The American Friend

Based on the novel Ripley’s Game by Patricia Highsmith, Der amerikanische Freund (The American Friend) is the story of a con artist who convinces an ailing picture framer to take part in an assassination scheme. Written for the screen and directed by Wim Wenders, the film is an unusual noir film that play into a battle of wits that would eventually form into an unlikely friendship. Starring Dennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, Lisa Kreuzer, and Gerard Blain. Der amerikanische Freund is a riveting and intoxicating film from Wim Wenders.

The film revolves around an American con artist, whose work in art forgeries, has him traveling to Hamburg where he meets a dying picture framer who he believes can carry an assassination job for another man. It’s a film that plays into a man who is trying to create a scheme about an assassination he wants to take place with another man as he feels slighted by this picture framer he met at an auction. Wim Wenders’ screenplay follows the world that Tom Ripley (Dennis Hopper) is in where he cons people into buying paintings for lots of money when they’re actually forgeries as he goes to Hamburg from New York City to sell a forgery where the picture framer Jonathan Zimmerman (Bruno Ganz) notices the painting is a forgery that people are over-paying for. Zimmerman knows who Ripley is as he refuses to shake his hand prompting Ripley to turn to a fellow criminal in Raoul Minot (Gerard Blain) to use Zimmerman as an assassin for a rival that Minot wants dead.

For Zimmerman who is dying from leukemia and is health is failing, he would receive news that his health is worsening where Minot approaches him about doing a job and would get certain health benefits and money in return. Yet, his wife Marianne (Lisa Kreuzer) is suspicious about Zimmerman’s trips to Paris and Munich as the story progresses with the former having him going to a hospital where they would send Marianne false medical notes which Zimmerman had no clue about thinking he would be fine. Upon the job that Minot would have Zimmerman do, it does give Zimmerman a sense of life although things become more complicated when Minot wants Zimmerman to do another job without Ripley’s knowledge who is becoming fond of Zimmerman.

Wenders’ direction does bear some visual style reminiscent of suspense and film noir yet much of what he does is straightforward. Shot mainly in Hamburg, Germany with additional locations in Munich, Paris, and New York City, Wenders would play into a world that is vast as it relates to the kind of operation that Ripley is involved as he lives mainly in New York City but went to Germany for business knowing he can make serious money through forged paintings made by his friend Derwatt (Nicholas Ray). Wenders’ direction definitely emphasizes some simple compositions in his approach to the framing where he does use close-ups and medium shots to play into the interaction between characters as well as the scenes at the metro in Paris where Zimmerman is going after his target as it’s dialogue-free in order to play up the suspense. Even in the way Wenders would move the camera to see Zimmerman and his target move from one metro train to another as well as the sense of geography in the metro stations with some wide shots to get an idea of where Zimmerman can kill this man though there’s cameras at the station that can see what is going on.

Wenders’ direction also maintains that intrigue into what is happening with the suspense as well as Ripley’s visits to Zimmerman’s shop as the former wants the latter to create a picture frame for one of the forgeries. Even as it play into a growing friendship between Ripley and Zimmerman as the former is aware of the latter’s illness and wants to help him as he would be involved in this second assassination that Zimmerman is supposed to carry out. The film’s third act has Wenders take great advantage of the locations and its scope where it does play into a friendship that is growing but also revelations about Zimmerman’s ailing health and Ripley’s own involvement into these assassinations prompting the latter to take control as well as to try and make things right for Zimmerman and his family. Overall, Wenders craft a gripping yet somber film about an American con artist who gets an ailing German picture framer to carry out an assassination.

Cinematographer Robby Muller does brilliant work with the film’s colorful and ravishing cinematography as its usage of natural lighting for some of the daytime exterior scenes as well as available and stylish light for some of the interiors including the scenes at night. Editor Peter Przygodda does excellent work with the editing as it has elements of jump-cuts while mainly aiming for a straightforward approach with the rhythmic cuts to play into the suspenseful moments of the film. Art directors Heidi and Toni Ludi do fantastic work with the look of Ripley’s home as it has appliances that are covered while Zimmerman’s home doesn’t have much space though his son’s bedroom is full of cool toys and appliances.

