Johnny Guitar (1954)

After helping a wounded gang member, a strong-willed female saloon owner is wrongly suspected of murder and bank robbery by a lynch mob.

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writers:

Philip Yordan (screenplay), Roy Chanslor (based on novel by)

Stars:

Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joan Crawford	...	Vienna
Sterling Hayden	...	Johnny 'Guitar' Logan
Mercedes McCambridge	...	Emma Small
Scott Brady	...	Dancin' Kid
Ward Bond	...	John McIvers
Ben Cooper	...	Turkey Ralston
Ernest Borgnine	...	Bart Lonergan
John Carradine	...	Old Tom
Royal Dano	...	Corey
Frank Ferguson	...	Marshal Williams
Paul Fix	...	Eddie
Rhys Williams	...	Mr. Andrews
Ian MacDonald	...	Pete

Storyline

Vienna has built a saloon outside of town, and she hopes to build her own town once the railroad is put through, but the townsfolk want her gone. When four men hold up a stagecoach and kill a man the town officials, led by Emma Small, come to the saloon to grab four of Vienna's friends, the Dancin' Kid and his men. Vienna stands strong against them, and is aided by the presence of an old acquaintance of hers, Johnny Guitar, who is not what he seems.

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Plot Keywords:

vendetta | shootout | rivalry | singer | weapon | 

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Taglines:

Gun-Queen of the Arizona Frontier ! . . . and her kind of men !!!

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Johnny Guitar - Gejagt, gehaßt, gefürchtet

Filming Locations:

Boynton Canyon, Sedona, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,500,000, 31 December 1954

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 104 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Trucolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although Philip Yordan is credited as a screenwriter on the film, his contribution to the screenplay actually was written by the blacklisted Ben Maddow, whom Yordan fronted for, splitting the fee with the writer.

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Goofs

When Johnny has the shootout with Bart in front of the hill-top cabin, in the background we can see Vienna standing on the deck of the cabin, her body all the way to the timber railing. She is in sunlight. Then the view of her goes to a closeup, but now she is standing inside the door opening - in what is obviously a studio shot. This is probably connected to the fact that Joan Crawford insisted on her close-ups only being filmed in the studio, where the lighting could be rigidly controlled. No close-up of her was ever shot while on location.

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Quotes

Old Tom: [dying words] Look... everybody's looking at me. It's the first time I ever felt important.

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Connections

Referenced in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)

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Soundtracks

Old Joe Clark
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played on the guitar by Sterling Hayden (dubbed)

User Reviews

From humble Republic, a remarkable western.

When Johnny Guitar opened in Brazil probably in 1955, it was released through a big chain of movie theaters and I remember it being quite successful at the box office, no doubt also helped by the song that was a huge hit. Except for a few critics, most people took it just as a good western with no second thoughts. But there was more to it, "as François Truffaut wrote in his review when it was first shown in France "Never trust in appearances. Beauty and profundity are not always found in the "obvious" traditional places; a Trucolor Western from humble Republic can throb with the passion of "l'amour fou" or whisper with an evening delicacy."" (from "The Western" by Phil Hardy, page232). Seeing it recently I was impressed with the fast pace of the film, the great dialogs, the unusual settings, the incredibly strong presence of Joan Crawford, the hysterical character played by Mercedes McCambridge. Nicholas Ray was a creative director and his great achievement in this film was to take the story seriously, and not try to make a satire.