Both shot in Mexico during the same year and both with Gary Cooper.These 2 are faves and amazing soundtrax to boot !
I think visually GOE wins hands down but when weighed on the scales when one considers VC and the exciting pace,storyline,stable of so many character actors;then,there is the lovely Sara Montiel-whew.
Tough choice,but,all'round has to to be Vera Cruz !
I'd pick Garden of Evil as the better movie, but they are both entertaining and both have great casts.
And if I were Gary Cooper I would have gone for Sara/Sarita Montiel, too!
I think they’re both really good Westerns, but give the edge to "Vera Cruz." It has comic book qualities that I don’t like (e.g. the trivial conflicts and superhuman marksmanship), but is otherwise an austere, action-packed, life-or-death adventure with spectacular Mexican locations, featuring the magnificent Pyramid of the Sun, not to mention two beautiful women (Denise Darcel and Sara Montiel).
This is one of Lancaster’s top roles as he plays the lusty anti(non)hero with his charismatic grit-teethed grin counterbalanced by Gary Cooper’s aged, brooding antihero. One of these two is redeemable while the other isn’t. It’s kind of obvious, but the climax reveals all.
The peripheral cast includes notables like Cesar Romero, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson and Jack Elam.
Vera Cruz is more ambitious in terms of storytelling but Garden of Evil is a fun adventure flick that happens to be a western. Both remain very good imo.
shareI watched "Garden of Evil" on youtube, because it was free and I'm home with a broken leg and have nothing better to do. Good movie, suspenseful and exciting, one I hadn't seen before.
But I'm still going to vote for "Vera Cruz", which has long been a guilty pleasure of mine. It's unique and suspenseful, the tension keeps ramping up as the movie goes along, plus Burt Lancaster was never hotter and it's very homoerotic! It's all about the love-hate closeness between two very attractive men! Okay, I'm quite aware than the last quality doesn't appeal to everyone, but I think I'd like the movie anyway.