Nicholas Ray’s Johnny Guitar (1954) is one of the most unconventional films, and certainly the most unconventional Westerns, that I can recall. It’s not experimental film, of which I’ve reviewed quite a bit lately, but it is bold in its breaking of barriers. In fact, I can’t think of a stranger bending of that most American of genres short of Jodorowsky’s El Topo (1970). I was curious to see what other Westerns in the 1001 text bookended Johnny Guitar, and found the classic and archetypal Shane, made the year before, and the underappreciated Silver Lode (also 1954) in close proximity. That the former film is perhaps the most recognizable of Westerns and the later is undervalued seems to fit. The 1950s were the last decade of the classic Western before the “revisionist” form of the genre took hold with Sergio Leone. The way in which America perceived and ordered up its heroes changed drastically in the 60s, and there may be no better proof than in the Western. Think for a moment about the thirty year stretch between Stagecoach (1939) and (Western!) Easy Rider (1969), and how in that time the nation moved without even changing locations. Right in the middle of that stretch is Johnny Guitar, and it may just be the un-credited tipping point. Joan Crawford is Vienna, a saloon owner who strategically built on land “just outside of town” that she knew would increase in value when the railroads came. You can probably guess how she got the start-up capital. Now their knocking on the doorstep and ready to pay big money, but cattle baron Emma Small (Mercedes McCambridge) will do anything to stop them. When her brother is killed in a stagecoach robbery she quickly rounds up a posse and heads to Vienna’s to call out suspects. It’s convenient for her that the only patrons this night are “The Dancin’ Kid” and his gang. With the sheriff and town big wig McIvers (Ward Bond) in tow she makes her accusations, even throwing Vienna’s name into the mix. She hates both The Kid and Vienna for what it is they represent. She hates herself more for the feelings she has for The Kid that she is unable to hide.
This is the same night that Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) rides back into Vienna’s life. They were lovers once, five years ago, and he’s finally ready to settle down. He figures that being hired on as a guitar player at the saloon is just a formality. She was ready to settle down five years ago, and isn’t going to let him forget it. Publically, things get ugly when the sheriff gives Vienna, The Kid, and his gang 24 hours to get out of town, despite the unfounded accusations. Privately, things get serious between Vienna and Johnny after the doors are closed for the night. They talk of the past, and of the five intermittent years, each discovering, little by little, what has become of the other.
The Kid and his cronies rob a bank the following morning. Emma Small again rounds up her posse, this time with the hope of lynching the same parties as before. When they catch up to one of the gang members, they force him to give Vienna’s name as an accomplice, before he finds the end of a rope. Vienna almost finds the same fate, but her noose is cut by Johnny in the nick of time. The two are chased back to the saloon just in time for a Crawford costume change before the McCambridge character burns the place to the ground. They escape the blaze, and head for the gang’s secluded hideout. The next day, when the posse catches on to its secret entrance, the gunfight is on.
I can think of few movie gun battles that include so many internal skirmishes. At various points it’s Johnny against gang members, gang members against gang members, Emma versus The Kid, and finally Vienna versus Emma. Can you remember another Western with a final gunfight between two women? I can’t.
I think what I like best about Johnny Guitar is how it juggles the silly and the serious. In one sense it is as corny a Western as they come. The colors are ridiculous, the plot is absurd. Clearly, the influence of television has crept into the movies at this point. Trucolor makes the set pieces obvious, a trait compounded by the fact that Crawford insisted her close-ups be shot in the studio. The gag of the isolated hideout is ludicrous and about as camouflaged as Hayden’s poor attempts to mime guitar playing. Still, this was an important film. Its naming names sequence was aimed at HUAC in the same year of On the Waterfront, and it takes an approach more direct than that of High Noon (1952). Indeed the script was ghosted by blacklisted writer Ben Maddow. These actors, particularly Crawford who championed the project, were making a bold statement with this piece. It has also been credited as a landmark of feminist cinema, and in a rather convincing argument by Roger Ebert, as a seminal homosexual statement in film. *
Whatever you take from the film, it would be impossible not to be mesmerized by Crawford. She’s as demanding of attention here as she was off of the screen; beautiful, but never attractive. She fought all her life for every bit of the limelight she could bask in, and it’s easy to see why this role appealed to her. Vienna is as stubborn and strong-willed as she was. Stories of her bitchery are legendary, and her hatred of costar McCambridge is well documented. She had wanted Clair Trevor for the role, and chose to let McCambridge know by getting drunk and throwing her wardrobe out onto the highway near the Arizona location shoot. In a twist of irony that only Hollywood reality could provide, Crawford tried to have McCambridge blacklisted after this project.
My favorite part of the Crawford legend comes in the form of a quote from Sterling Hayden, who played opposite Ms. Joan here in perhaps the only reserved role of his boisterous career. Even as the title character he must have known he wasn’t going to steal the movie from her. After making Johnny Guitar he was heard saying "there is not enough money in Hollywood to lure me into making another picture with Joan Crawford. And I like money."
Language: English
Runtime: 110 Minutes
Available @ Youtube.com
Grade: 3 Hats Off
0 comments:
Post a Comment