Costume designer Isolde Nist does terrific work with the costumes from the denim-like look of Ripley with his cowboy hat to the more casual and reserved look of Zimmerman. Sound mixers Milan Bor, Max Galinsky, and Martin Muller do superb work with the sound in the way trains and ships sound from outside a building as well as what goes on inside the metro stations that help play into the suspenseful moments of the assassination sequence. The film’s music by Jurgen Knieper is incredible for its mixture of piano and strings that help play into the drama with its lush string arrangements that also add to the film’s suspense while its soundtrack features mainly music from the Kinks that is played in parts of the film.

The film’s wonderful cast feature some notable small roles from Andreas Dedecke as Jonathan and Marianne’s son Daniel, Sandy Whitelaw as a doctor trying to help Zimmerman, filmmakers Samuel Fuller and Jean Eustache in their respective cameo roles as an American gangster and a friendly man on the train, Lou Castel as Minot’s associate Rodolphe who makes sure Zimmerman does the job, and filmmaker Nicholas Ray in a small yet terrific performance as Ripley’s paint forger named Derwatt. Gerard Blain is fantastic as the French gangster Raoul Minot as a man that wants Ripley to kill a rival gangster only to turn to Zimmerman for the job and later trying to get Zimmerman to do more of his dirty work.

Lisa Kreuzer is brilliant as Zimmerman’s wife Marianne as a woman that is trying to understand where her husband is going believing something isn’t right upon getting messages from his doctor while is also suspicious about Ripley. Bruno Ganz is incredible as Jonathan Zimmerman as a picture framer who used to make forged paintings that is dealing with leukemia as he’s trying to cope with his illness as well as what he’s being forced to do where it’s a low-key yet somber performance that has Ganz sing a lot of British Invasion songs to deal with his situation. Finally, there’s Dennis Hopper in a phenomenal performance as Tom Ripley as this con man trying to get Zimmerman to kill as revenge for slighting him only to become fond of him as he later tries to help him as it’s an offbeat yet charismatic performance from Hopper.

Der amerikanische Freund is a sensational film from Wim Wenders that features great performances from Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz. Along with its ensemble cast, Robby Muller’s gorgeous photography, its study of manipulation and redemption, and its beautiful music score. It’s a film that doesn’t play with the conventions of suspense in order to study the motivations of two men who are connected by carrying out an assassination only to try to connect through the simple ideas of life. In the end, Der amerikanische Freund is a spectacular film from Wim Wenders.

Related: Purple Noon

Wim Wenders Films: (Summer in the City) - (The Goalkeeper’s Fear of the Penalty) - (The Scarlet Letter (1973 film)) - Alice in the Cities - Wrong Move - Kings of the Road - (Lightning Over Water) - (Room 666) - (Hammett) - (The State of Things) – Paris, Texas - (Tokyo-Ga) – Wings of Desire - (Notebook on Cities and Clothes) – Until the End of the World - (Faraway, So Close!) - (Lisbon Story) - (Beyond the Clouds) - (A Trick of Light) - (The End of Violence) - (Buena Vista Social Club) - (The Million Dollar Hotel) - (The Soul of a Man) - (Land of Plenty) - (Don’t Come Knocking) - (The Palermo Shooting) - (Pina) - Salt of the Earth - (Every Thing Will Be Fine) – (The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez) – (Submergence) – (Pope Francis: A Man of His Word)

© thevoid99 2018

2018 Blind Spot Series: Rebel Without a Cause

Directed by Nicholas Ray and screenplay by Stewart Stern from a story by Ray with adaptation by Irving Shulman, Rebel Without a Cause is the story of a teenager who arrives to a new town as he has trouble with his new environment where he often encounters trouble. The film is a look into a troubled young man as he deals with his own conflicts with his parents, ideals, and all sorts of things while trying to find himself. Starring James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Dennis Hopper, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, and William Hopper. Rebel Without a Cause is a riveting and evocative film from Nicholas Ray.

