Joan Crawford is Vienna, a saloon owner with a tawdry past who’s settled down on a prime piece of land, just waiting for the railroad to come through and make her rich.
Her tawdry past includes relationships with Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) as the guitar-playing gunslinger she still loves and with The Dancing Kid (Scott Brady).
He’s the leader of a four-man band which mines silver for a living, though local folks suspect them of far more unlawful ways of earning dough.
When a stage is robbed and a man killed, the marshal (Frank Ferguson), rancher John Ives (Ward Bond) and Emma Small (Mercedes McCambridge) descend on Vienna’s place, convinced that she and her “gang” were responsible.
The Dancing Kid and his men are ordered out of the territory; Vienna is told to close.
Emma, fueled by a repressed love for the Dancing Kid and a deep-rooted hatred for Vienna, would just as soon see them both dead.
Well, the Dancing Kid and his men decide to clear out. But since they’re already suspected of robbery, they decide to hit the local bank before doing so.
They descend on it right after Vienna has shown up to make a withdrawal. She’s intent on staying and waiting for the railroad. But she has decided to close her saloon.
The bank robbery sparks the posse to descend on her saloon a second time. And this time, they won’t give 24-hour notice before taking retribution.
Joan Crawford as Vienna, waiting for the railroad to come in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Sterling Hayden as Johnny Guitar, the hired gun and former lover Vienna summons in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Review:
Not the most popular Western of the 1950s. Not the most likeable Western of the 1950s. But a Western film accomplishment nevertheless, set apart by its smart dialogue, hysterical tone, fast pace and strong performances.
Crawford — more man than woman, one character says — is the star of the show. But it’s difficult to imagine the film being nearly as powerful without the demented performance from McCambridge, who apparently hates far better than she loves and whose face shines with absolute delight when she torches Crawford’s saloon.
Hayden and Brady turn in uncharacteristically strong performances as well and the script gives even those with smaller roles a chance to shine. Brady’s gang includes Ernest Borgnine as Bart, Royal Dano as Corey and young Ben Cooper as Turkey, another man smitten with Vienna.
Even the sets help set this Western apart. A mountain explodes as Hayden rides across the screen in the film’s opening scene. Crawford’s saloon appears built into the side of a mountain. And the Dancing Kid’s hideout is high in the hills behind a cave hidden by a waterfall.
All of it leads to one of the most memorable climatic showdowns in Western film history.
Mercedes McCambridge as Emma Small, trying to force Vienna to leave the area in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Scott Brady as The Dancing Kid, a man capable of reminding Emma that she’s a woman in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Directed by:
Nicholas Ray
Cast:
Joan Crawford … Vienna
Mercedes McCambridge … Emma Small
Sterling Hayden … Johnny Guitar (Logan)
Scott Brady … The Dancing Kid
Ernest Borgnine … Bart Lonergan
Ben Cooper … Turkey Ralston
Royal Dano … Corey
Ward Bond … John McIvers
John Carradine … Old Tom
Frank Ferguson … Marshal Williams
Paul Fix … Eddie
Rhys Williams … Mr. Andrews
Ian McDonald … Pete
Runtime: 110 min.
Title tune: “Johnny Guitar”
by Peggy Lee and Victor Young
Ward Bond as John McIvers, helping track Vienna and the Dancing Kid’s gang in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Ernest Borgnine as Bart Lonergan, a member of the Dancing Kid’s gang in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Memorable lines:
Sam, the faro dealer, about Vienna: “Never seen a woman who was more a man. She thinks like one, acts like one and sometimes makes me feel like I’m not.”
Vienna to Emma Small: “You want the (Dancing) Kid and you’re so ashamed of it, you want him dead. You want me dead too. Then maybe you can sleep nights.”
Emma: “I won’t sleep until I see you hanged. You and the Kid and all your filthy kind.”
Vieanna to John Ivers and Emma Small: “Down there, I sell whiskey and cards. All you can buy up here (where she is standing) is a bullet in the head.”
Ben Cooper as Turkey Ralston, shown he isn’t the fastest gun around in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Royal Dano as Corey, a member of the Dancing Kid’s band in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Vienna: “A man can lie, steal and even kill, but as long as he hangs onto his pride, he’s still a man. All a woman has to do is slip once, and she’s a tramp. Must be a great comfort to you to be a man.”
Vienna to Johnny: “When a fire burns itself out, all you have left is ashes.”
Vienna: “Boys who play with guns have to be ready to die like men.”
Joan Crawford as Vienna with Sterling Hayden as Johnny Guitar in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Mercedes McCambridge as Emma Small, shocked by a dance as John McIvers (Ward Bond) looks on in Johnny Guitar (1954)
John Carradine as Old Tom, one of the employees at Vienna’s place in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Scott Brady as The Dancing Kid, with an eye on Vienna and a bank vault in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Ernest Borgnine as Bart Lonergan with Ben Cooper as Turkey Ralston in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Sterling Hayden as Johnny Guitar, proving he’s handy with a six-gun as well in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Mercedes McCambridge, deciding to take matters into her own hands in Johnny Guitar (1954)
Joan Crawford as Vienna, startled by gunfire aimed her way in Johnny Guitar (1954)
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