Classic Westerns


 

 

The Deadly Companions (1961)

Director: Sam Peckinpah
Actors: Brian Keith, Maureen O’Hara, Steve Cochran, Chill Wills, Strother Martin
Runtime: 93 min.

In the years after the Civil War, former Union Army Sergeant Yellowleg (Brian Keith) hunts down Turk (Chill Wills), a man who tried to scalp him on the battlefield. But when Yellowleg finally catches up with him, he must save Turk from hanging. After Yellowleg accidentally shoots a boy, he teams up with Turk to accompany his mother, saloon girl Kit (Maureen O'Hara), through Apache territory to bury him in a ghost town.

Trivia: Brian Keith is best known for his role in the 1960s TV series, Family Affair, he also starred once again alongside actress Maureen O'Hara in the 1961 film The Parent Trap. The Deadly Companions was the first feature film by director Sam Peckinpah, who went on to direct the critically acclaimed Westerns, Ride the High Country and The Wild Bunch. Producer Charles B. Fitzsimons was Maureen O'Hara's brother, this arrangement resulted in frequent clashes with Director Sam Peckinpah. The recurring Peckinpah theme of a man who has outlived his time is already apparent here in the depiction of Yellowleg.