The film follows the day in the life of a young man who had just moved to a new town where he finds himself getting in trouble as he’s being challenged to a chicken race while dealing with his own family life believing his parents don’t understand his anguish. It plays into this man who isn’t just dealing with the fact that he couldn’t do the right things but often keeps doing things the wrong way as he’s targeted by other kids who would get him into trouble. Stewart Stern’s screenplay doesn’t just follow the trouble that the film’s protagonist Jim Stark (James Dean) goes through during the course of the day but also a couple of other young teens who would be at a police precinct like Stark late at night. Judy (Natalie Wood) is a teenager who is picked up by the police for breaking curfew as she claims to be unloved by her father who says awful things to her while John “Plato” Crawford (Sal Mineo) was taken to the police for shooting puppies with his mother’s gun as both of his parents aren’t home.

Stark is a young man that lives in a somewhat dysfunctional home as his father Frank (Jim Backus) is often more concerned with wanting to be his buddy rather than be a father while his mother Carol (Ann Doran) is always upset over what her son does and often feels the best solution is to move to another town. It’s a pattern that becomes too common for Stark as he has just arrived to Los Angeles unsure of what to do and who to socialize with. Especially when Judy’s boyfriend Buzz Gunderson (Corey Allen) notices him and decides to push him around leading to a chicken race with cars where things don’t go well at all. Even as Stark is convinced that he’s cursed though he is able to get some sympathy early in the film from Inspector Ray Fremick (Edward Platt) who got to see up close what Stark’s parents are like as he offers to help him.

Nicholas Ray’s direction is definitely ravishing for the way he captures the life of a troubled teenager in Los Angeles where the film is shot on location though the school that Stark and others attend is shot on location in Santa Monica, California. Ray’s direction through the usage of the Cinemascope widescreen format allows him to take great usage of the wide shots of the locations including a few key scenes at the Griffith Observatory that would play in a scene where Stark is confronted by Gunderson and his gang and the film’s climax. Yet, Ray would emphasize on medium shots and close-ups including some unique compositions that play into the struggles of Stark, Judy, and Plato in the film’s sequence at the police precinct. Ray’s would shoot someone like Plato meeting Inspector Fremick in a medium shot in the foreground while Stark is seen in the background as it’s among these unique visuals that Ray would create along with scenes at home with some stylish camera angles to play into Stark’s anguish over his parents’ inability to help him.

Ray would also create these moments of intrigue in the compositions as it relates to how Plato looks at Stark that definitely provides subtle ideas that Plato is gay as it was considered taboo during the 1950s in which the film was made and set in. The sense of drama that happens for much of the film has Ray create some carefully crafted compositions in the way he positions his actors but also play into moments that are intense such as the aftermath of the chicken race. The film’s climax which relates to Gunderson’s gang trying to find Stark as well as Plato add to the sense of heightened drama as well as this chance of Stark to try and bring some kind of meaning to his life in helping Plato. Overall, Ray crafts a rapturous and exhilarating film about a young man’s search for meaning in his young teenage life.

Cinematographer Ernest Haller does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of vibrant colors from the way much of the daytime exterior scenes look to the interior scene set at the Griffith Observatory as well as how the colors appear in the Cinemascope film format. Editor William H. Ziegler does excellent work with the editing as it help play into some of the dramatic tension as well as bits of the suspense during the chicken race scene. Art director Malcolm C. Bert and set decorator William Wallace does fantastic work with the interiors of the Stark family home as well as the homes of Judy and Plato and the abandoned mansion that Plato mentioned nearby the Griffith Observatory.

Costume designer Moss Mabry does amazing work with the costumes from the red jacket Stark would wear for the film’s second half as well as the clothes that Gunderson and his gang wore as well as the dresses that Judy wore throughout the film. The sound work of Stanley Jones is terrific for its natural approach to sound as well as a few sound effects that play into moments in the drama. The film’s music by Leonard Rosenman is incredible for its somber yet soaring orchestral score that help heighten the drama as well as the anguish from Stark, Judy, and Plato in their home lives.

