Vera Cruz (film)

Vera Cruz
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Aldrich
Screenplay byRoland Kibbee
James R. Webb
Story byBorden Chase
Produced byJames Hill
StarringGary Cooper
Burt Lancaster
Denise Darcel
Cesar Romero
Sara Montiel
CinematographyErnest Laszlo
Edited byAlan Crosland Jr.
Music byHugo Friedhofer
Production
companies
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • December 25, 1954 (1954-12-25)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.6 million[1][2]
Box office$11 million[3]
(estimated)
The expedition passes through the ruins of Teotihuacan.

Vera Cruz is a 1954 American Western film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, featuring Denise Darcel, Sara Montiel, Cesar Romero, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson and Jack Elam. Set during the Franco-Mexican War, the film centers on a group of American mercenaries tasked with transporting a large shipment of Imperial gold to the port of Veracruz, but begin to have second thoughts about their allegiances. It was produced by Hecht-Lancaster Productions and released by United Artists 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's The Wild Bunch (1969), and the Spaghetti Western films of Sergio Leone, which often featured supporting cast members from Vera Cruz in similar roles. Its influence on Leone's work led some critics to label it "the proto-Spaghetti Western."[4][5][6]

  1. ^ Balio, Tino (1987). United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-0299114404.
  2. ^ Silver, Alain; Ursini, James (1995). Whatever Happened to Robert Aldrich?. Limelight. p. 236. ISBN 978-0879101855. this puts the figure at $1.7 million
  3. ^ Vera Cruz at the TCM Movie Database
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference DK1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Images - 30 Great Westerns". www.imagesjournal.com. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  6. ^ Axmaker, Sean (April 11, 2021). "'Vera Cruz' – The proto-spaghetti western on Amazon Prime". Stream On Demand. Retrieved August 21, 2022.