Vera Cruz

A western set in Mexico. The American Civil War is over. Ben Trane comes from the south with a horse and no plan and crosses the border. On the road he meets Joe Erin. The man runs a gang and is his opposite: bound by no rule, trusting nobody and treating a promise as wasted time. The two take a job together. There is civil war in the country; the imperial side gives them a task: to escort a countess to the port of Vera Cruz. On the way they learn something. There is gold in the carriage and the amount is very large. From there the film becomes a game of trust. The countess, the emperor's officer, the gang and the two men; everyone has a separate plan and everyone means to use the others. Nobody's word holds, and the narrative builds that as a rule rather than a fault. The tension between Ben and Joe is the real subject: one still believes he has a line, the other says that is naivety. Gary Cooper plays Ben and Burt Lancaster plays Joe. Denise Darcel, Cesar Romero, Ernest Borgnine and Charles Bronson are in the cast. Robert Aldrich directed. It was shot on location in Mexico. It counts among the early examples of the wave of westerns that leave the hero morally uncertain, and is said to have influenced the later Italian westerns. Who it is for: anyone who likes classic westerns and narratives in which the characters do not trust each other. Who it is not for: anyone looking for a clear good side; almost everyone in the film acts on their own interest.