Rewind, Review, and Re-Rate: ‘Vera Cruz’: Greed, Gold, and Good Intentions During the Franco-Mexican War

Gary Cooper (L) and Burt Lancaster in “Vera Cruz.” United Artists

Approved | 1h 34min | Adventure, Western | 25 December 1954 (USA)

Mexico: the year 1866. The American Civil War has recently concluded, but the Franco-Mexican War is still in full sway. Napoleon III of France plans to establish colonies in the Americas, and to those ends, has established Maximilian Habsburg-Österreich as Maximilian I, the newly minted Emperor of Mexico.