The film’s wonderful cast include some notable small roles from Ian Wolfe as the astronomy professor Dr. Minton, Frank Mazzola and Jack Grinnage as a couple of Gunderson’s goons in their respective roles in Crunch and Moose, Virginia Brissac as Stark’s grandmother, Marietta Canty as Plato’s family maid who is concerned for his well-being, William Hopper and Rochelle Hudson as Judy’s parents, Dennis Hopper as a member of Gunderson’s gang in Goon, and Edward Platt in a superb performance as Inspector Ray Fremick as a sympathetic police official who is trying to understand the anguish and angst of Stark, Judy, and Plato in the film’s precinct sequence as he interrogates all three of them individually early in the film. Corey Allen is terrific as Buzz Gunderson as Judy’s boyfriend who is also the head of a high school gang that wants to push Stark around though he also shows a sensitive side just before the chicken race knowing that he doesn’t want to kill anyone.

Jim Backus and Ann Doran are fantastic in their respective roles as Stark’s parents in Frank and Carol Stark as a couple who have a hard time trying to understand their son with Frank wanting to help but be more of a friend while Carol is a more stern and not wanting to confront the real issues at hand. Sal Mineo is brilliant as John “Plato” Crawford as a young man who is sensitive and lost due to not having his parents around as he finds a sense of companionship in Stark where he subtly provides ideas of homosexuality in his fascination toward Stark. Natalie Wood is amazing as Judy as a young woman who feels unloved by her father as well as unsure of what to do as she hangs out with Buzz for companionship only to become fascinated by Stark whom she would fall for. Finally, there’s James Dean in a tremendous performance as Jim Stark as this young man that is dealing with uncertainty about himself and his family where Dean displays a mixture of anguish and charm into a role that is definitely an iconic performance in cinema.

Rebel Without a Cause is an outstanding film from Nicholas Ray that features great performances from James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo. Along with its gorgeous visuals, a superb ensemble cast, a mesmerizing script, and a sweeping orchestral score. It’s a film that play into the world of teen angst and uncertainty told in the span of a day in the eyes of a young man that doesn’t feel like he belongs anywhere in the world. In the end, Rebel Without a Cause is a magnificent film from Nicholas Ray.

Nicholas Ray Films: (They Live By Night) – (Knock on Any Door) – (A Woman’s Secret) – In a Lonely Place - (Born to Be Bad) – (Flying Leathernecks) – (On Dangerous Ground) – (The Lusty Men) – Johnny Guitar - (Run for Cover) – (Hot Blood) – (Bigger Than Life) – (The True Story of Jesse James) – (Bitter Victory) – (Wind Across the Everglades) – (Party Girl (1958 film)) – (The Savage Innocents) – (King of Kings) – (55 Days at Peking) – (We Can’t Go Home Again) – (Lightning Over Water)

© thevoid99 2018

In a Lonely Place

Based on the novel by Dorothy B. Hughes, In a Lonely Place is the story of a screenwriter who is accused of murder as a neighbor helps him as they fall in love and try to solve the murder he’s accused of. Directed by Nicholas Ray with an adapted script by Edmund H. North and Andrew Solt, the film is a noir-style mystery filled with intrigue as it’s considered to be one of the great noir films of the early 1950s. Starring Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy, Martha Stewart, Art Smith, and Carl Benton Reid. In a Lonely Place is a chilling yet exhilarating film noir drama from Nicholas Ray.

With a career in trouble and depending on booze, Dixon “Dix” Steele (Humphrey Bogart) is at a restaurant where he meets his agent Mel Lippman (Art Smith) and a boozy actor named Charlie (Robert Warwick). Lippman has news about a film project where Steele needs to adapt a book and to turn it into a script though Steele isn’t sure about the idea. When a hat-check girl named Mildred Atkinson reveals that she’s read the book, Steele asks for her help as he invites her to his apartment home as she tells him about the book. Realizing what the premise is, he gives her cab fare so she can come home until a detective named Brub Nicholai (Frank Lovejoy), who knew Steele back in World War II, asks him to come to the police station revealing that Atkinson got killed.

