During the Franco-Mexican War, ex-Confederate soldier Ben Trane travels to Mexico seeking a job as a mercenary. He falls in with Joe Erin, a gunslinger who heads a gang of cutthroats. They are recruited by Marquis Henri de Labordere for service with Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico Maximilian offers them $25,000 to escort Countess Duvarre to the city ofVeracruz. Trane gets the emperor to double the offer. . During a river crossing, Trane notices that the stagecoach in which the countess is traveling is extremely heavy. Erin and Trane later discover that hidden inside are six cases of gold coins. The countess informs them that it is worth $3 million which is intended to pay for reinforcements from Europe. They form an uneasy alliance to steal and split the gold. Unbeknownst to them, the marquis is listening from the shadows. The Juaristas, led by General Ramírez, attack the column several times. Pickpocket and Juarista undercover agent Nina joins the convoy. When Trane, Erin and their men are surrounded by the Juaristas, Trane persuades Ramirez to join forces and agree to pay them $100,000. The marquis succeeds in getting the gold to Veracruz. In the Juarista attack, the French are defeated, but most of Erin's men are killed. Erin attempts to steal the gold for himself by getting the countess to reveal the location of the ship she had hired to transport it. He even kills one of his own men. However, Trane arrives in time to confront him. They face off in a showdown that ends in Erin's death. Trane and Nina leave, while women search the dead for their loved ones.
Burt Lancaster and Harold Hecht had just signed a contract with United Artists to make two films, starting with Apache, directed by Robert Aldrich. Just before filming on that movie began in October 1953, Lancaster announced their second film would be Vera Cruz with himself and Gary Cooper, based on a story by Borden Chase. In December 1953, after Apache finished filming, Lancaster announced Aldrich would direct Vera Cruz. United Artists would be so happy with Apache they changed the two-picture deal with Hecht and Lancaster into a two-year deal covering seven films. Mari Blanchard was meant to play the female lead and Hecht signed to borrow her from Universal. However, there was a clause forbidding her to appear in television which Hecht disagreed with. Instead they cast Denise Darcel.
Shooting
Filming started in February 1954 in Mexico. By May the unit had shifted to Churubusco Studios. Aldrich and Lancaster got along well on Apache but on Vera Cruz the director says "we probably had a less amicable relationship than we anticipated. This was because Burt, until he directed The Kentuckian, thought he was going to be a director and when you're directing your first great big picture you don't welcome somebody else on hand with directorial notions. There were a few differences of opinion about concepts and about action."
Reception
The film earned an estimated $5 million at the North American box office during its first run and $9 million overall. The movie was a particularly big hit in France. In 1963 Aldrich announced he was working on a sequel There Really Was a Gold Mine but it was never made.
