Vera Cruz

This western film is typical of the 50's era. It was well made in excellent outdoor locations. "Coop" gave his usual professional touch which we came to expect of him & "Lancaster" was superb That "smile" really made his character and gave the humour that was needed to make a balanced film. The cast including Borgnine & Bronson added real class to the production. I saw the film as a fifteen year old teenager when it was first released, queuing for 2 hours to obtain entry into my home city's main cinema. Even after 50 years I still watch it with the same excitement & interest. They do not make films like this anymore. Modern films have no answer to it

This unpretentious and incredibly influential western began as a vehicle for Burt Lancaster with his production company's executives. He was looking for work as the film industry was being murdered by Congress's seat tax and its new hastily-created TV networks and payments to people to make movies abroad instead of in the U.S. He hired long-in-the-tooth but screen-wise Gary Cooper to play opposite him, and a script was developed by three veteran writers--Borden case, Roland Kibbee and James R. Webb. Its storyline featured groups of gunmen heading south to serve for pay as Empreror Maximilian of Mexico tried to put down the native revolution against his corrupt government. There is a bang-up opening as Ben Trane, Cooper, shoots his injured horse and buys another from Joe Erin, Lancaster. They are chased by Mexican officers; Cooper wonders why and Joe tells him he's riding the Lieutenant's horse, which he himself had stolen earlier. Ben leaves Joe behind when there is only one horse unharmed between them; he rides into a town where the Erin gang are waiting. They are about to attack him en masse when Joe shows up, just as Ben has beaten up Ernest Borgnine. Others in the gang include Charles Bronson in an early role, Jack Elam and James McCallion., et al. The next problem, is to settle who will lead the Americanos, Joe or a rival, powerful Jack Lambeert. A gunfight settles that question. The new recruits are take by Cesar Romero and Henry Brandon, Maximilian's chief men, to meet the Emperor. George Macready plays the french-born Maximilian, beautifully as always, at a grand palace party, where the Yankees put on a shooting exhibition and the Emperor tries his hand as well. Meanwhile, they have encountered Sarita Montiel, stealing Ben's money, and General Ramirez, beautifully underplayed by Morris Ankrum, who asks them not to join the Emperor's army; he turns out to be the head of the revolution; they escape his well-planned trap by threatening some children, but at least they realize what they are getting into. Their first assignment is to escort Denise Darcel, a Countess, and her coach to safety. Of course she turns out to be carrying gold, to pay Maximilian's forces elsewhere. Joe and Ben want the gold, and eventually they get it. But then comes the reckoning--between a Southerner, a man who had lost everything in the Civil War in a lost cause, and a man who regards all "softness" as a weakness and even killed his own mentor, years before...Ben wins the shootout and decides to turn the money over to the revolution, and keep Sarita Montiel for his own prize. This is a very tight script, a favorite film with male and female moviegoers. It has many pluses other than the actors and the strong situational dialogue. Robert Aldrich's direction is clean, straightforward and keeps the action moving in between interesting dialogue exchanges. The first-rate cinematography is by Ernest Laszlo,the very good costumes by Norma, production design by Alfred Ybarra; Hugo Friedhofer composed the excellent music. In terms of the acting, which dominates half this otherwise outdoor film, Cooper succeeds by underplaying; Lancaster later said he himself had started the film on too-high a level, and learned lessons that served him for years from Cooper during this feature's filming. Darcel does not seem like a Countess but gives her part energy; lovely Montiel has an odd accent but is very strong. Borgnine and Elam do well, and Lambert and the rest of the gang all do well. Brandon, Romero and Macready as usual steal their scenes. All in all, a western that satisfies, does not look fifty years old and has no slow points, no real defects. This is the sort of film Hollywood youthful corporate types cannot make any more; and it inspired a generation of Italian filmmakers including Sergio Leone. It is an adventure that should live long in the minds and hearts of fans of the Western genre.

The first 20 minutes of Vera Cruz are excellent, starting with the great score by Friedhofer and the meeting of Cooper's and Lancaster's characters. The most striking scene is in a plaza, with a great gunfight followed with the meetings with the main players in the plot including a couple of hundred revolutionaries and Cesar Romero, whose character serves the Emperor of Mexico, Maximillian. This initial sequence of scenes are very well done, have a tough and cynical feel about them, and seem a little ahead of their time. After this point the movie becomes a more typical 1950s big budget adventure film. It remains entertaining, but looses the sharpness that these first striking minutes had. Only at the very end of the film does it regain it's edge. It could have been an excellent film, but is still entertaining and well worth watching.

Cooper and Lancaster are good as always and their usual on-screen personas compliment each other well.

The Mexican locations were great.

This film was very influential on the Italian filmmakers that would go on to create the spaghetti western. Stylistically the influence can be scene most in plaza scene. The plot filled with multiple double crosses and betrayals will also seem familiar to fans of the eurowestern, as does the primary character motivation -- greed. Also, this film may explain the large number of SW that involve Maximillian, Jaurez, and soldiers of fortune manipulating them.

"As the American Civil War ended, another war was just beginning. The Mexican people were struggling to rid themselves of their foreign Emperor--Maximilian. Into this fight rode a handful of Americans--ex soldiers, adventurers, criminals--all bent on gain. They drifted South in small groups-- AND SOME CAME ALONE"

Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster head the cast as two polar opposite American adventurers who get involved with Maximilian's royal house and Juarez's revolutionaries in 1860s Mexico. Cooper plays Benjamin Trane, basically a good man, tho one tainted by much cynicism, and Lancaster plays Joe Erin, gunman and an untrustworthy crook. Vera Cruz was the first release in SuperScope (beautifully shot by Ernest Laszlo on location in Mexico) and with director Robert Aldrich at the helm, the film brilliantly captures the violence and danger that was brought about during Mexico's revolutionary period. Adapted by Roland Kibbee and James R. Webb from a Borden Chase story, Vera Cruz very much feels like (is) a precursor to Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch and Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns of the 60s.

With its blend of comedy and outright action, the film is essentially a buddy buddy Western with a cynical amoral kicker. It's a blend that may not be to everyone's tastes, but with Lancaster (grinning for all he is worth) and Cooper (laconic supreme) in the leads the film rises above its oddity status. The professionalism on show, both from the obvious big stature of its stars and Aldrich's astute choreography of the action sequences, ensures this is a polished piece. There's much machismo of course, one only has to see that Charles Bronson, Ernest Borgnine and Jack Elam are in the support gallery of thugs to know this fact, but it should be noted that the picture is interested in showing a fair reflection of the Mexican conflict. The Mexican government of the time were outraged at the film, but on reflection now it's evident the film doesn't take sides. That to my mind has to be applauded.

Some problems exist, notably some of the dialogue is a touch too corn based now. While as the main female character, Denise Darcel is out of her depth. One could think that she is maybe swamped by all the testosterone around her, but when you notice that Sara Montiel is coping fine in a secondary role, it shows Darcel to be limited. Vera Cruz held its own on release, neither busting the box office nor sinking without a trace. It would take over ten years before the true value of the film would start to be noticed. With that, it now shows to be very influential within the genre. Explosive, important and darn good fun, that's a mixture you just can't ignore. 8/10

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"