" film, about what would be a heist in other circumstances. Since the ethics of the perpetrators are those which should have made the authorities make the robbery unnecessary, their act is justified in this situation. This noir western is a bit slick-appearing at some times; but it is physically attractive, has a good cast portraying colorful and somewhat desperate characters, and a strong theme song. Dimitri Tiomkin supplied the very capable score; and Burt Kennedy did a solid job of directing throughout. The very appealing storyline concerns Taw Jackson, played ably by John Wayne, who returns from prison to get back what he can from Bruce Cabot, who stole his ranch and framed him. All he can do is to recruit a group of "mission fighters", beginning with the man who had shot him 5 years earlier, Lomax, played by dynamic Kirk Douglas-and raid the "war wagon"--his enemy's vehicle for transporting gold, a Gatling-Gun-equipped armored stagecoach. Taw's team includes a drunken young dynamite expert he met in prison Robert Walker Jr., Keenan Wynn who is insanely jealous of his young wife, Valora Noland as the wife, Levi Walking Bear in the charismatic person of Howard Keel, his liaison to needed Indian allies, and more. Gene Evans, Joanna Barnes, Ann McRea, Terry Wilson and Frank Mcgrath are among those also doing good professional work in this interesting narrative. Only Noland is a bit weak in this cast. There are some humorous lines and interesting character moments as Wayne assembles his group and plots an attack worthy of "The Dirty Dozen" or "Where Eagles Dare", involving trees that fall at the right moment, Indians faking an attack as a diversion, dynamite used to block off access to a bridge, and a log that swings down and opens the rolling piggy bank violently. What happens after this successful robbery leads to a compromised denouement and ending; but the film is vividly put together, professionally mounted and decently scripted by Clair Huffaker from his own novel. The film stands as a reminder of what any well-made film about an ethical central character can provide relative to any un-ethical and not-fictional man's story competing for a cinema viewer's attention. Moments such as Wayne's visit to his ranch and his talk with the man who stole it, the recruiting of Lomax, the relations of the group, and the raid itself are all memorable. Underrated and always visually interesting.