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49-517: Johnny Guitar is a 1954 American Western film directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Joan Crawford , Sterling Hayden , Mercedes McCambridge , Ernest Borgnine and Scott Brady . It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures . The screenplay was adapted from a novel of the same name by Roy Chanslor . In 2008, Johnny Guitar was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by

98-651: A 68-week series of hour-long plays He worked with a group whose members included John Drainie , Lister Sinclair , and Alan Young on such local stations as CJOR , CKWX and the CBC network. During World War II, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. During that service he acted in the film Journey Together during some of his off-duty time. In 1945, Markle received a $ 1,500 grant from Twentieth Century Fox to finish his partly autobiographical novel There Was A Young Man . The award came while he

147-465: A brilliant statement that transcends its period setting -- and left an indelible mark." The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: A stage musical based on the film and novel was created and debuted Off-Broadway in 2004, with a book by American television producer Nicholas van Hoogstraten, lyrics by Joel Higgins , and music by Martin Silvestri and Joel Higgins. The musical

196-436: A bullet to the head fired by the angered and insanely jealous Emma. Vienna then shoots Emma in the head. The posse allows Johnny and Vienna to leave the hideout in peace, watching them go. Crawford and Nick Ray were scheduled to make a film called Lisbon at Paramount , but the script proved unacceptable. Crawford, who held the film rights to the novel Johnny Guitar , which its author Roy Chanslor had dedicated to her, brought

245-543: A company to produce feature films and content for independent television. Cubano Productions initially gained rights to 23 stories by Burnham Carter. The stories, which had been published in The Saturday Evening Post , centered around a young Cuban couple and their Cafe Mosca in Havana. They were to form the basis of a 30-minute TV series, Tonight in Havana . Markle and McCambridge also planned to develop

294-454: A departure from the 1985 original (a sci-fi) and the 1989 sequel (an action adventure), Part III has been regarded by others as a fitting end to the series. At the turn of the 21st century, Westerns have once again seen an ongoing revival in popularity. Largely influenced by the recapturing of Americana mythology , appreciation for the vaquero folklore within Mexican culture and

343-649: A mythic vision of the plains and deserts of the American West, embodied most memorably in Monument Valley, with its buttes and mesas that tower above the men on horseback, whether they be settlers, soldiers, or Native Americans". Fletcher Markle Fletcher Markle (March 27, 1921 – May 23, 1991) was a Canadian actor, screenwriter , television producer and director . Markle began a radio career in Canada, then worked in radio, film and television in

392-415: A reformed gunslinger whose real name is Johnny Logan. A smoldering love/hate relationship develops. Dancin' Kid and his gang rob the town bank, while Vienna is there by coincidence, to fund their escape to California, but the pass is blocked by a railroad crew dynamiting a way in, and they flee back to their secret hideout (a played-out silver mine) behind a waterfall. Emma convinces the townsfolk that Vienna

441-409: Is as guilty as the rest, and the posse rides to her saloon. Vienna appears to be getting the best of another verbal confrontation when one of the wounded bank robbers, a youth named Turkey, is discovered under a table. Emma persuades the men to hang Vienna and Turkey, and burns the saloon down. At the last second Vienna, though not Turkey, is saved from hanging by Johnny Guitar. Vienna and Johnny escape

490-475: Is as sexless as the lions on the public library steps and as sharp and romantically forbidding as a package of unwrapped razor blades." He further commented that the film was no more than a "flat walk-through — or occasional ride-through—of western cliches...The color is slightly awful and the Arizona scenery is only fair. Let's put it down as a fiasco. Miss Crawford went that away." Harrison's Reports praised

539-408: Is often considered to mark the beginning of the genre. Westerns were a major genre during the silent era (1894–1929) and continued to grow in popularity during the sound era (post–1929). The genre reached its pinnacle between 1945 and 1965 when it comprised roughly a quarter of studio output. The advent of color and widescreen during this era opened up new possibilities for directors to portray

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588-521: Is often erroneously cited as the first Western, though George N. Fenin and William K. Everson point out that the "Edison company had played with Western material for several years prior to The Great Train Robbery ". Nonetheless, they concur that Porter's film "set the pattern—of crime, pursuit, and retribution—for the Western film as a genre". The film's popularity opened the door for Anderson to become

637-536: The Grand Canyon , Yosemite , and the giant redwoods , due in part to exhibitors' inability to switch over to widescreen during the Great Depression . After the renewed commercial successes of the Western in the late 1930s, their popularity continued to rise until the 1950s, when the number of Western films produced outnumbered all other genres combined. The period from 1940 to 1960 has been called

