Former Confederate Colonel Gary Cooper, nearly left penniless by the Civil War and looking for work in 1860s Mexico, has little choice but to join up with gregarious outlaw Burt Lancaster and his macho gang after being asked by the battalions of the Emperor Maximillian to safeguard three million dollars worth of gold coins in a dangerous trek to Juarez. Familiar western elements (and clichés) dot the spotty script, though this Robert Aldrich-directed film was later called a forerunner of the 'amoral western', with each of the characters out for themselves. Cooper and Lancaster approach this explosion-heavy epic in their vastly different, customary styles; they make a peculiar team, and many of their shared scenes (such as a ridiculous one wherein Gary cuts a bullet out of Burt's arm) fall flat. The supporting players (including Ernest Borgnine and Charles Bronson in relatively thankless bits) manage to give certain scenes a little extra bounce, and the cinematography and locations are quite wonderful. Entertaining for genre buffs--though with so many disparate talents on-board, the results were bound to be a bit bewildering. **1/2 from ****