Johnny Guitar
Composite Score: 82.23
Starring: Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, Scott Brady, Ward Bond, Ben Cooper, Ernest Borgnine, John Carradine, and Royal Dano
Director: Nicholas Ray
Writer: Philip Yordan
Genres: Western, Thriller, Romance, Drama, Action
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Box Office: $4,604 worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Johnny Guitar is a classic western about a musician who comes to work for a female saloon owner. The film follows the conflict between Vienna (the saloon owner) and Emma Small, a local landowner unhappy with Vienna’s ambitions to raise a town around her saloon with the help of the western railroad expansions. Their conflict is further complicated by the presence of a local outlaw, the Dancin’ Kid, who is in love with Vienna and whom Emma wants for her own. The film is easily one of the most unique and tensest westerns I have ever watched, and its place among the greats is now solidified in my mind.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Progressive though it may be, centering its conflict between two independent and capable women, Johnny Guitar does not always walk a purely egalitarian line with its female characters. For one, Emma’s main beef with Vienna stems (as the film reminds the audience many times) from her jealousy over the interest that the Dancin’ Kid shows to Vienna and Emma’s inability to “have him” – not the most progressive foundation for female conflict. Also, every other character in the film is a man, so let’s not get too carried away here. Finally, when Johnny shows back up after five years (having changed very little), Vienna takes him back with minimal convincing on his part much faster than she probably should. (Also, the women are definitely the main protagonist and antagonist of the film, but it’s still named after the guy, so…)
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
As I stated before, Johnny Guitar does a great job building tension throughout its first two acts, allowing the third act to be almost a continuous breaking of tension and payoffs for moments set up earlier in the film. From the jump, the audience is brought into the tension between Vienna and Emma and between Vienna and the ranchers and between Johnny and the Kid and between Johnny and Bart (one of the Kid’s accomplices). The fires of those tensions are stoked in scene after scene throughout the story as all the different relationships begin to overlap and become more complex. Ultimately, bloodshed feels inevitable and when it finally comes, it never feels excessive or unnecessary, especially with some characters putting their conflicts aside or choosing to resolve differences without violence. By the end of the film, the showdown between Vienna and Emma is all that is left and all that needs to be left, and it leaves the audience feeling supremely satisfied with the story that just transpired on screen.
I have rarely seen a film that has such rich supporting characters as Johnny Guitar. From McIvers and the Marshal (supporters of Emma) to Turkey, Bart, and Corey (the Kid’s gang) and even to Old Tom (Vienna’s groundskeeper), they all are given development and stories that do their characters justice. The actors playing the supporting cast do a good job of bringing their dynamic characters to life on the screen, a testament to their skill with far fewer lines than Vienna, Johnny, the Kid, or Emma. The richness that such developed side characters offers helps make the film’s complex story that much more enjoyable and entertaining throughout its entirety.
Alongside the performances and development of the supporting cast, the lead performers (Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, and Scott Brady) give great efforts as well. Scott Brady’s Dancin’ Kid looks the part of hot New Yorker who has come out west to get rich by any means necessary, and he follows through with a performance that is equal parts smooth and threatening, the ideal morally gray man of the old west. Mercedes McCambridge’s performance as Emma is one of the most vindictive and hateful portrayals of a western villain that I can remember watching. The snide confidence and selfish hatred that MCambridge brings to the role speaks to her versatility and ability to act outside of type in an impressive way. Sterling Hayden’s Johnny Guitar is every bit the stranger from out of town that he needs to be – cool and collected, romantic, good with a gun and with words. He fits the role incredibly well. Last, but certainly not least, Joan Crawford’s Vienna takes the trope of hardened female saloon proprietor and turns it into a leading role, carrying scenes with her presence and voice as she stares down angry posses, potential suitors, and unhinged outlaws with all the poise and confidence of any of the great leading ladies in Hollywood.
Johnny Guitar cements itself as a classic western thanks to its strong leading performances, well-developed supporting cast, and incredible use of tension and action throughout, making its place among the Greatest Films of All Time seem fairly unquestionable. Though its seemingly progressive/feminist premise breaks down under close examination, the film remains one of the more unique westerns of its day – certainly one worth watching. This is currently free to stream with ads on Pluto TV or available to rent through most streaming services.
