Film Review: Vera Cruz (1954)

8 months ago

(source: tmdb.org)

The third quarter of the 20th century is considered the golden age of Hollywood westerns, and the 1950s were particularly notable for the production of some of the genre's classics. Among them is the 1954 film Vera Cruz, which has had a lasting influence and earned the reputation of the "first spaghetti western."

The plot is set against the backdrop of the French intervention in Mexico, a historical event that, due to its proximity to USA and happening almost simultaneously with US Civil War, proved to be fitting setting for many westerns. The film begins in 1866 when the protagonist, Bill Trane (played by Gary Cooper), a Confederate veteran who has lost his plantation during the war, seeks fortune in Mexico by offering his services to warring sides. Along the way, he meets gunslinger Joe Erin (played by Burt Lancaster), and together they join a small band of American soldiers of fortune who are hired by Emperor Maximilian (played by George Macready) to escort Countess Marie Duvare (played by Denise Darcel) from Mexico City to Vera Cruz on her trip back to Europe. However, they soon discover that this is just a ruse for the shipment of gold needed to finance Maximilian's army. Juarista rebels appear to know what is going on, while Trane and Erin begin to contemplate taking the gold for themselves.

The film was produced by Hecht-Lancaster Productions, a company co-founded by Burt Lancaster, who wisely decided not to play the protagonist. Instead, he allowed the more experienced, iconic, and popular Gary Cooper to take the lead role, which helped the film to achieve enormous box office success. Lancaster, on the other hand, settled for the role of the antihero, which he played with gusto, resulting in excellent dynamic between the two actors and their different styles of acting.

The film was distributed by United Artists, one of the grand studios of Classic Hollywood, which in the 1950s began to drift away from established practices by defying censorship of the Hays Code and allowing more creative freedom to directors. Robert Aldrich, as a director, enjoyed not only more freedom but also a great budget. Vera Cruz was one of the first major Hollywood productions shot entirely in Mexico, both on locations and in Churubusco Studios, and it was the first film to be made in the Superscope technique, which allowed for a Cinemascope-like widescreen format, making the film look truly epic.

The script by Roland Kibee and James R. Webb is particularly interesting because it goes against the unwritten rules of the genre by showing completely amoral and ruthless characters. Most of the plot relates to endless series of double crosses or attempts of characters to cheat each other, a process that would be recreated by Sergio Leone in his spaghetti western masterpiece The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. American mercenaries even get out of trouble with Juarista rebels by using innocent children as human shields, which was quite shocking for the standards of 1950s cinema.

Robert Aldrich directs the film with great skill, not allowing the complicated plot to stand in the way of action, and because of that, Vera Cruz has an easily digestible running time of roughly an hour and a half. His work is complemented by excellent cinematography by Ernest Laszlo and a serviceable and very modern-sounding music score by Hugo Friedhofer.

However, the film does have some flaws, such as the need to have female characters, which leads to Lancaster being paired with the somewhat underwhelming Denise Darcel, while Spanish actress Sarita Montiel, who plays pickpocket and Juarista agent Nina, lacks chemistry with Cooper.

Despite these flaws, Vera Cruz is a very good film that should be recommended to fans of the genre. It is a classic western that showcases the best of the genre's conventions while also challenging them, resulting in a film that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)