With Nicholai’s supervisor Captain Lochner (Carl Benton Reid) believing that Steele killed Atkinson due to his background over his erratic, violent behavior, Steele becomes a suspect as he says he didn’t kill her. Then a woman named Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame), a neighbor of Steele, reveals that Steele didn’t do anything as she saw him walk Atkinson out of his door as she walked out of the building alone. Steele is let go though Lochner remains suspicious as he asks Nicholai to watch over him as Steele and Gray become friends as she helps him type up his script. After meeting Lippman and Charlie, Gray becomes part of the team though Steele remains uneasy as a dinner with Nicholai and his wife (Jeff Donnell) was an uncomfortable experience. With Gray becoming more aware of Steele’s troubled behavior including a few violent outbursts, things start to become uncomfortable for everyone.

After being pursued by Lochner to know more about Steele, Gray is disturbed by his behavior following a dinner with the Nicholai and his wife. When things seem to calm down, Gray remains uncomfortable around Steele when he asks her to marry him. She suddenly realizes he isn’t normal as she starts to wonder whether or not he killed Atkinson while figuring out if he will kill her.

The film is about a troubled screenwriter who is accused of murder only to be saved by his neighbor who is a failed actress that falls for him. With the police on his back and the pressure to finish a screenplay based on a book that he hates. Dix Steele starts to become unhinged though the only thing that’s grounded him is the presence of Laurel who would become his collaborator as they eventually fall in love. The story progresses once love is in the air as is Steele’s erratic behavior starts to eat at him where at one point, he beats up a young driver. It’s the moment that Laurel starts to fear him as she wonders when he is going to really do something as there is a dark element to Steele from the way he describes what the killer might’ve done to Atkinson.

The script is an intriguing study about a man down on his luck as the project that would save his career only adds to his dislike towards the world and to his own troubled behavior. The film’s title refers to Steele’s own sense of isolation as well as the fact that he’s not an easy man to deal preferring to live alone despite interacting with people for work and social gatherings. When a woman like Gray gets close to him, he starts to feel comfortable except for the thing such as the police investigating him and the demands to finish a script would only undo him.

The direction of Nicholas Ray is truly startling from the way he composes some of the suspense scenes to how relaxed he lets some of the lighter moments of the film play out. For some of the darker moments, Ray maintains a stillness with the camera and framing to set the mood of what could be happening or what Steele is saying about what might’ve happened. There is also a heightened style to Ray’s direction from the driving scenes to the tense scenes at the police station. Ray is always engaged by what is happening as the overall work he brings is phenomenal.

Cinematographer Burnett Guffey does some excellent work with the film‘s black-and-white photography with some wonderful shadings to enhance the noir tone of the film including the use of heightened lights for some of the intense moments of the film. Editor Viola Lawrence does a very good job with the editing as it’s presented mostly straightforward with the use of dissolves and fade-outs for the transitions. Art director Robert Peterson and set decorator William Kiernan do great work with the look of the apartments that Steele and Gray live in along with the restaurant, clubs, and police stations they encounter.

Costume designer Jean Louis does a fantastic work with the gowns created for the film including the black sheer gown that Gray wears to a gathering as well as the other dresses for the women in the film. Sound engineer Howard Fogetti, with Ellis Burman for the sound restoration, does some fine work with the sound from the tire squeals to the location work to create a dark mood for the film. The film’s score by George Antheil is brilliant for its thrilling arrangements to enhance the sense of dread as well as somber pieces for the melodramatic moments of the film.

