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:

Deadly! Nothing stood between him and what he wanted!

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Genres:

Adventure | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

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:

Pathé America, Carousel Productions (III)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Pathé-Color)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Star Maureen O' Hara, her brother, producer Charles Fitzsimons and writer A. S. Fleischman formed Carousel Productions in order to get the film made. Director Sam Peckinpah was hired for $15, 000, star Brian Keith was paid $30, 000; the entire picture was done for $300, 000.

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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

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

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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

Featured in Western Outlaws: 50 Movie MegaPack (2016)

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Soundtracks

Title Song
Song by Marlin Skiles & Charles B. Fitzsimons
Sung by Maureen O'Hara

User Reviews

Peckinpah's early feature with expert direction for his long experience in Western television series

This film made by Sam Peckinpah (126-1984) , a Westerned himself from ranch-land in North Fork and it tells about an ex- North soldier (Brian Keith) from Ohio, as he meets a pair gunslingers (Steve Cochran and Chill Wills). When spontaneously a wild bunch attacks a gold purchased store he accidentally kills a woman's son . She's a dance hall's woman (Mauren O'Hara) and decides head to Siringo with her dead son , the village where was murdered her husband in an Apache raid . Brian Keith with a dark past under his hat and a guilty feeling for inadvertently killing , Chill Wills as a boozy ex-south soldier and Steve Cochran as an outlaw , escort the funeral procession along a dangerous journey into Indian territory until arriving in Siringo with adobe houses (similar sets to ¨Rio Bravo¨) where is developed the exciting final duel .

This is the Peckinpah's first feature , since years before he was soon involved in TV westerns , he wrote several episodes of ¨Gunsmoke¨and other Western television series , directing some episodes and he created ¨The Westerner¨ with Brian Keith and the successful ¨Rifleman¨ . Posteriorly , losing no opportunity , he made an enormous impression with ¨Deadly companions¨ filmed in Arizona . The movie was produced by Charles Fitzsimons (Carousel production) , Mauren O'Hara brother , who realized an excessive edition control and Peckinpah complained himself about ending result and especially on a no-sense final showdown . The producers found it very difficult to get financial backing for the picture due to subject matter : carrying a dead child in a coffin throughout the film , but they refused to change the story . Based on the success of the novel, Yellowleg , on which the film is based, Pathe America was persuaded to co-finance the film along with the Theater Owners of America and it was distributed by Pathe-America Distribution though went immediately bankrupt . Splendid cinematography -though being necessary a right remastering- by the Western expert , William H Clothier , he was usual in John Wayne films (Train robbers , Big Jake, Rio Lobo , Undefeated , El Alamo) and John Ford movies (Cheyenne Autumnm, Man who shot Libert Valance , Horse soldiers, Donovan reef). The film achieved a moderate success, although it was nothing to the stir he caused with his next work and most popular ¨Ride the high country¨ with Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott that lift him as the peak of popularity . The picture was well directed by Sam Peckinpah and its rating is better than average .

Sam Peckinpah , after beginning his career as a writer , he was soon involved in TV Westerns . Filming popular Western series as ¨Rifleman¨ , subsequently moving into pictures in 1961 giving fine impression with his first one , ¨Deadly companions¨ . After that , he did the prestigious ¨Ride the high county¨ that along with ¨Wild Bunch¨ , at the peak of his popularity , remain Sam's best films . Later on , he made ¨Major Dundee¨ that was heavily re-cutting . He subsequently filmed tougher-than-tough action movies , including gushing blood and guts with particular images in slow-moving , such as : ¨The getaway¨ , ¨the killer elite¨, the most popular ¨Straw dogs¨ , Convoy¨, and ¨The Osterman weekend¨ , until his early death .