The War Wagon (1967)

Much better than I remember it. The plot most concerns John Wayne's attempt to rob a heavily fortified stagecoach transporting shipments of gold. Although slightly playing against type—his character is technically on the wrong side of the law—John Wayne is clearly in the right and thus there isn't really any moral ambiguity about it. (He's trying to get back at the evil mining baron that had him falsely imprisoned—I forget what for, but it isn't hugely important.) Kirk Douglas's character is slightly more interesting: a leather-clad mercenary who both sides want to hire (Wayne to rob the gold, the mining baron to kill Wayne). However, it's fairly clear from the start who he's going to side with, so some of the ambiguity is lost there.

The supporting cast is kept fairly small—a good thing in films like this—and while they don't all have a great deal to do, their "single issue" character's problems don't distract much. Howard Keel (noted musical star, I'm told) is a slightly unconvincing Indian, but no real complaints.

Mostly though, the plot moves along nicely, the action is all entertaining, the jokes are largely pretty funny (and sparse enough that it doesn't feel silly – they're more like "humorous moments"). There isn't a huge amount to it, but it's one of the better of the later John Wayne action films, and that's pretty fun.