Vera Cruz is considered one of the best Robert Aldrich's films. It was the fourth feature film he directed soon after finishing his Apache, which also starred Burt Lancaster.
The action of the film takes place right after the end American Civil War. A middle aged ex-confederate officer Ben Crane (Gary Cooper), who lost all his wealth because of the war and is on his way to Mexico, bumps into a young greedy adventurer Joe Erin (Burt Lancaster) to whom by the force of circumstances he has to stick in order to go on. Their background and age maybe different but nonetheless they're temporary united by one aspiration: to get some dough and recuperate his former glory in Ben Crane's case and start a new and better life, but again with money's help, in Joe Erin's.
Soon they arrive to the court of the Mexican Emperor Maximilian (George Macready) who, impressed with their skill in using a gun offers them a very nicely paid but equally dangerous job of escorting a French Marquise Marie Duvarre (Denise Darcel) to the city of Vera Cruz through controlled by Mexican rebels territory. While on the way they soon find out that the most valuable cargo is not Marquise Marie at all, but three million dollars in gold sent by French government and destined to help Emperor Maximilian remain in power.
When the rebels attack them it becomes clear that they are not the only ones who are aware of the existence of the treasure. A game of duplicity and deceit begins over the gold involving every imaginable character including Marquise de Labordere (Cesar Romero) who promptly enters the game.
Overall Vera Cruz is quite an average Western that sticks to the genre's clichés and doesn't offer anything particularly remarkable in terms of acting or story, however providing a decent entertainment. 7/10
The action of the film takes place right after the end American Civil War. A middle aged ex-confederate officer Ben Crane (Gary Cooper), who lost all his wealth because of the war and is on his way to Mexico, bumps into a young greedy adventurer Joe Erin (Burt Lancaster) to whom by the force of circumstances he has to stick in order to go on. Their background and age maybe different but nonetheless they're temporary united by one aspiration: to get some dough and recuperate his former glory in Ben Crane's case and start a new and better life, but again with money's help, in Joe Erin's.
Soon they arrive to the court of the Mexican Emperor Maximilian (George Macready) who, impressed with their skill in using a gun offers them a very nicely paid but equally dangerous job of escorting a French Marquise Marie Duvarre (Denise Darcel) to the city of Vera Cruz through controlled by Mexican rebels territory. While on the way they soon find out that the most valuable cargo is not Marquise Marie at all, but three million dollars in gold sent by French government and destined to help Emperor Maximilian remain in power.
When the rebels attack them it becomes clear that they are not the only ones who are aware of the existence of the treasure. A game of duplicity and deceit begins over the gold involving every imaginable character including Marquise de Labordere (Cesar Romero) who promptly enters the game.
Overall Vera Cruz is quite an average Western that sticks to the genre's clichés and doesn't offer anything particularly remarkable in terms of acting or story, however providing a decent entertainment. 7/10