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Johnny Guitar

Johnny Guitar

Western · 1954

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

Movie details

Johnny Guitar

“Gun-Queen of the Arizona Frontier! And her kind of men!”

1954 Western 1h 50m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.4 / 10

Community rating

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

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Johnny Guitar?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Nicholas Ray

Written by

Philip Yordan · Nicholas Ray · Ben Maddow

Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford

Vienna

Sterling Hayden

Sterling Hayden

Johnny 'Guitar' Logan

Mercedes McCambridge

Mercedes McCambridge

Emma Small

Scott Brady

Scott Brady

Dancin' Kid

Ward Bond

Ward Bond

John McIvers

Ben Cooper

Ben Cooper

Turkey Ralston

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine

Bart Lonergan

Court is in session

Put Johnny Guitar on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.