On the outskirts of town, the hard-nosed Vienna owns a saloon frequented by the undesirables of the region, including Dancin’ Kid and his gang. Another patron of Vienna’s establishment is Johnny Guitar, a former gunslinger and her lover. When a heist is pulled in town that results in a man’s death, Emma Small, Vienna’s rival, rallies the townsfolk to take revenge on Vienna’s saloon – even without proof of her wrongdoing.

Edgar decides on a plan to get his freeloading slacker of a brother-in-law, who hasn't worked in four years, to get a job by faking a heart attack.

Zasu Pitts and Thelma Todd are working their way through college by selling magazine subscriptions. Finding little success going door-to-door, the pair decide to use their charms to sell to men at their places of work.