JOHNNY GUITAR

 

Believe it or not, I had never seen JOHNNY GUITAR (1954) until I recently purchased the special edition DVD of it (at a major discount of course) recently. This is one of the biggest cult movies of all time, a title that has been discussed and analyzed in dozens and dozens of books and articles. 

Plenty of film geeks go gaga over JOHNNY GUITAR. It has been called an expressionist Western, an existentialist Western, a feminist Western, a queer Western, a baroque Western, a neurotic Western, and a statement on the Hollywood blacklist. Many film buffs have read all sorts of symbols and meanings into it, and that's probably why I never went out of my way to view it--whenever the so-called intellectuals go all in on any type of filmed entertainment, I immediately get suspicious. 

It is a striking and unusual production, that's for sure....but is it a great Western?? For all its stylized theatrics, the movie didn't affect me the way it has its legions of fans. I would call it interesting, but not brilliant. There's so much emotional angst in this film that your blood pressure goes up just by watching it. Nearly every scene involves people arguing, confronting, or challenging one another. 

The title character of JOHNNY GUITAR is not played by Joan Crawford, by the way. Sterling Hayden is Johnny, a vagabond and former gunslinger who shows up at a saloon run by the commanding Vienna (Crawford). Vienna knows that the land she owns lies next to a soon-to-be-built railroad line, and she's planning to make the most out of the situation. The citizens of the local town don't want the railroad coming through, and they also don't like Vienna. One woman in particular, Emma Small (Mercedes McCambridge) hates and is jealous of Vienna with a seething passion. The townsfolk link Vienna with The Dancin' Kid (Scott Brady), her former flame and a presumed bandit. Johnny Guitar is also a former flame of Vienna's, and all the heightened attitudes wind up boiling over. 

JOHNNY GUITAR was directed by Nicholas Ray, a man who is revered by a number of film buffs. I'm not one of them, and that's another reason why I was doubtful of this movie's reputation. Ray takes a basic Western situation and inflates it to a point where it becomes almost camp. The interior of Vienna's saloon resembles the lair of a James Bond villain, and Crawford's wardrobe seems more attuned to a fashion magazine layout instead of the requirements of the Old West. 

Mercedes McCambridge gives one of the most over-the-top performances in any major 1950's American film that I've ever seen. Her overwhelming hatred of Crawford's Vienna borders on the absurd--one expects a scene that gets to the heart of the reasons for her feelings, but it doesn't happen. It wouldn't be much of a surprise to know that McCambridge and Crawford didn't get along. 

Crawford didn't get along with Sterling Hayden either, and the two of them don't have much chemistry in the movie. Despite being the title character Hayden acts as if he would rather be somewhere else (I'm sure he realized Crawford and McCambridge were going to get all the attention). The movie does have a fine supporting cast, with such Western veterans as Ward Bond, Ernest Borgnine, John Carradine, Royal Dano, Paul Fix, and Denver Pyle. 

One notable aspect of the film is the Trucolor cinematography by Harry Stradling. Another is how it reminded me of various Euro Westerns made over a decade later. Sergio Leone was apparently influenced by JOHNNY GUITAR.....if Leone had actually directed it, that would have really been something. 

JOHNNY GUITAR is a weird, strange Western that has way more style than substance. Its overwrought nature makes it stand out, but if you're the type of person that just wants to watch good mainstream entertainment instead of getting bogged down in film theories, you may not be that impressed with it. It is worth watching just to see what all the fuss over it was about.