In Johnny Guitar (1954), Joan Crawford played Vienna, a saloon owner in the Arizona territory who is caught in a feud with a rival rancher and her former lover, Johnny Guitar. Directed by Nicholas Ray, the western is famous for its vivid colour, its operatic emotions and its reversal of traditional western roles.
Vienna is tough, independent and unyielding, and Crawford played her with a commanding presence that made her the film’s true centre. Her scenes opposite Mercedes McCambridge as Emma Small are among the most intense in any western of the period.
Johnny Guitar was not a major success on release, but it has since become a cult classic, and Crawford’s Vienna is now recognised as one of her most original and powerful performances.