Vera Cruz is a 1954 American Western film starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, and featuring Denise Darcel, Sara Montiel, Cesar Romero, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson and Jack Elam.
The movie was directed by Robert Aldrich from a story by Borden Chase.
The picture's amoral characters and cynical attitude towards violence (including a scene where Lancaster's character threatens to murder child hostages) were considered shocking at the time and influenced future Westerns such as The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Professionals (1966), Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1969), and the films of Sergio Leone, which often featured supporting cast members from Vera Cruz in similar roles.