Joan Crawford has never been fiercer as Vienna, the gorgeopus owner of a saloon and casino. She only has eyes for one cowpoke, mind you, but she’s not waiting for him, if you know what I mean. Johnny Guitar is a helluva western about what all good westerns are about: freedom, law, and desperados. America is a country where hard work is rewarded until you get in the way of someone rich.
Sterling Hayden, tightly-wound in Kubrick’s The Killing, is the title character, a slow-moving guitar player who’s pretty good with a six-shooter. Everyone’s got a nickname in the West: Scott Bradley’s Dancin’ Kid could be a bad guy, depending on the day, but he loves Vienna something fierce. The real standout is Mercedes McCambridge as villainous Emma, a local rancher and banker who hates Vienna’s guts. McCambridge’s smile radiates contempt; she’s especially demented ordering around a weak-kneed lynch mob.
From The Archive: ‘Winchester ‘73’ (1950)
Oooooh need to see this for Mercedes McCambridge research
Nicholas Ray is one of our greatest directors.