''Vera Cruz'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by

Robert Aldrich Robert Burgess Aldrich (August 9, 1918 – December 5, 1983) was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His notable credits include '' Vera Cruz'' (1954), '' Kiss Me Deadly'' (1955), '' The Big Knife'' (1955), '' Autumn ...

and starring

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

and

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

, featuring

Denise Darcel Denise Darcel ( née Billecard, 8 September 1924 – 23 December 2011) was a French vaudevillian, actress and singer, who from 1948 and 1963, appeared in films in Hollywood, and briefly on the stage, television and radio. Early years Born ...

Sara Montiel María Antonia Abad Fernández MML (10 March 1928 – 8 April 2013), known professionally as Sara Montiel, also Sarita Montiel, was a Spanish actress and singer, who also held Mexican citizenship since 1951. She began her career in the 1940s an ...

, Cesar Romero, Ernest Borgnine,

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and wa ...

and

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villaino ...

. Set during the Franco-Mexican War, the film centers on a group of American mercenaries tasked with transporting a large shipment of

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

gold to the port of

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

, but begin to have second thoughts about their allegiances. It was produced by Hecht-Lancaster Productions and released by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

on 25 December 1954. The picture's amoral characters and cynical attitude towards violence (including a scene where Lancaster's character threatens to murder child hostages) were considered shocking at the time and influenced future Westerns such as '' The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), '' The Professionals'' (1966),

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic ''The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institut ...

's ''

The Wild Bunch ''The Wild Bunch'' is a 1969 American epic Revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates. The plot concerns an aging outlaw ga ...

'' (1969), and the

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

films of

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...

, which often featured supporting cast members from ''Vera Cruz'' in similar roles. Its influence on the latter led some critics to label it "the first Spaghetti Western."

Plot

During the Franco-Mexican War, ex- Confederate soldier Ben Trane travels to Mexico seeking a job as a

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

. He falls in with Joe Erin, a younger

gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...

who heads a gang of cutthroats. They are recruited by Marquis Henri de Labordere for service with Emperor Maximilian. Maximilian offers them $25,000 to escort the Countess Duvarre to the city of

. Trane gets the emperor to double the offer. During a river crossing, Trane notices that the stagecoach in which the countess is traveling is extremely heavy. Erin and Trane later discover that hidden inside are six cases of gold coins. The countess informs them that it is worth $3 million which is intended to pay for reinforcements from Europe. They form an uneasy alliance to steal and split the gold. Unbeknownst to them, the marquis is listening from the shadows. The Juaristas, led by General Ramírez, attack the column several times. Pickpocket and Juarista undercover agent Nina joins the convoy. When Trane, Erin and their men are surrounded by the Juaristas, Trane persuades Ramirez to join forces and agree to pay them $100,000. The marquis succeeds in getting the gold to Veracruz. In the Juarista attack, the French are defeated, but most of Erin's men are killed. Erin attempts to steal the gold for himself by getting the countess to reveal the location of the ship she had hired to transport it. He even kills one of his own men. However, Trane arrives in time to confront him. They face off in a showdown that ends in Erin's death. Trane and Nina leave, while women search the dead for their loved ones.

Cast

Production

and Harold Hecht had just signed a contract with

to make two films, starting with ''

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño a ...

'', also directed by

. Just before filming on that movie began in October 1953, Lancaster announced their second film would be ''Vera Cruz'' with himself and

, based on a story by

Borden Chase Borden Chase (January 11, 1900 – March 8, 1971) was an American writer. Career Early jobs Born Frank Fowler, he left school at fourteen went through an assortment of jobs, including driving for gangster Frankie Yale and working as a sandhog ...

. In December 1953, after ''Apache'' finished filming, Lancaster announced Aldrich would direct ''Vera Cruz''. United Artists were so happy with ''Apache'' they changed the two-picture deal with Hecht and Lancaster into a two-year deal covering seven films.

