Plot: Taw Jackson returns to his town after three years in jail on a false charge from Frank Pierce, who actually stole his ranch and made a fortune from the gold found there, so he's obviously out for revenge. Pierce offers $10,000 for Taw's scalp to the region's best shootist, Lomax. But Taw makes him a better offer: a fifth of a half million shipment in gold from the mine in Pierce's 'new toy', an armored stage coach with build-in machine gun. First they must assemble a small team of specialists: juvenile explosives expert Billy Hyatt, alas a drunk and blabbermouth, Indian scout Levi Walking Bear to deal with the local tribes, which they must liberate from a Mexican brigands gang, and old Wes Fletcher, who is insanely jealous about his younger, bought wife. Yet the plan doesn't go smoothly for either side.
Alternative Plot: Rancher Taw Jackson (John Wayne) is out for revenge. He was shot by a gunslinger, Lomax (Kirk Douglas), on the orders of mining tycoon Frank Pierce (Bruce Cabot) and framed for a crime he did not commit. Now out of prison, he teams up with former enemy Lomax for an elaborate heist targeted at one of Pierce's gold shipments. Robbing the heavily fortified stagecoach, known as a "war wagon," won't be easy. But the payoff -- $500,000 in gold -- will be sweet payback indeed.
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