Johnny Guitar
1954
****½
Director: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, Scott Brady, Ward Bond, Ben Cooper, Ernest Borgnine
A wonderfully trashy Western about a bull-headed saloonkeeper who is on a collision course with her townsfolk, particularly with a cattle rancher who hates her guts. The ensuing catfight is sexy and wonderfully over-the-top. You can read the story as an allegory on McCarthyism or homosexuality, or just enjoy it as it is. Based on Roy Chanslor's novel. The famous title song was written by Peggy Lee and Victor Young.