686-558: The Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The main theme of the film's score, composed by Victor Young , and title song , co-written and performed by Peggy Lee , is loosely based on the Spanish Dance No. 5: Andaluza by Enrique Granados . Written by Granados for Piano, though often performed on classical guitar, the piece is played by Joan Crawford's character (dubbed) seated at

735-515: The Wild West shows that began in the 1870s. These shows, which included stage plays and outdoor exhibitions, culminated in Buffalo Bill's Wild West , a touring performance that ran from 1883 to 1913. Wild West shows, which were intended for urban audiences, established many of the elements that came to define Western films, such as the blending of fact and fiction and the romanticization of

784-402: The "Golden Age of the Western". It is epitomized by the work of several prominent directors including: There have been several instances of resurgence for the Western genre. According to Netflix , the popularity of the genre is due to its malleability: "As America has evolved, so too have Westerns." During the 1960s and 1970s, Spaghetti Westerns from Italy became popular worldwide; this

833-545: The 1930s. By the late 1930s, the Western film was widely regarded as a "pulp" genre in Hollywood, but its popularity was dramatically revived in 1939 by major studio productions such as Dodge City starring Errol Flynn , Jesse James with Tyrone Power , Union Pacific with Joel McCrea , Destry Rides Again featuring James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich , and especially John Ford's landmark Western adventure Stagecoach starring John Wayne , which became one of

882-540: The 1950s and early 1960s, he was a director, producer and host for a number of television series such as Front Row Center and Boris Karloff 's Thriller , Father of the Bride , and Telescope . He directed the movie The Incredible Journey (1963) for Walt Disney . Markle is also credited for signing Lorne Greene to play Ben Cartwright in Bonanza . In 1956, Markle and his wife, Mercedes McCambridge , launched

931-529: The American West that [embody] the spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier ". The term "Western", used to describe a narrative film genre, appears to have originated with a July 1912 article in Motion Picture World magazine. Most of the characteristics of Western films were part of 19th-century popular Western fiction , and were firmly in place before film became a popular art form. Film critic Philip French has said that

980-505: The Dancin' Kid's affections) are determined to force Vienna out of town, and the hold-up of the stage (erroneously blamed on the Dancin' Kid) offers a perfect pretext. Vienna faces them down, helped by the mysterious and just-arrived Johnny Guitar, a guitar-player who had an interview scheduled with her that day. McIvers gives Vienna, Johnny Guitar, and Dancin' Kid and his sidekicks 24 hours to leave. Johnny turns out to be Vienna's ex-lover and

1029-653: The Greatest Films of All Time. He said, " Johnny Guitar is the only movie that I'd like to remake someday, although I know that it's impossible. It's probably closest to the worst nightmare I can have. I know for sure that my desire to remake this movie comes from my warped thought that I want to remake my own nightmare." On the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an approval rating of 93% with an average score of 8.52/10 based on 45 critics. The website's critical consensus reads: " Johnny Guitar confidently strides through genre conventions, emerging with

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1078-567: The Native Americans as dishonorable villains, the later and more culturally neutral Westerns gave Native Americans a more sympathetic treatment. Other recurring themes of Westerns include treks (e.g. The Big Trail ) or perilous journeys (e.g. Stagecoach ) or groups of bandits terrorizing small towns such as in The Magnificent Seven . The Western goes beyond simply a cinematic genre, and extends into defining

1127-707: The Old West – they included Annie Oakley (shooting) and members of the Sioux (dancing). Western films were enormously popular in the silent-film era (1894–1927). The earliest known Western narrative film is the British short Kidnapping by Indians , made by Mitchell and Kenyon in Blackburn , England, in 1899. The Great Train Robbery (1903, based on the earlier British film A Daring Daylight Burglary ), Edwin S. Porter 's film starring Broncho Billy Anderson ,

1176-755: The US Southwest , interest in the Western lifestyle 's music and clothing , along with popular videos games series such as Red Dead . Screenwriter and scholar Eric R. Williams identifies Western films as one of eleven super-genres in his screenwriters' taxonomy , claiming that all feature length narrative films can be classified by these super-genres. The other ten super-genres are action , crime , fantasy , horror , romance , science fiction , slice of life , sports , thriller , and war . Western films often depict conflicts with Native Americans . While early Eurocentric Westerns frequently portray

1225-731: The United States. Born in Winnipeg , Manitoba , Markle was the son of Mr. and Mrs. George Markle. He graduated from Prince of Wales Secondary School in Vancouver and chose not to attend college because "there were too many things to do". Markle began his career at age 17 in Vancouver, British Columbia , doing radio dramas . He created the Phoenix Theater, which began with stage productions and then went on radio for

