JOHNNY GUITAR (1954)

   Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, Ernest Borgnine, John Carradine, Ward Bond, and Nicholas Ray (director)

   This film is usually labeled a cult Western because while it was neglected for the most part in its own time, today it is viewed as a groundbreaking feminist Western. The main character is Vienna (Crawford), a strong-minded woman who can handle a gun and who has powerful ambitions. She owns a saloon out of the puritanical townspeople’s domain, and she plans on using it to expand her own power once the railroad comes through. Her main rival is another strong woman, Emma (McCambridge). Gender roles are reversed as the men become mere supporting partners for the women, who eventually meet in a showdown.

   See also PANTS ROLES.