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 & 1 nomination.

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

revisionist western | vendetta | shootout | rivalry | singer | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Drama | Western

---

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

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,604

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

At one point in the movie Johnny says, "I'm a stranger here myself." This was Nicholas Ray's own personal motto, a recurring theme in his movies, and reportedly the working title for just about every movie he directed.

---

Goofs

When the posse rides through the waterfall Emma Small's clothes are bone dry even though she already passed through the waterfall earlier.

---

Quotes

Emma: [to Vienna] You're nothin' but a railroad tramp! You're not fit to live among us!

---

Connections

Referenced in Mississippi Mermaid (1969)

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

color, in black and white

Boy this is a jewel, and for many different reasons. A good lot of people deserve credit for their work

First is Nicholas Ray for his direction. A fine preparation and presentation of the visual elements really took some doing. The use, but not excessive glorification (thank goodness), of the relatively new Trucolor is well-done; the horses full of black-clad riders rushing up the rocky hill in the night, the many shots of the furious blazes dissolving Vienna's place, and so much more.

The acting is remarkable. Sterling Heyden, just in standing before the camera and delivering his lines in that firm and fearless manner (ala Asphalt Jungle), is a strong presence. John Carradine once again shows himself as the precious dramatist he proved himself to be many years before in The Grapes of Wrath.

What strikes me the most, though, is Ben Maddow's (thank Phillip Yordan for being an heroic front) screenplay. It is not only thick in theme and symbolism, it is thick with what was (at the time) almost unprecedented elements. Both Vienna and Emma are, as either GOOD or BAD, shown as the leaders of men! Pacifism is being shown as a good thing! Is that the good guys wearing black and the bad guys wearing white (or maybe the other way around)?! As many comments have mentioned, the Un-American Activities Committee parallels (complete with the entire Ox-Bow-esquire element) are, really, quite thinly veiled. The economically powerful, Small and McIver, are dominant and monopolistic capitalists (a version of antagonism almost unseen, for obvious reasons, since the McCarthey-assaulted Force of Evil). Remember, this is 1954!!!! This stuff is downright revolutionary! How did they ever get it all past the censors and masters of the code?

Let's hope time doesn't forget this one in favor of some formulaic shoot-'em-ups simply because they feature "the Duke."