Johnny Guitar

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Johnny Guitar

1954

1h 50m

Western

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

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51 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

On the outskirts of town, the hard-nosed Vienna (Joan Crawford) owns a saloon frequented by the undesirables of the region, including Dancin' Kid (Scott Brady) and his gang. Another patron of Vienna's establishment is Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden), a former gunslinger and her lover. When a heist is pulled in town that results in a man's death, Emma Small (Mercedes McCambridge), Vienna's rival, rallies the townsfolk to take revenge on Vienna's saloon -- even without proof of her wrongdoing.

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Critics Consensus

Johnny Guitar confidently strides through genre conventions, emerging with a brilliant statement that transcends its period setting -- and left an indelible mark.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

09/25/2024

4/4

There’s a reason that, seven decades after its original release, audiences and filmmakers alike are still wowed by Johnny Guitar and all its colorfully ambitious histrionics.

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

09/20/2021

Ray's film is a western, but it is also an amplified melodrama, with a rich seam of deviant psychology just waiting to be disinterred from its dusty surface. Its time has come.

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Roger Ebert

RogerEbert.com

01/24/2018

4/4

A cheap Western from Republic Pictures, yes. And also one of the boldest and most stylized films of its time, quirky, political, twisted.

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Ray Pride

Newcity

07/04/2024

10/10

Nicholas Ray’s gaudy masterpiece the almost “too modern for me” psychological wowser... a stylized, poetic Western like no other... Want to talk hot, burning Trucolor? Want to talk blurred gender roles? Let’s talk Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden.

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

09/20/2023

Johnny Guitar is a classic, and god knows it has camp value, but it’s not exactly a “camp classic.” Its excesses are all very deliberate, not some accident of ineptitude or bad taste.

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Zita Short

InSession Film

02/01/2023

Johnny Guitar has the benefit of featuring a performance from the greatest movie star of all time. Whenever Joan Crawford shows up in a film, you know that she is going to command your attention and Nicholas Ray seems to be aware of the fact.

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Joe D

@RT53872997 Sep 17

Joan is way too old, and the script is a little too slow. Great cast, but a real slog

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Emilio S.

@Emiliojesus Aug 20

Great movie from my childhood! Never will forget it.

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Jeff S

@jeffstone 03/11/2024

A good Western with some fabulous dialogue made into an excellent film by a mesmerizing Joan Crawford.

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Steve D

@RT35616104 01/24/2024

Great western with a cast equal to the story.

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Bill B

@RT01438538 08/15/2023

An estrogen western where opposing forces are led by women. Stagey, soapy, and too many tough guys posturing all over the place, with the action mostly at the end. Overrated.

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Jared Z

@RT13587237 02/18/2023

It's easily about 20 minutes longer than it needs to be and the ending is a bit too abrupt, but Johnny Guitar is still a memorable film, driven more by its female leads than its male leads, quite unusual for the genre, especially during the 1950s.

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Nicholas Ray

Director

Joan Crawford

Vienna

Sterling Hayden

Johnny "Guitar" Logan

Mercedes McCambridge

Emma Small

Scott Brady

Dancin' Kid

Ward Bond

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Synopsis

On the outskirts of town, the hard-nosed Vienna (Joan Crawford) owns a saloon frequented by the undesirables of the region, including Dancin' Kid (Scott Brady) and his gang. Another patron of Vienna's establishment is Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden), a former gunslinger and her lover. When a heist is pulled in town that results in a man's death, Emma Small (Mercedes McCambridge), Vienna's rival, rallies the townsfolk to take revenge on Vienna's saloon -- even without proof of her wrongdoing.

Director: Nicholas Ray
Producer: Nicholas Ray
Screenwriter: Roy Chanslor, Philip Yordan
Distributor: Republic Pictures
Production Co: Republic Pictures Corporation
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 27, 1954, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 6, 2014
Runtime: 1h 50m