Johnny Guitar

Nicholas Ray’s unorthodox Western about the perilous future of resolute Arizona saloon owner Vienna (Joan Crawford) and reformed outlaw Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) was snubbed by American critics and audiences alike upon its original release. It found fans in Europe, notably in Cahiers du cinéma contributor François Truffaut, who hailed the film as “a Western dream,” and in Almodóvar, who references the film’s color palette and story arc for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988). In Breakdown, Almodóvar literalizes his inspiration when voice actress Pepa (Carmen Maura) is seen dubbing Johnny Guitar into Spanish.