The cast includes some notable appearances from Hadda Brooks as lounge singer, Steven Geray as a head waiter at the restaurant Dix frequents at, Robert Warwick as Steele’s boozy thespian friend Charlie, Jeff Donnell as Nicholai’s wife Sylvia, and Martha Stewart (not the famed TV personality) as the ill-fated though charming Mildred Atkinson. Other notable roles include Art Smith as the loyal but worried agent Mel Lippman, Carl Benton Reid as the suspicious Captain Lochner, and Frank Lovejoy as the open-minded but friendly Brub Nicholai. Gloria Grahame is superb as Laurel Gray, a failed B-movie actress who helps Steele by becoming his alibi and help him write his script only to be troubled by his erratic behavior. Finally, there’s Humphrey Bogart in a magnificent performance as the troubled Dix Steele. Bogart’s vulnerability is key to what makes this performance as one of his best from the way he acts crazy in the way he describes things or how he reacts to something. It’s a very complex and powerful performance from the actor who also has great chemistry with Grahame in what is a chilling performance.

In a Lonely Place is an eerie yet engrossing noir-drama from Nicholas Ray featuring brilliant performances from Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame. For anyone that is interested in the world of film noir, this film is a good place to start as well as a good introduction to the works of Nicholas Ray. For fans of Humphrey Bogart, this is definitely one of his essential films as it features what is truly a performance for the ages. In the end, In a Lonely Place is a haunting yet captivating film from Nicholas Ray.

Nicholas Ray Films: (They Live By Night) - (Knock on Any Door) - (A Woman's Secret) - (Born to Be Bad) - (Flying Leathernecks) - (On Dangerous Ground) - (The Lusty Men) - Johnny Guitar - (Run for Cover) - Rebel Without a Cause - (Hot Blood) - (Bigger Than Life) - (The True Story of Jesse James) - (Bitter Victory) - (Wind Across the Everglades) - (Party Girl) - (The Savage Innocents) - (King of Kings) - (55 Days at Peking) - (We Can't Go Home Again) - (Lightning Over Water)

© thevoid99 2011

Johnny Guitar

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 4/12/09 w/ Additional Edits.

Though beloved by Europeans and other film directors in the U.S., Nicholas Ray is considered by some an outsider of Hollywood. Even after his peak in the 1950s, he tried to get projects going but without Hollywood's support. It would be those in the French and German New Wave that would help bring attention to Ray's work throughout the years to a new generation of film buffs. Though Ray's death in 1979 was a huge loss, his legacy was still insatiable to film buffs and aspiring film directors. In 1954, Ray made a western that some considered to be one of his greatest films before the popularity of his 1955 film A Rebel Without A Cause.

Directed by Nicholas Ray based on Roy Chanslor's novel, Johnny Guitar tells the story of changing times in the Arizona cattle community in the Old West. With a screenplay by Phillip Yordan (and an un-credited Ben Maddow due to the blacklist of the 1950s), the film features a female protagonist, an oddity in the Western genre, as she fights authority against those threatening her saloon and town with help from an old lover. Starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Ernest Borgnine, Royal Dano, Scott Brady, Ben Cooper, Ward Bond, and Mercedes McCambridge. Johnny Guitar is a thrilling, melodramatic masterpiece from Nicholas Ray.

It's a windy day in an Arizona desert as a man named Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) arrives to a saloon outside of a cattle town. Inside the saloon, Johnny asks for whiskey and the saloon's boss who turns out to be a woman name Vienna (Joan Crawford). Vienna is currently in a meeting with Mr. Andrews (Rhys Williams) about the railroad building nearby her saloon. She is aware that with the railroad, her saloon will be booming with business along with a town set to be built that she'll share with the people working at her saloon. Then comes the arrival of Marshall Williams (Frank Ferguson) and cattle baron John McIvers (Ward Bond) as they bring the body of a dead man. The body is the brother of a woman named Emma (Mercedes McCambridge) who has deep hatred for Vienna.

Claiming that an associate of Vienna in the Dancin' Kid (Scott Brady) and his gang of hooligans were responsible for the death of Emma's brother. The Dancin' Kid and his gang arrive denying the whole affair as they ask Johnny Guitar who reveals that it couldn't be true. McIvers decided to ban gambling outside of the town as he gives Vienna a day to leave town. Vienna refuses as Johnny helps smooth things though he gets into a fight with one of the Dancin' Kid's men in Bart (Ernest Borgnine). When Johnny is revealed to be a master gunslinger after a duel of sorts with another of the Kid's men in Turkey (Ben Cooper). It's clear that Johnny has a past with Vienna as they were once lovers as he is hired to add protection from the angry cattlemen wanting to get rid of her. With the Dancin' Kid and his gang blamed for the death of Emma's brother, they decide to leave town but rob the bank first in order to get attention.

