Vera Cruz

"Vera Cruz" is settled in Mexico during Austrian emperor Maximilian's ruling and the Juaristas revolution. Ban Trane (Gary Cooper) and Joe Erin (Burt Lancaster) cross the border to hire their guns for the cause that pays better. Trane is a former southern officer ruined by the American civil war and Erin is a self made top gun. Somehow the two men get to like and respect each other and they are paid by the emperor to take a mysterious French countess through Juarista country to the Port of Vera Cruz.

Mexico's colorful outdoor locations are very well used by director Robert Aldrich to give the film some sort of greatness, unusual in early 50's westerns. Lots of action and well done battle sequences help the movie too. The final gun duel couldn't be spared and it is a good one too.

Cooper has no trouble with his character and gives a good performance, but no doubt Lancaster's character is more interesting and he takes the best of it. In fact when you remember "Vera Cruz" Lancater's Joe Erin is what first comes to your mind. His black outfit, his complete lack of class and manners, his limitless ambition and completely unscrupulous behaviour; and yet you feel sympathy for the guy. This is indeed a Burt Lancaster picture.

The supporting cast is also outstanding. You'll find future stars in early roles such as Ernest Borgnine and Charles Bronson, along with Jack Elam all of them members of Erin's gang (what else?). But classical actors of the 40's and 50's are there too: Cesar Romero, George Macready (Maximilian), Morris Ankrum and Henry Brandon among others. Spanish actress Sara Montiel plays a Juarista that gets mixed up with Coooper.

Not only for western fans but also for action and adventure movie followers, "Vera Cruz" is a film to enjoy every once in a while. A top one in both genres.

It's just a little surprising that "Vera Cruz" is not as well-remembered as some of the other westerns of its era, because it has a great deal going for it. Burt Lancaster and Gary Cooper both give fine performances that get the most out of their characters, and the story, setting, and photography are all nicely done. It's an entertaining and often suspenseful movie that is well-crafted with plenty of action as well.

The setting in late 1860s Mexico is the kind of setting that has often produced some of the finest westerns: a confused struggle where loyalties are up for grabs, no one can be fully trusted, and issues of right and wrong are easily clouded by personal desires. Joe and Ben (Lancaster and Cooper) are right at home in this atmosphere, and the story makes good use of the possibilities.

The opening sequence is a fine way to open the story, with Joe and Ben confronting each other as well as the military. The battle of wits and weapons is interesting in itself, and brings out a great deal about the characters right from the start. It is quickly clear that Joe and Ben have some important differences, but also that they will need each other before long.

The location filming in Mexico is an important part of making it work so well, with plenty of interesting sights to go along with the realistic backgrounds. The rest of the cast is also good, and they get a few moments of their own (Sarita Montiel, in particular, grabs your attention), although it is always Lancaster and Cooper who are the center of attention. It all makes for good entertainment, and it has more than enough substance to it as well.

One of the most influential western of all time, Vera Cruz depicts a Mexico rarely seen on the screen. The exchange of harsh words and quips between the top billed stars, Gary Cooper & Burt Lancaster throughout the movie is excellent. Actors like Charles Bronson, Ernest Borgnine, Cesar Romero and Sara Montiel, at the beginning of their career was a solid support to the production. Excellent photography, taking in consideration the film is 50 years old. Excellent soundtrack, beautiful wardrobe and the hundreds of extras in a story that has all the ingredients to keep the vier' attention, make this movie one of the best crafted westerns.

After the American Civil War, mercenaries travel to Mexico to fight in their revolution for money. The former soldier and gentleman Benjamin Trane (Gary Cooper) meets the gunman and killer Joe Erin (Burt Lancaster) and his men, and together they are hired by the Emperor Maximillian (George Macready) and the Marquis Henri de Labordere (Cesar Romero) to escort the Countess Marie Duvarre (Denise Darcel) to the harbor of Vera Cruz. Ben and Erin find that the stagecoach is transporting US$ 3,000,000.00 in gold hidden below the seat and they scheme to steal it. Along their journey, betrayals and incidents happen changing their initial intentions.

"Vera Cruz" is a very entertaining western directed by the great director Robert Aldrich and with excellent performances of Burt Lancaster and Gary Cooper. Their partnership is hilarious since their behaviors, educations and personalities are totally different, or opposite. Ben Trane is a honored, intelligent and idealistic man, who lost his possessions in the war and now is trying to have some financial gain with his abilities. Joe Erin is cynical, amoral, brutal, intuitive and mercenary. In common, only their skills in handling weapons. Erin cheats all the time, but the smart Ben is one step ahead in every situation and the result is a good movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Vera Cruz"

VERA CRUZ picks up on a bit of business from the American Civil War that is rarely discussed in our movies. Only a slight, similar comment is brought up in the film ANOTHER PART OF THE FORREST, where John Dahl plans to leave the south and fight in the Brazilian Army. It is 1870, and Dahl (an ex-Confederate officer) decides to fight for an army from the one large nation that still practices slavery. Many Confederates at the end of the Civil War sought employment outside the United States, where their military skills would be appreciated and they did not have to live under the U.S. Flag. George Pickett (of the famous charge at Gettysburg) was offered the job of Commander-in-Chief of the the army of the Khedive of Egypt (but he did not take the offer).

Many of the ex-Confederates decided to go to Mexico, because during the Civil War Maximillian was pro-Southern (as Juarez was pro-Northern), and the French who supported Maximillian were pro-Confederate (unofficially) as well. Napoleon III of France saw the Confederates as one of those "nationalities" he championed in the name of his uncle's so-called revolutionary principles. He also had a belief that the United States was growing too potentially powerful. Throughout the first two years of the war, while Lee and Jackson were doing so well in the East, Napoleon III did all he could to get the British and himself to coordinate mediating a peaceful (i.e. "pro-Confederate") solution to the war. But every time it looked like that would occur, there would be a Northern victory (Antietam Creek, Gettysburg) that upset the plan. Also the release of the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863 muddied the waters. It reminded the people of France and Britain that the South favored slavery.

Napoleon III was hoping a Southern victory would ensure his puppet Maximillian's Empire in Mexico would be secure. During the war he had conferences with a former Senator from California, Dr. William Gwin, who was pro-Confederate. Gwin wanted to have a portion of the Sonora state of Mexico set aside for Confederate emigrants to farm and mine.

All this collapsed on April 9, 1865 when Lee surrendered. VERA CRUZ follows the collapse of the Confederacy, and how Gary Cooper joins the exodus to link up with fellow former Rebels in Mexico, to support Maximillian. He also links up with Burt Lancaster, who leads a gang of gunslingers for hire, and the story turns on a huge gold shipment that is for Maximillain's forces. But in VERA CRUZ everyone sees this gold shipment as the key to a happy future for themselves or for their people. Cooper (the hero in the film) would like to use it for helping to rebuild the South. Lancaster and his gang (including Ernest Borgnine and Charles Bronson) see the riches for themselves. Maximillian (George Macready, in a very short scene - unfortunately - where he is not as sweet and well intentioned as Brian Ahearn had been in JUAREZ) - wants the money sent for future purposes. Cesar Romero and Henry Brandon are intending the money should go to France. Denise Darcel, a French aristocrat, wants the money sent to France to - for herself.

There are plenty of films about gold and how it brings greed out of everyone, and VERA CRUZ is one of the best. It is not settled until the end who will get the gold - and only after one last gunfight after the battle.