Vera Cruz (1954)

Regista:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Borden Chase (story)
Roland Kibbee (screenplay)

Data di uscita:

25 dicembre 1954 (USA)

Genere:

Adventure | Western

Slogan:

The Giants Battle In The Biggest Spectacle Of Them All!

Plot:

During the Mexican Rebellion of 1866, an unsavory group of American adventurers are hired by the forces of Emporer Maximilian to escort a countess to Vera Cruz.

Plot Keywords:

Emperor | Gold Shipment | Escort | Revolution | Impalement

Recensioni degli utenti:

The first 20 minutes or so . . .

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Benjamin Trane
Burt Lancaster	...	Joe Erin
Denise Darcel	...	Countess Marie Duvarre
Cesar Romero	...	Marquis Henri de Labordere
Sara Montiel	...	Nina (as Sarita Montiel)
George Macready	...	Emperor Maximillian
Ernest Borgnine	...	Donnegan
Morris Ankrum	...	General Ramírez
Henry Brandon	...	Capt. Danette
Charles Bronson	...	Pittsburgh (as Charles Buchinsky)
Jack Lambert	...	Charlie
Jack Elam	...	Tex
James McCallion	...	Little-Bit
James Seay	...	Abilene
Archie Savage	...	Ballard

Durata:

94 min | Argentina:95 min

Nazionalità:

USA

Lingua:

Inglese | Spagnolo | Francese

Colore:

Colore (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sonoro:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Divieti:

West Germany:12 (nf) | UK:A (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #16980, Adult Audience) | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG

Luoghi delle riprese:

Chapultepec, México D.F., Mexico

Company:

Flora Productions

Curiosità:

The first film to be made in the SuperScope process.

Errori:

Anacronismi: Joe's saddle gun, a "new, Winchester repeating rifle", is an 1872 model; since the film is set "just after the American Civil War", to be correct, the gun should be a Henry "Yellowboy", circa 1864. (The earlier weapon had no wooden forearm stock and a brass receiver; the rifle Joe carries has a steel receiver and the wooden stock.)

Citazioni:

Capt. Danette: [sarcastically, after watching Joe drink] Careful. Some of the wine is getting in your mouth.
Benjamin Trane: Do you got a soft spot for an innocent man?
Joe Erin: No such thing as an innocent man!

Movie Connections:

Citato in Cartouches gauloises (2007)

Colonna sonora:

Vera Cruz

The first 20 minutes or so . . .

The first 20 minutes of Vera Cruz are excellent, starting with the great score by Friedhofer and the meeting of Cooper's and Lancaster's characters. The most striking scene is in a plaza, with a great gunfight followed with the meetings with the main players in the plot including a couple of hundred revolutionaries and Cesar Romero, whose character serves the Emperor of Mexico, Maximillian. This initial sequence of scenes are very well done, have a tough and cynical feel about them, and seem a little ahead of their time. After this point the movie becomes a more typical 1950s big budget adventure film. It remains entertaining, but looses the sharpness that these first striking minutes had. Only at the very end of the film does it regain it's edge. It could have been an excellent film, but is still entertaining and well worth watching.

Cooper and Lancaster are good as always and their usual on-screen personas compliment each other well.

The Mexican locations were great.

This film was very influential on the Italian filmmakers that would go on to create the spaghetti western. Stylistically the influence can be scene most in plaza scene. The plot filled with multiple double crosses and betrayals will also seem familiar to fans of the eurowestern, as does the primary character motivation -- greed. Also, this film may explain the large number of SW that involve Maximillian, Jaurez, and soldiers of fortune manipulating them.