At the day of the robbery, Vienna is there getting her money out as they arrive minutes after her arrival. Yet, Vienna tries to get the Kid to not rob the bank but he and the gang leave to try to go to California. Instead, things go wrong due to explosions at the mountains that leaves Turkey wounded as the Kid is forced to leave Turkey behind. After paying off several of her employees to leave, Johnny reluctantly leaves as Emma, McIver, and the Marshall with their posse arrive to find the wounded Turkey under a table. After Vienna's employee Tom (John Carradine) tried to save her, Vienna and Turkey are taken where they're to be hanged. Johnny saves Vienna as the two hide out at the Kid's hiding place where the Kid, Bart, and Corey (Royal Dano) are hiding as well. With Johnny's real identity is revealed, things go wrong when Emma finds the hideout as she challenges Vienna to a duel.

While having a female lead instead of a male for the western genre in the 1950s seems radical. Yet, screenwriters Phillip Yordan and Ben Maddow, and director Nicholas Ray creates a western that is unique while playing around with its structure. Notably the ideas of conflict, bank robberies, and of course, a climatic duel at the end. What Yordan, Maddow, and Ray went for to make this film seem unconventional is the sense of melodrama as well as some political commentary that was going on in the McCarthy era. The story is simple. A woman runs a saloon by herself hoping to make some big money once the railroad comes in near her saloon. Yet, the nearby town where she has her money in a bank account seems threatened by it since they won't get a share of the money.

While the script delves into its political commentary through stylish dialogue and conflict between Vienna and the cattlemen. It's the direction of Nicholas Ray that is unique as it's told through melodrama. In the westerns, men are often the dominant figures in that genre. What Ray does is have the women take charge and they're not likeable women. Vienna is first scene where pants and shirt with a gun belt around her waist where she's often shown with a scowl on her face. She rarely displays any kind of emotions except when she's dealing with her past with Johnny. Then there's Emma, a woman who is mean as a bull as her hatred of Emma is more personal than anything. For all the men around her, they are shocked by her anger and can't really comprehend anything.

The film's unconventional approach towards its idea of protagonist and antagonist with its title character really being a supporting role is quite startling. At the same time, it's not a western but rather a melodrama that revolves around Johnny's return to Vienna's life as well as the Kid's feelings for Vienna. It's later revealed that Emma has a thing for the Kid but doesn't want to admit it. In many ways, what Nicholas Ray does is a real deconstruction of what is known traditionally as the western. It's lack of realism in place of melodrama is what makes the film so entrancing to watch as if they're all doing theater while the men have more talents than just being gunslingers. Overall, it's fantastic work from Nicholas Ray.

Cinematographer Harry Stradling does fantastic work with the film's colorful, Trucolor photography style. Awash with amazing colors in its exterior settings of the day and night to the interior shots of the saloon where it's wonderfully lit. Even in a shot where Joan Crawford is where white against a yellowish backdrop to represent the good girl with Mercedes McCambridge in black. Another great shot revolves a scene in the cave that awash with red that matches the shirt that Crawford was wearing. Stradling's photography, notably a shot of the Arizona skyline is truly rich in its elegance and ode to melodrama. Editor Richard L. Van Enger does excellent work with the smooth transitions, dissolves, and fade-outs to help play with the structure and movement of the film. Even for the film's suspenseful and climatic duel between Vienna and Emma as it plays to a rhythm. The editing is really masterfully crafted.

