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IMDbPro

The Deadly Companions

  • 19611961
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
26,166
2,430
Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith in The Deadly Companions (1961)
AdventureWestern
An ex-army officer accidentally kills a woman's son and tries to make up for it by escorting the funeral procession through dangerous Indian territory.An ex-army officer accidentally kills a woman's son and tries to make up for it by escorting the funeral procession through dangerous Indian territory.An ex-army officer accidentally kills a woman's son and tries to make up for it by escorting the funeral procession through dangerous Indian territory.
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
26,166
2,430
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Sam Peckinpah
    • Writer
      • Albert Sidney Fleischman(screenplay by)
    • Stars
      • Maureen O'Hara
      • Brian Keith
      • Steve Cochran
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Sam Peckinpah
    • Writer
      • Albert Sidney Fleischman(screenplay by)
    • Stars
      • Maureen O'Hara
      • Brian Keith
      • Steve Cochran
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 51User reviews
    • 21Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos43

    Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith, Steve Cochran, and Chill Wills in The Deadly Companions (1961)
    Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith in The Deadly Companions (1961)
    Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith in The Deadly Companions (1961)
    Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith in The Deadly Companions (1961)
    Brian Keith, Steve Cochran, and Chill Wills in The Deadly Companions (1961)
    Maureen O'Hara in The Deadly Companions (1961)
    Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith in The Deadly Companions (1961)
    Maureen O'Hara in The Deadly Companions (1961)
    Maureen O'Hara in The Deadly Companions (1961)
    Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith in The Deadly Companions (1961)
    Maureen O'Hara in The Deadly Companions (1961)
    Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith in The Deadly Companions (1961)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Maureen O'Hara
    Maureen O'Hara
    • Kit Tildon
    Brian Keith
    Brian Keith
    • Yellowleg
    Steve Cochran
    Steve Cochran
    • Billy Keplinger
    Chill Wills
    Chill Wills
    • Turk
    Strother Martin
    Strother Martin
    • Parson
    Will Wright
    Will Wright
    • Doctor Acton
    James O'Hara
    James O'Hara
    • Cal, General Store
    • (as Jim O'Hara)
    Peter O'Crotty
    Peter O'Crotty
    • Mayor of Gila City
    Billy Vaughan
    Billy Vaughan
    • Mead Tildon Jr.
    Hank Gobble
    Hank Gobble
    • Bartender
    • (uncredited)
    Big John Hamilton
    • Gambler
    • (uncredited)
    Chuck Hayward
    Chuck Hayward
    • Card Sharp
    • (uncredited)
    Riley Hill
    Riley Hill
    • Gambler
    • (uncredited)
    Buck Sharpe
    • Apache Indian
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Sheldon
    • Gambler
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Sam Peckinpah
    • Writer
      • Albert Sidney Fleischman(screenplay by) (from his novel "The Deadly Companions")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Maureen O' Hara (I), her brother Charles B. Fitzsimons (the film's producer) and writer A.S. Fleischman formed Carousel Productions in order to get the film made. Director Sam Peckinpah was hired for $15,000, Brian Keith (I) was paid $30,000; the entire picture was done for $300,000. Another brother, Jim O'Hara, has a small role in the opening scenes.
    • Goofs
      At 37 minutes Brian Keith is engaged in a conversation around a campfire with Turk and Billy. His hat is tilted over his right eye and then in the final two shots it is tilted over his left eye.
    • Quotes

      Kit Tilden: It's strange - I feel I know better than any man I've ever known, yet I hardly know you at all.

    • Alternate versions
      The print distributed by UPA for television in the seventies was in black and white.
    • Connections
      Edited into Cynful Movies: Dangerous Companions (2019)
    • Soundtracks
      Rock of Ages
      (uncredited)

      Lyrics by Augustus Montague Toplady and music by Thomas Hastings

      Sung in the church bar

    User reviews51

    Review
    Top review
    4/10
    They Should Have Died On The Trail
    The Deadly Companions is one of those star produced vehicles, in this case unofficially by Maureen O'Hara although her brother Charles Fitzsimmons is the nominal producer. According to her memoirs she wanted Brian Keith as her co-star, but Keith wanted Sam Peckinpah to be given his first shot at directing a feature film. O'Hara agreed much to her regret.

    The film is an interesting and most adult western. Keith is a Union army veteran whose thrown in with a pair of ex-Confederates, Steve Cochran and Chill Wills. But he's also got a mission to avenge a scar given him by a former Confederate sergeant in a brawl. Still he takes his time as he believes as that revenge is a dish best served cold.

    While stopping over at a town where the three are contemplating a bank robbery, some other robbers beat them to it. Keith, Cochran, and Wills shoot it out with the others, but in the process Maureen O'Hara's son is killed by Keith.

    The grieving widow is determined to take her son's body back to a place that is now a ghost town and the way is through Apache territory. Keith agrees to accompany her out of obligation, Cochran has his hormones in overdrive and Wills goes along for the ride. These are not three guys I would want to be out on the trail with and they prove it soon enough.

    Given all that happens to them and the characters that Peckinpah develops, they all should have died on the trail. There's violence enough in The Deadly Companions, but Peckinpah had not yet developed one of those slow motion violence ballets he would later use to great effect in The Wild Bunch.

    Peckinpah didn't like the film, he preferred to think of Ride The High Country as his cinematic debut. O'Hara didn't like the film and doubly didn't like Peckinpah. In this she echoed Charlton Heston who had a similar opinion, though Heston gave Peckinpah his due insofar as talent was concerned. Both thought he had a screw loose. O'Hara also said he didn't have a clue as to how to direct a feature film his experienced crew carried him along. I would say he learned though.

    But for this film I have to agree with Sam and Maureen. It really is quite mediocre.
    helpful•21
    2
    • bkoganbing
    • Oct 30, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 16, 1962 (Sweden)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Trigger Happy
    • Filming locations
      • Old Tucson - 201 S. Kinney Road, Tucson, Arizona, USA
    • Production company
      • Carousel Productions (III)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 33 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

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    Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith in The Deadly Companions (1961)
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