In September 1966, John Wayne was set to shoot a Western heist movie, but he needed the right co-star to play his character’s former enemy, Lomax.

Burt Lancaster turned down The War Wagon part as he didn’t want to work with Duke, while Rod Taylor was intended for the role until Kirk Douglas, who would have been 108 today, showed interest.

The Spartacus star had already co-starred with the Western legend in Cast a Giant Shadow and In Harm’s Way the previous two years, so he was well…