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Johnny Guitar follows Vienna (Joan Crawford), a tough saloon owner determined to make a stand against a posse that wants to ride her out of town. She is paired with a former gunslinger and ex-lover, Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden), who has returned after years away from her.
The thing is that Vienna's cards are stacked against her, just for being a woman, which is what she's lashing at in the above rant; a world in where she's hold to different standards than men, and where her possibilities to strive and succeed are suffocated and thrown aside. Men have the comfort of few worries, while women have double, and that's ever present here.
Vienna is indeed tough, and you can see that toughness in all its glory from the very first scene. But is she tough, or is she forced to be because of the male-driven society she's been forced to live in? She's trying to live and strive in a man's world, where men are trying to decide her fate, what she's supposed to do and where she's supposed to be. But not Vienna. She has a plan and she's determined to make it work.
We can argue that the reach of that manly control can even extend to the story itself. It is called Johnny Guitar, but to me, this is Vienna's story all the way and Crawford's determined to make it work. She's just excellent in the lead role with a commanding presence and a demeanor that just demands attention. Johnny Guitar is, in a way, peripheral to her, but hey, I guess its a cooler title.
This is not a slight on Hayden's performance. He is pretty cool and laid-back, and the opening act where he arrives at Vienna's saloon as she is confronted by the rival posse is as tense as it gets, but that's entirely because of the clash between Vienna and rival Emma (Mercedes McCambridge). Unfortunately, once that passes and the film shifts focus to the relationship between Vienna and Johnny, it loses some steam... until it focuses again on Vienna towards the middle of the film.
For a genre that's usually dominated by men, it is refreshing to see a female-centric western; one that is at is best when the women take over. It might come as no surprise that Crawford was feuding in real life with McCambridge, so maybe some of that bled into the performances as well. Whether that's the case or not, I would say this is worth it just for Crawford's performance.
Grade:
JOHNNY GUITAR
(1954, Ray)
A film from Nicholas Ray
-- recommended by @ApexPredator --
(1954, Ray)
A film from Nicholas Ray
-- recommended by @ApexPredator --
"A man can lie, steal... and even kill. But as long as he hangs on to 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."
Johnny Guitar follows Vienna (Joan Crawford), a tough saloon owner determined to make a stand against a posse that wants to ride her out of town. She is paired with a former gunslinger and ex-lover, Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden), who has returned after years away from her.
The thing is that Vienna's cards are stacked against her, just for being a woman, which is what she's lashing at in the above rant; a world in where she's hold to different standards than men, and where her possibilities to strive and succeed are suffocated and thrown aside. Men have the comfort of few worries, while women have double, and that's ever present here.
Vienna is indeed tough, and you can see that toughness in all its glory from the very first scene. But is she tough, or is she forced to be because of the male-driven society she's been forced to live in? She's trying to live and strive in a man's world, where men are trying to decide her fate, what she's supposed to do and where she's supposed to be. But not Vienna. She has a plan and she's determined to make it work.
We can argue that the reach of that manly control can even extend to the story itself. It is called Johnny Guitar, but to me, this is Vienna's story all the way and Crawford's determined to make it work. She's just excellent in the lead role with a commanding presence and a demeanor that just demands attention. Johnny Guitar is, in a way, peripheral to her, but hey, I guess its a cooler title.
This is not a slight on Hayden's performance. He is pretty cool and laid-back, and the opening act where he arrives at Vienna's saloon as she is confronted by the rival posse is as tense as it gets, but that's entirely because of the clash between Vienna and rival Emma (Mercedes McCambridge). Unfortunately, once that passes and the film shifts focus to the relationship between Vienna and Johnny, it loses some steam... until it focuses again on Vienna towards the middle of the film.
For a genre that's usually dominated by men, it is refreshing to see a female-centric western; one that is at is best when the women take over. It might come as no surprise that Crawford was feuding in real life with McCambridge, so maybe some of that bled into the performances as well. Whether that's the case or not, I would say this is worth it just for Crawford's performance.
Grade: