Vera Cruz (1954)

"Money. Is that worth risking your life for?" a Juarista general asks Ben Trane...played by Gary Cooper. "Comes closer than anything I know." says he.

Robert Aldrich's second feature film ...Set during the Mexican revolution of 1866, filmed on location ...featuring a number of now familiar faces: Ernest Borgnine ; a young Charles Bronson (who hadn't even changed his name to Bronson yet); Jack Elam.... packed with plot twists, intrigue, double crosses, triple crosses.....backstabbing..shaky & shifting alliances........is a lot of fun....shot in SuperScope featuring the great Ernest Lazlo's cinematography. In many ways...a transitional film (from a 40's style -->the 50's style)..& a transitional western, one that signals a change from old-style epic Hollywood Westerns...it actually combines the large Hollywood spectacle with the grittier, more cynical Westerns of the 50's & 60s... and anticipates & influences the Spaghetti western ...& the "Mexican Revolution" theme or subplot.

Cooper plays a loner named Benjamin Trane. He rides into Mexico hoping to sign up with either Emperor Maximilian or the revolutionary Juarez--whoever will pay him the most. ...He stumbles across Joe Erin (Lancaster)..their first encounter is a hoot & gets this movie off on a rousing note.. ...& hooks up with a group of mercenaries headed by Erin.... . However, their negotiations with Marquis Henri de Labordere (played to the hilt by Cesar Romero) is interrupted by the arrival of the Juaristas. From then on...The story becomes a matter of who's conning who. .... a fortune in gold ...& what seems like EVERYBODY's playing EVERYBODY....& a terrific conclusion.

"Man's got to have more. Needs something to believe in." "I've got that too," says Trane as he holds up his rifle and gives it a shake.

Cooper & Lancaster are terrific as Ben Trane and Joe Erin...playing with & off each other smoothly & delightfully....the character that Burt Lancaster plays in "Vera Cruz" really paves the way for his portrayal of Dolworth in "The Professionals"..(could be a younger version of the same character, in many ways...although ultimately much darker)...............Neither Aldrich, nor Lancaster, take the easy road w/ Joe Erin's character...& kudos to both of them for it.

A fabulous supporting cast.........some great dialogue......(Joe Erin's "Ace Hanna" story being a particular favorite of mine), ahead of its time as well as a product of it....... major inspiration of the Italian Westerns, which came a decade later...."Vera Cruz" is not only a top notch, crackling good Western.....but an important one......& deserving of " must see" status.

Fmovies: I first saw this film in 1955; it was the sort of movie I lived for back then. Compared with movies such as "Three Coins in the Fountain" and "Good Morning Miss Dove', which I also saw around the same time, "Vera Cruz" was an island of refuge in a sea of ennui for an eight-year old boy.

Now that my movie horizons have broadened a little, most of those old war movies and westerns seem very one dimensional if not totally unwatchable these days.

But there are exceptions, and "Vera Cruz" is one of them. After a recent viewing I can appreciate its panache and even touches of brilliance.

The story follows a group of American adventurers in Mexico during the Juarista revolution against the French imposed rule of Emperor Maximillian. Ben Trane (Gary Cooper) teams up with Joe Erin (Burt Lancaster), and it seems they are prepared to help whichever side pays the most money.

They initially join forces with the French, but later change to the Juaristas. They have the opportunity of getting away with three million dollars in gold, but Ben Trane becomes emotionally attached to the Juarista cause, while Joe Erin only has an emotional attachment to himself and the money - a showdown is inevitable.

It would be hard to accuse the characters in this film of being one-dimensional because they are so over-the-top. They also bring a lightness of touch without which the whole thing would be pretty heavy going. With a witty script, and the perfect cast, director Robert Aldrich hit all the right notes with this film.

All the actors playing the French turned the ham knob up high. Ceasar Romero is charming, urbane and duplicitous. Henry Brandon's close-cropped captain is superbly arrogant, and has some great lines with Joe Erin. When he sees Joe greedily tearing into a whole chicken at a banquet, he comments, "Your acquaintance with etiquette amazes me monsieur, I had no idea you knew which hand to use". Of course their association was bound to end badly.

As a scheming countess, Denise Darcel femme fatales all over the place, and George Macready as Maximillian delivers yet another variation on his unique brand of cultivated evil - this time with a gnome-like beard.

But it's Burt Lancaster who steals the show. With that coiled spring grace and those clipped sentences, he exudes a sense of danger despite overdoing the famous grin in just about every scene.

Against all those fireworks, Gary Cooper wisely underplays. He gets the girl at the end - played by beautiful Spanish actress Sarita Montiel - despite looking old enough to be her father plus some.

The Jaurista cause is seen in a positive light, and the whole film was shot in Mexico, often with Aztec ruins as a spectacular backdrop. If any group is cast in a bad light it is the American adventurers who are uncouth and bad-natured almost to a man.

The action sequences are superbly staged although there is little evidence that the human body contains eight pints of blood - despite the carnage, the whole affair is quite bloodless.

"Vera Cruz" is a movie without any agenda other than to entertain, and it does that with style. Like most movies of the era, the filmmakers didn't let historical accuracy or cultural sensitivities get in the way of telling a good story.

There is no honor among thieves, unless Gary Cooper is one of them. Compelling film about badass American gunslingers in Mexico is one of my favorite westerns. It's plot twist after twist, double-cross after double-cross, as a filthy gang of desperadoes led by Cooper and Burt Lancaster is hired to escort a "lady" across the Mexican hinterland.

Cooper is magnificent as a man who needs money so badly that he tries to wrestle his conscience to the ground, but he's topped by Burt Lancaster in one of his best (sexiest) performances. He's amoral and dangerous, yet charming and so sexy that words fail (cartoon wolf noises being more appropriate). Two compelling characters become both friends and enemies, all building up to a fabulous finish. A must-see!

Vera Cruz fmovies. 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.

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.

Vera Cruz is one of those westerns that came out so right, the great thing about it is that although it was big budgeted it did not try to make any statement, it just tried to tell a good story in the best way possible. That was quite an achievement at the time of "High Noon" and "Shane". Burt Lancaster is excellent, nobody after seeing this film will forget his smile, showing all his teeth. The scenery, the locations, and also the beautiful colours they all make this an outstanding western.