Casting

Before taking the role of Ben Trane, Gary Cooper was advised by

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

not to work with

, fearing the younger actor would upstage him. Mari Blanchard was meant to play the female lead and Hecht signed to borrow her from Universal. However, there was a clause forbidding her to appear on television which Hecht disagreed with. Instead they cast

Mamie Van Doren Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film '' Untamed Youth'' (1957). Early life Van ...

claimed in her autobiography ''Playing the Field'' that Lancaster interviewed her for the role of the Countess, but she lost the part after refusing to sleep with him.

was billed under his real name, 'Charles Buchinsky', in the film. It was the last time he would be credited that way, before adopting his more well-known stage name.

Shooting

Filming started in February 1954. ''Vera Cruz'' was the first American film production to be shot entirely in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. Though set in the city of

, the majority of the film was actually shot in and around Cuernavaca. Exterior shots were filmed at

Chapultepec Castle Chapultepec Castle ( es, Castillo de Chapultepec) is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City's Chapultepec park. The name ''Chapultepec'' is the Nahuatl word ''chapoltepēc'' which means "on the hill of the grasshopper". The castle has ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, the ruins of

Teotihuacan Teotihuacan ( Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as ...

, and the climax was shot at Molino de Flores Nezahualcóyotl National Park in

Texcoco de Mora Texcoco de Mora () is a city located in the State of Mexico, 25 km northeast of Mexico City. Texcoco de Mora is the municipal seat of the municipality of Texcoco. In the pre-Hispanic era, this was a major Aztec city on the shores of ...

. The interiors were filmed at Estudios Churubusco. ''Vera Cruz'' was also the first production to use the SuperScope widescreen process, which was designed to achieve anamorphic prints from standard flat 35mm negatives. Shot at a conventional 1.37:1 aspect ratio, the film was cropped to 2:1 in post-production, given a

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

-compatible (2x) squeeze, and blown up to normal frame height. . Aldrich and Lancaster got along well on ''Apache'' but as to ''Vera Cruz'', the director said "we probably had a less amicable relationship than we anticipated. This was because Burt, until he directed '' The Kentuckian'', thought he was going to be a director and when you're directing your first great big picture you don't welcome somebody else on hand with directorial notions. There were a few differences of opinion about concepts and about action." Lancaster recalled that Cooper demanded rewrites to his character to make him less morally-gray and more conventionally heroic. According to Eli Wallach, the Mexican authorities were appalled at the unflattering depiction of their country, so any subsequent Hollywood productions (including '' The Magnificent Seven'') were thoroughly overseen by state censors.

Reception

The film earned an estimated $5 million at the North American box office during its first run and $9 million overall. The movie was a particularly big hit in France. In 1963, Aldrich announced he was working on a sequel ''There Really Was a Gold Mine'' but it was never made.Aldrich Film Program to Cost $14 Million Los Angeles Times 30 Oct 1963: E11.

Legacy

Critic and historian

Dave Kehr David Kehr (born 1953) is an American museum curator and film critic. For many years a critic at the '' Chicago Reader'' and the ''Chicago Tribune,'' he later wrote a weekly column for ''The New York Times'' on DVD releases. He later became a ...

would later cite ''Vera Cruz'' as one of the most influential films of the 1950s, inspiring later Westerns by such directors as Sam Peckinpah and especially Sergio Leone. Kehr also praised Cooper and Lancaster's performances in the film, writing that "the generational transition from an aging star to his up-and-coming replacement has seldom been handled with better humor or more biting wit."

Home media

''Vera Cruz'' was released to DVD by MGM Home Video on April 1, 2003, and to Blu-Ray on June 7, 2011.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1950s buddy films 1954 Western (genre) films 1954 films American buddy films American Western (genre) films Cultural depictions of Maximilian I of Mexico Films about mercenaries Films directed by Robert Aldrich Films produced by Burt Lancaster Films produced by Harold Hecht Films produced by James Hill Films scored by Hugo Friedhofer Films set in Mexico Films shot in Mexico Norma Productions films Second French intervention in Mexico films United Artists films Revisionist Western (genre) films Estudios Churubusco films