Nicholas Ray knew exactly what to do with a western to make it interesting: sexual tension. What is more is he casts Joan Crawford, who is always ace at playing the strong woman, and in doing so, he inevitably enlarges the sexual charge, although it is unfortunately clear from the film that at the time she was a little of age. No matter, Sterling Hayden was no Dean Martin...
Johnny Guitar is everything that could possibly symbolize the best of the Americana westerns of the time. The roles are reversed. The good guys, the ones that go after the outlaws are not the ones that we are supposed to be rooting for. We have to root for the gambling, drinking outlaws, because they don't wear black clothing. On top of that, the main plot is the power-thirsty women quarrel, and not Johnny Guitar, who is, however, the one that we side with the most, because he is the peaceful guy that would avoid using a gun if at all necessary, although he has a past of being 'gun crazy'. This is a whole peaceful concept that went on to inspire numerous films not just westerns, and of course, the character of Johnny Guitar definitely had a major influence in the shaping of the character of Harmonica in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West.
Nicholas Ray is excellent. He has this new and modern idea of film-making, where he knows exactly how to place the characters in the frame and on top of that, knows exactly not too move the camera in too an overwhelming way in the establishing sequence that lasts over half an hour. After that, the plot and the film becomes very exciting indeed, with the outlaw 'good guys' on the run, but with the constant knowledge that they will be caught, and the outcome will be messy.
WATCH FOR THE MOMENT WHEN - Johnny and the Kid face off for the first time. Kid asks "can you play?", and Johnny replies "Can you dance?".
Johnny Guitar is everything that could possibly symbolize the best of the Americana westerns of the time. The roles are reversed. The good guys, the ones that go after the outlaws are not the ones that we are supposed to be rooting for. We have to root for the gambling, drinking outlaws, because they don't wear black clothing. On top of that, the main plot is the power-thirsty women quarrel, and not Johnny Guitar, who is, however, the one that we side with the most, because he is the peaceful guy that would avoid using a gun if at all necessary, although he has a past of being 'gun crazy'. This is a whole peaceful concept that went on to inspire numerous films not just westerns, and of course, the character of Johnny Guitar definitely had a major influence in the shaping of the character of Harmonica in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West.
Nicholas Ray is excellent. He has this new and modern idea of film-making, where he knows exactly how to place the characters in the frame and on top of that, knows exactly not too move the camera in too an overwhelming way in the establishing sequence that lasts over half an hour. After that, the plot and the film becomes very exciting indeed, with the outlaw 'good guys' on the run, but with the constant knowledge that they will be caught, and the outcome will be messy.
WATCH FOR THE MOMENT WHEN - Johnny and the Kid face off for the first time. Kid asks "can you play?", and Johnny replies "Can you dance?".