Vera Cruz

Released Dec 25, 1954

1 hr. 34 min.

Western

Adventure

Drama

List

81%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

70%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Following the American Civil War, veteran Benjamin Trane (Gary Cooper) and gunslinger Joe Erin (Burt Lancaster) are just two of many men who head to Mexico as mercenaries. When Emperor Maximillian (George Macready) recruits their services, they reluctantly work together, since the price is right. Trane and Erin are to escort Countess Marie Duvarre (Denise Darcel) to Vera Cruz -- but when they find a wealth of gold hidden in the stagecoach, the original plan no longer applies.

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Steve D

Only entertaining to see these two face off.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/07/24

Full Review

Matthew B

Robert Aldrich's 1954 western, Vera Cruz has been described as the first spaghetti western. It is not a spaghetti western of course, but it was an early indicator of what the western was to become during the 1960s. For several decades, the movie industry had produced what I, to coin a phrase, call the ‘noble western'. In these westerns the heroes were certainly not angels. They could be brutal lawmen who broke the rules when it suited them, or they could be outlaws and gunfighters. However they followed certain moral standards. They did not shoot horses unless they were suffering. They would not shoot a man in the back. They certainly would not shoot women and children, and would even go out of their way to protect them. Vera Cruz certainly did not signal the end of the ‘noble western'. However it did anticipate the direction in which westerns would eventually travel – one where the heroes are motivated by money more than morals, and will sell themselves to the highest bidder, unless they can double cross them too. Nonetheless the movie lies part-way between the movies of its own age and the movies to come. For all its cynicism there is nothing too brutal about Vera Cruz. It is cynical but the tone is essentially humorous. The viewer is not invited to wince or feel shocked by what is on screen. What we have instead is a colourful and lively western that is packed with a remarkable amount of incident for a 90-minute film. Indeed the story moves so quickly that there are 1130 edits in 90 minutes, making the average length of a shot 5 seconds. This is another aspect of the movie that makes it seem ahead of its time. The movie has two protagonists, what Aldrich called a hero and an anti-hero. It is tempting to see Ben Trane (Gary Cooper) as the old-fashioned hero of the western, and Joe Erin (Burt Lancaster) as the new type of anti-hero that would soon take over from him. However it is not quite that simple, and Trane's characters contains some of the taint of mercenary motives. Lancaster is an actor who is comfortable with playing complicated or unlikeable characters, and he acts the role of Joe Erin with zest. Erin's wide grin is not a friendly one. He is utterly unscrupulous and without morals. He shoots dead any mercenaries who question his leadership. A war of words with a French soldier reaches its epitome at the end of the movie when the supercilious solder falls in front of Erin, and Erin takes great pleasure in bayoneting him. Erin makes no scruple of the fact that he wants the money all to himself: ‘I'm a pig', he says. In a film dominated by characters who are either totally unethical or who take some coaxing in order to do the right thing, we might be forgiven for thinking that the movie's world view is entirely pessimistic. This is not the case. Aside the humorous, rather than depressing, treatment of the movie's situations, there is one group of people who are entirely honourable throughout, and that is the Mexican people's army who oppose their French oppressors. Vera Cruz was ahead of its time in its portrayal of a new and less worthy brand of hero, and it would be many years before westerns caught up. However it would be too much to say that the film changed the face of the western forever. Rather this cheerfully sardonic western gave a taste of what was to come, and showed that even without a noble or admirable hero, the western could still be immensely entertaining and satisfying. I wrote a longer appreciation of Vera Cruz on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2018/01/05/vera-cruz-1954/

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Really good western/Mexican war movie will recommend it James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas, August 6, 2023

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/07/23

Full Review

Deke P

Extremely good. COOPER! & BURT LANCASTER!, who was super charismatic, & chewed up the scenery as the bad guy. Very involved, about 2 Americans trying to steal Napoleon's gold in Mexico. Saw it on tv, June 23, 2023, Grit TV, Giving it 3 1/2 RT stars.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/24/23

Full Review

Liam D

A very underrated classic western with a great cast and firm direction by Robert Aldrich (Too Late the Hero, Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

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Rod W

Great production,huge actors,good storyline

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

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Robert Aldrich

Director

Gary Cooper

Benjamin Trane

Burt Lancaster

Joe Erin

Denise Darcel

Countess Marie Duvarre

Cesar Romero

Marquis Henri de Labordere

George Macready

Emperor Maximillian

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Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster stand out in this lesser known but influential Western about two gunmen seeking their fortune in revolutionary Mexico who become friends... for a time.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 29, 2021

Full Review

Frank J. Avella

Edge Media Network

the frenetic direction seemed to more skew away from a hole-ridden plot, as well as silly romances that go nowhere. I also found the film to be rather dull until the final third.

Rated: C-

Oct 26, 2021

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

There are no surprises in Cooper's typically solid performance, but Lancaster's wily work keeps audiences guessing as to whether he'll ultimately prove to be an anti-hero or an out-and-out villain.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 15, 2021

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Aldrich directs it with the solidity of a revolver and a touch of irony that ignites like dynamite with the explosive presence of Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 7/10

Jul 21, 2021

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Played out as a seat-of-the-pants con game of shifting alliances and double crosses, it's a cheerfully ruthless tale that served as a veritable blueprint for the mercenary brand of Italian spaghetti westerns of the 1960s.

Nov 11, 2018

Full Review

James Plath

Movie Metropolis

Vera Cruz is one of the better Westerns that no one remembers . . . .

Rated: 7/10

May 4, 2012

Full Review

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Synopsis

Following the American Civil War, veteran Benjamin Trane (Gary Cooper) and gunslinger Joe Erin (Burt Lancaster) are just two of many men who head to Mexico as mercenaries. When Emperor Maximillian (George Macready) recruits their services, they reluctantly work together, since the price is right. Trane and Erin are to escort Countess Marie Duvarre (Denise Darcel) to Vera Cruz -- but when they find a wealth of gold hidden in the stagecoach, the original plan no longer applies.

Director: Robert Aldrich
Screenwriter: Roland Kibbee, James R. Webb
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: Hecht-Lancaster Productions
Genre: Western, Adventure, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 1954, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008

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