The War Wagon (1967)
Fresh out of prison, John Wayne puts together a crew, including Kirk Douglas and Howard Keel, to rob the gold mining baron who put him there and took his ranch away.
John Wayne and Kirk Douglas are always value for money. This is another of those lesser Wayne movies where he walks about like a giant among men but his sparring with Douglas is at the center of this film and it's just as well as the first hour and ten minutes is pretty slight as far as story goes.
However the last half hour with the raid on the armored stagecoach of the title, loaded with gold which is surrounded by mounted guards, makes up for earlier shortcomings. The War Wagon with it's swiveling Gatling gun emplacement a great piece of almost tank like machinery and the robbery involving marauding native Kiowa is a bullet strewn ballet in which shit really blows up.
For the most part The War Wagon is an inessential western yet the finale somehow makes it seem pretty darn good.
A big thanks to Mr.Barlow for sending me this now out of print addition to my western collection
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