1274-601: The Western is "a commercial formula with rules as fixed and immutable as the Kabuki Theater." Western films commonly feature protagonists such as sheriffs, cowboys, gunslingers, and bounty hunters, who are often depicted as seminomadic wanderers who wear Stetson hats, bandannas , spurs, and buckskins , use revolvers or rifles as everyday tools of survival and as a means to settle disputes using "frontier justice". Protagonists ride between dusty towns and cattle ranches on their trusty steeds. Film Westerns derive from

1323-418: The biggest hits of the year. Released through United Artists, Stagecoach made John Wayne a mainstream screen star in the wake of a decade of headlining B Westerns. Wayne had been introduced to the screen 10 years earlier as the leading man in director Raoul Walsh 's spectacular widescreen The Big Trail , which failed at the box office in spite of being shot on location across the American West, including

1372-671: The credits, contributed to the screenplay for Orson Welles 's The Lady from Shanghai (1947). During his time in New York, he contributed to the CBS radio anthology, Studio One . In late 1952, he was brought in to replace Worthington Miner on the TV version of that program. He produced, co-wrote, and had a cameo role in the movie Jigsaw (1949). He directed Nancy Davis , Ray Milland , and John Hodiak in Night into Morning (1951). During

1421-498: The end of the decade, studios had mostly ceased to make Westerns. Despite their dwindling popularity during this decade, the 1960s gave rise to the revisionist Western , several examples of which became vital entries in the canon. Since the 1960s, new Western films have only appeared sporadically. Despite their decreased prominence, Western films remain an integral part of American culture and national mythology . The American Film Institute defines Western films as those "set in

1470-644: The film as "one of the better pictures of its type. Filmed in what is without question the best example of Trucolor photography yet shown, its mixture of romance, hatred and violence grips one's attention throughout, in spite of the fact that it is overburdened with a number of 'talky' passages. This, however, is not a serious flaw and could be corrected by some judicious cutting of the rather overlong running time." According to Martin Scorsese , contemporary American audiences "didn't know what to make of it, so they either ignored it or laughed at it." European audiences, on

1519-513: The film as the " Beauty and the Beast of Westerns, a Western dream". He was especially impressed by the film's extravagance: the bold colors, the poetry of the dialogue in certain scenes, and the theatricality which results in cowboys vanishing and dying "with the grace of ballerinas ". In his 1988 release Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown , Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar paid homage to

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1568-406: The film was a "money maker" at the British box office in 1954. Variety commented, "It proves [Crawford] should leave saddles and Levis to someone else and stick to city lights for a background. [The film] is only a fair piece of entertainment. [The scriptwriter] becomes so involved with character nuances and neuroses, all wrapped up in dialogue, that [the picture] never has a chance to rear up in

1617-401: The film. His lead character Pepa Marcos ( Carmen Maura ), a voice artist, passes out while dubbing Vienna's voice in a scene where Johnny (voiced earlier by Pepa's ex-lover Iván) and Vienna banter about their conflicted past. Almodóvar's film also ends with a chase and an obsessed woman shooting at his lead character. In 2012, Japanese film director Shinji Aoyama listed Johnny Guitar as one of

1666-598: The frontier. These early films were originally referred to as "Wild West dramas", the term "Western" came to describe the genre. The use of this shortened term appears to have originated with a July 1912 article in Motion Picture World magazine. The first films that belong to the Western genre are a series of short single reel silents made in 1894 by Edison Studios at their Black Maria studio in West Orange, New Jersey . These featured veterans of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show exhibiting skills acquired by living in

1715-764: The midst of an affair. Crawford, on the other hand, disliked what she perceived to be "special attention" that Ray was giving to McCambridge. Making things worse was that McCambridge was battling alcoholism during this period, something she admitted later contributed to the problems between her and Crawford. On September 20, 2016, Olive Films released the film on Blu-Ray and DVD as part of its lineup, Olive Signature. The release features an archival introduction from Martin Scorsese , an audio commentary from Geoff Andrew , and several featurettes. During its initial theatrical run, Johnny Guitar had grossed $ 2.5 million in North American rentals. According to Kinematograph Weekly

1764-645: The myth of the West in American culture. Early Westerns were mostly filmed in the studio, as in other early Hollywood films, but when location shooting became more common from the 1930s, producers of Westerns used desolate corners of Arizona , California , Colorado , Kansas , Montana , Nevada , New Mexico , Oklahoma , Texas , Utah , or Wyoming . These settings gave filmmakers the ability to depict vast plains, looming mountains, and epic canyons. Productions were also filmed on location at movie ranches . Often,

1813-477: The other hand, not having the same biases as American audiences, saw Johnny Guitar for what it was: "an intense, unconventional, stylized picture, full of ambiguities and subtexts that rendered it extremely modern." During its release overseas, the film found acclaim by then-critics Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut who wrote reviews in the French film magazine Cahiers du Cinéma . Truffaut further described