The art direction by James W. Sullivan with set decoration by Edward G. Boyle and John McCarthy Jr. is great in the look of the saloon as there's a sophistication and ruggedness to its look. Even as it features a mountain/cave-like wall where it adds an authenticity to its look and feel. Costume designer Sheila O'Brien does great work in the look of the clothes, notably the women where the character of Emma wears dark dresses throughout the entirety of the film while Vienna wears jeans and pants half the time for her mean persona. Then when she has to play lady, she wears this wonderful, flowing white dress to represent her good girl persona, though she is a bitch at times. The sound work by T.A. Carman and Howard Wilson is excellent for its sound locations, gunshots, horse calls, and runs to play up to the energy of the western. The music by Victor Young is brilliant for its sweeping arrangements of its energetic, suspenseful music while going somber into its more melodramatic scenes. The title song at the end by Young and Peggy Lee is great in playing up to the romanticism of the film.

The cast is excellent as it includes a then-unknown Dennis Hopper making his film debut (though un-credited). In the roles of Vienna's men which include Paul Fix as roulette spinner Eddie, John Carradine as saloon manager Tom, and Rhys Williams as businessman Mr. Andrews are all excellent in their small roles. Royal Dano is excellent as the sickly Corey while Ben Cooper is really good as the young, naive Turkey. Ward Bond is great as Mr. McIvers, the cattle baron who wants to get rid of Vienna from his town while Frank Ferguson is good as the more sympathetic Marshall who is trying to keep the peace. Ernest Borgnine is superb as the greedy, rugged Bart, a man who is more concerned with money and survival than teamwork. Scott Brady is very good as the Dancin' Kid, a man who loves Vienna while deciding to lead a robbery to get attention only to land himself in trouble and face betrayal.

Mercedes McCambridge is brilliant as the tough, angry Emma, a woman who has deep hatred for Vienna as she takes charge in leading a revolt towards the saloon owner. McCambridge's performance truly embodies the role of a villain as she can be brutal and so evil that only she can match Joan Crawford in a bitch fight. Though the truth is that both McCambridge and Crawford really hated each other on and off the set. Sterling Hayden is great as the title character Johnny Guitar, a man who is hired to protect Vienna though is dealing with his own past and love for Vienna. Hayden is very restrained yet compassionate in his role as he has great scenes with Crawford though off the set, he wasn't saying kind things towards Crawford. Finally, there's the brilliant though infamous Joan Crawford. Playing a character that is sexually ambiguous where she acts like a lady and at times, dresses like a man. She is a woman who is tough both in business and as a person. Yet, she displays a vulnerability in dealing with her feelings for Johnny while dealing with the Dancin' Kid's feeling for her. It's a brilliant role for the actress who is known more for her personal life than her acting though it's clear that this is one of her great film roles.

When it was released in 1954, the film received mixed reviews from critics in the U.S. A release later on in Europe, notably France, drew rave reviews with critics and aspiring filmmakers. The film proved to be influential to the French New Wave as well as other directors including Italy's Sergio Leone. In 1988, famed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar made references to the film for his international breakthrough hit Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) both as a plot device and as a conflict between its protagonist and antagonist. The film would later be considered a classic of American cinema as in 2008, the film was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry.

Johnny Guitar is an exciting, stylish, and melodramatic masterpiece from Nicholas Ray. Featuring superb performances from Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, and Ernest Borgnine. It's a film that definitely lives up to its reputation of heightened drama as well as its deconstruction of the western genre itself. While Rebel Without a Cause might be Ray's most well-known film, it's Johnny Guitar that is the film that gives Ray the cinematic reputation he received among film buffs. In the end, for a western that is unconventional and with a dramatic flair that is unique. Johnny Guitar is the film to see from the late, great Nicholas Ray.

Nicholas Ray Films: (They Live By Night) - (Knock on Any Door) - (A Woman's Secret) - In a Lonely Place - (Born to Be Bad) - (Flying Leathernecks) - (On Dangerous Ground) - (The Lusty Men) - (Run for Cover) - Rebel Without a Cause - (Hot Blood) - (Bigger Than Life) - (The True Story of Jesse James) - (Bitter Victory) - (Wind Across the Everglades) - (Party Girl) - (The Savage Innocents) - (King of Kings) - (55 Days at Peking) - (We Can't Go Home Again) - (Lightning Over Water)

© thevoid99 2011