Character Introductions 001: Johnny Guitar
Character Introductions 001: Johnny Guitar
When you write a script, you pick pertinent details about the character to exposit when they first appear: 26 or 62, grizzled or smooth-jawed, stubborn or cowardly, bald or brunette, short or Elizabeth Debickian.
When characters appear on screen, some physical attributes or style are immediately obvious, but personality traits, relationships, ethos, etc. are more shown than told.
This is part of a series breaking down iconic character introductions, and what that first-all-important-impression tells us about someone we’ve just met.
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The film’s opening 10 minutes give a rundown of the history between Johnny (Sterling Hayden), Vienna (Joan Crawford), and the mob. When the Dancin’ Kid stumbles through Vienna’s saloon doors, everything gets tense, starting this 90-second introduction sequence.
Quick cuts show the crowd tension: staring, grouped in seperate shots, with the youngest gunslinger’s trembling hand over his gun.
Each cut goes back and forth from sides of the room / directions the characters are staring: left, right, left, right.
A background character’s cough pulls attention to him, then the film cuts with his turn towards the bar; he theatrically slugs whiskey and slams the glass down.
Cue panic from a posse member as the glass rolls closer and closer to a crash.
20 seconds into the Johnny Guitar intro and there’s no Johnny, but what’s crucial is the film has set the stage he’s walking onto and characters he’s about to interact with.
When Johnny grabs the falling glass, the scene takes a character who was quietly minding his own business and thrusts him into the middle of the scene, and the drama.
Johnny’s action shows he has quick hands - foreshadowing his quick draw / shot – and is also smooth and gentle - he doesn’t spill a drop of coffee.
The dolly-and-pan from glass to character’s face keeps the scene moving elegantly.
(Director Nicholas Ray and DP Harry Stradling often moved the camera through even “simple” shots which could otherwise be a wide, or a shot-cut-to-other-shot.)
Johnny steps between the two groups and asks one dangerous man for a cigarette and another for a light (which he gets, suggestively). His first words wax rhapsodic about coffee (which again, he didn’t spill any of: words aligning with action). Then he drags at his smoke and when asked, gives his name. “Johnny Guitar.”
Besides looking good and generating tension, this 90-second scene has accomplished big-picture things.
We've learned his (titular) name, seen his skills of quick hands & wit, and gleaned his personality is outwardly brusque but also embraces the sensuousness of life's little pleasures. This is all told and shown, with framing and editing underscoring the story beats and character notes; eg. Johnny has (literally) positioned himself between two towns groups, where he’ll stay (metaphorically) for the rest of the film.
Johnny Guitar is a man unafraid, who’d rather defuse a situation if he can, but is confident in his ability to use brute force if he has to.
Now that's making an entrance.