The Deadly Companions (1961)

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.

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

Albert Sidney Fleischman (screenplay) (as A.S. Fleischman), Albert Sidney Fleischman (novel) (as A.S. Fleischman)

Stars:

Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith, Steve Cochran

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Maureen O'Hara	...	Kit Tildon
Brian Keith	...	Yellowleg
Steve Cochran	...	Billy Keplinger
Chill Wills	...	Turk
Strother Martin	...	Parson
Will Wright	...	Doctor Acton
James O'Hara	...	Cal, General Store (as Jim O'Hara)
Peter O'Crotty	...	Mayor of Hila City
Billy Vaughan	...	Mead Tildon Jr.

Storyline

The Civil War Yankee sergeant Yellowleg saves the cheater Turkey from hanging after a card game, and together with Turk's gunslinger buddy Billy Keplinger, they ride together to Gila City with the intention of heisting a bank. When other bandits rob a store, Yellowleg shoots at the outlaws and accidentally kills the son of the cabaret dancer Kit Tilden and the grieving woman decides to bury her son in the town of Siringo in Apache country where her husband is buried. Yellowleg Enlists Billy and Turkey to escort Kitty and the coffin through the dangerous land.

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Plot Keywords:

apache territory | arizona | arizona territory | native american | grief | 

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Taglines:

An Unholy Alliance! Three hell-driven men stalk a beautiful, tempting woman alone in an untamed land! ...Savage action and explosive emotions erupt on the screen!

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Genres:

Adventure | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The corresponding novel written by screenwriter Albert Sidney Fleischman actually came after, rather than before, the finished script. At producer Charles B. Fitzsimons's request, Fleischman, himself a previously published novelist of some note, proceeded to novelize his own screenplay in order to gauge potential demand. The resulting work would sell 500,000 copies in the space of four months, more than enough to get the cameras rolling.

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Goofs

The impact of "Yellowleg 's" injured shoulder varies throughout the film, for example he has difficulty handling a gun or raising his arm in the doctor's office yet seems to have no problems using the same arm to mount his horse or to clamber up rocks.

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Quotes

Yellowleg: You don't know me well enough to hate me that much. Hating is a subject I know a little something about. You got to be careful it don't bite you back. I know somebody who spent five years looking for a man he hated. Hating and wanting revenge was all that kept him alive. He spent all those years tracking that other man down, and when he caught up with him, it was the worst day of his life. He'd get his revenge all right, but then he'd lose the one thing he had to live for.

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Alternate Versions

The print distributed by UPA for television in the seventies was in black and white.

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Connections

Referenced in Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron (1993)

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Soundtracks

Rock of Ages
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Augustus Montague Toplady and music by Thomas Hastings
Sung in the church bar

User Reviews

Revenge and Redemption

The veteran Civil War Yankee officer Yellowleg (Brian Keith) saves the cheater Turk (Chill Wills) in a card game, and together with the gunslinger Billy Keplinger (Steve Cochran), they ride together to Gila City with the intention of heisting a bank. Yellowleg has a war scar on the head due to a man that tried to scalp him and his has been on the trail of his attacker for five years. When bandits rob a store, Yellowleg shoots against the outlaws and accidentally kills the son of the cabaret dancer Kit Tilden (Maureen O'Hara) and the grieving woman decides to bury her son in the Apache country Siringo, where her husband is also buried. Yellowleg calls Billy and Turk to escort Kitty through the dangerous land.

"The Deadly Companions" is the first feature of the great director Sam Peckinpah after six years directing Westerns for television. The credible story is a tale of revenge and redemption with flawed characters. Forty-one year old Maureen O'Hara is extremely gorgeous in the role of a widow humiliated by the locals after the death of her unknown husband and her survival as "dancer" of a cabaret with her son considered bastard by the population. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Parceiros da Morte" ("Partners of Death")

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 February 1962 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Trigger Happy

Filming Locations:

Sonoran Desert, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carousel Productions (III)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Pathé-Color)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1