1862-455: The posse and find refuge in Dancin' Kid's secret hideaway. The posse tracks them down, and the last two of Kid's men are killed by infighting; one, Bart, is killed by Johnny when Bart was going to betray and shoot the Kid. A halt is called to the bloodbath by the posse's leader, McIvers. Emma challenges Vienna to a showdown and shoots Vienna in the shoulder; Dancin' Kid calls to Emma but is killed by

1911-451: The saddle... The people in the story never achieve much depth, this character shallowness being at odds with the pretentious attempt at analysis to which the script and direction devotes so much time." Bosley Crowther of The New York Times singled out Crawford's physical appearance, stating "no more femininity comes from her than from the rugged Heflin in Shane . For the lady, as usual,

1960-517: The saloon piano in one of the film's climactic scenes. On the outskirts of a wind-swept Arizona cattle town, an aggressive and strong-willed saloonkeeper named Vienna maintains a volatile relationship with the local cattlemen and townsfolk. Not only does she support the railroad being laid nearby (the cattlemen oppose it), but she permits "The Dancin' Kid" (her former amour) and his confederates to frequent her saloon. The locals, led by John McIvers and egged on by Emma Small (a onetime rival of Vienna for

2009-405: The screen's first Western star; he made several hundred Western film shorts. So popular was the genre that he soon faced competition from Tom Mix and William S. Hart . With the advent of sound in 1927–28, the major Hollywood studios rapidly abandoned Westerns, leaving the genre to smaller studios and producers. These smaller organizations churned out countless low-budget features and serials in

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2058-591: The script to Republic and had the studio hire Ray to direct an adaptation of it. Crawford wanted either Bette Davis or Barbara Stanwyck for the role of Emma Small, but they were too expensive. Claire Trevor was next in mind for the role but was unable to accept because she was tied up with another film. Finally, Nicholas Ray brought in McCambridge. Most people claimed Crawford was easy to work with, always professional, generous, patient and kind. Issues between Crawford and McCambridge cropped up early on, but Ray

2107-682: The stories into feature films. Markle returned to radio in late 1978 as one of the writers for Sears Radio Theater . Markle received an Academy Award nomination for the documentary film The V-1: Story of the Robot Bomb , which he wrote and narrated. Markle married Helen Blanche Willis in Toronto in 1944, and they divorced on June 14, 1949. They had a son, actor and writer Stephen Markle. He later married actress Mercedes McCambridge, and they divorced in 1962 after 12 years of marriage, during which he adopted her son. Markle's third marriage

2156-414: The vast landscape becomes more than a vivid backdrop; it becomes a character in the film. After the early 1950s, various widescreen formats such as Cinemascope (1953) and VistaVision used the expanded width of the screen to display spectacular western landscapes. John Ford's use of Monument Valley as an expressive landscape in his films from Stagecoach to Cheyenne Autumn (1965), "present us with

2205-424: The vastness of the American landscape. This era also produced the genre's most iconic figures, including John Wayne and Randolph Scott , who developed personae that they maintained across most of their films. Director John Ford is often considered one of the genre's greatest filmmakers. With the proliferation of television in the 1960s, television Westerns began to supersede film Westerns in popularity. By

2254-481: Was due to the success of Sergio Leone 's storytelling method. Although experiencing waning popularity during the 1980s, the success of films such as Dances with Wolves (1990) and Unforgiven (1992) brought the genre back into the mainstream. Back to the Future Part III (1990) was "a full-blown Western" set in 1885; although the least commercially successful of the trilogy and according to some

2303-444: Was nominated for numerous awards for the original production, and has been produced around the world. Licensing is available through Concord Theatricals . Western film Western films derive from the Wild West shows that began in the 1870s. Originally referred to as "Wild West dramas", the shortened term "Western" came to describe the genre. Although other Western films were made earlier, The Great Train Robbery (1903)

2352-413: Was not alarmed – at first. He found it "heaven sent" that they disliked each other and felt it added greatly to the dramatic conflict. The reasons for the feud appear to date back to a time when Crawford had once dated McCambridge's husband, Fletcher Markle . According to some of the other co-stars, McCambridge needled Crawford about it. McCambridge also appears to have disliked that Crawford and Ray were in

2401-730: Was working on the Radio Folio series for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The CBC had commissioned Markle to write that program, which consisted of self-contained complete episodes that ranged from light to serious in content. Markle had earlier written the Baker's Dozen series on CBC. The group moved to Toronto , and Markle had a role as an actor in Journey Together (1946). Markle then moved to New York City, and although not listed in

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