From its rushed opening (frustratingly so, as haste replaces exposition) through to its predictable conclusion, The Deadly Companions (1961) is anything but “deadly” Wild West entertainment. The characters are tired and wooden; the film's narrative was conventional way before 1961; its low budget lends to a relatively sloppy production value (mainly issues with editing, as well as time and spatial troubles); and, most unfortunately, “Bloody” Sam Peckinpah’s visual style and thematic concerns are nowhere to be found.
Peckinpah's Cowgirl?
For the first time, and certainly the last, in Sam Peckinpah's filmography it can be argued that a female is the protagonist, as the film’s narrative evolves out of Maureen O'Hara's (Kit Tildon) character and, in terms of Hollywood star-power, she overtly trumps her peers: Brian Keith (Yellowleg), who made his name by way of television, mainly Peckinpah’s The Westerner (1960); Steve Cochran's (Billy Keplinger) defining moment, arguably, came Internationally at the hands of legendary filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni; and Chill Willis (Turk) remained a character actor for the majority of his career – albeit, a fine one at that.
Silent Sam
Aside from the actors (among whom I find the long-time Peckinpah loyalist Strother Martin the finest of the cast), the conventional narrative plays on (and on), constructed from Hollywood’s mechanical "assembly line" of story ideas and scripts recycled during the 1930s to early 60s. Although The Deadly Companions' release neared the end of Hollywood’s Golden Era, tropes from the Western genre are strung together, scene by scene, like links in a chain - Peckinpah's voice held silent.
Genre: If You've Seen One, You've Seen Them All
In a nutshell, Yellowleg is the anti-hero, a Union soldier left physically scared from the Civil War – not by the horrors of war itself, but by an opposing “Reb.” After seeking revenge for five years, Yellowleg finds his assailant in Turk, the former “Reb” soldier. Turk is not alone, however, as the deadly, brash, quick-to-draw Billy Keplinger is his partner in crime. Yellowleg, unrecognizable to Turk, joins the deadly duo’s plan to rob a bank, thus remaining close to Turk while judging the potential threat Billy poses if he were to kill Turk in Billy’s presence.
Yellowleg's warring past physically catches up with him, however, leading to a traumatic incident that unintentionally pairs him with Kit (whether she wants his company or not), and with Kit “coupled” to Yellowleg, she unfortunately inherits Turk and Billy as well. As with many Anti-Heroes, despite the genre, there tends to be varying levels of maliciousness between the “hero” and supporting cast; and, as it turns out, there are indeed worse men than Yellowleg in the characters of Turk and Billy (his deadly companions, if you will). As the four set out across Apache territory (another trope) wounds heal, hearts warm, tempers ignite, and guns blaze all in time for the end-credits.
Balking Authority
It's been noted that Peckinpah had no control over screenplay rewrites nor the editing process - a process, mind you, that shot him to fame in The Wild Bunch (1969). As such, there is no hint of Peckinpah's melancholic theme found in his later works: the end of the West and, in a way, the end of bravado-type masculinity (and men) once found in it. No doubt, Peckinpah's lack of creative control was due to the film's low budget, and owed to this being his first time behind the camera of a feature film. Either way, Peckinpah vowed never to work on another film without access to the script – a godsend of a vow that resulted in 1962’s sorrowful Ride the High Country.
The Deadly Companions Just the Beginning
Although it's a hard film to find, even as it is now public domain, Peckinpah fans will surely find and embrace it for nostalgic reasons (early glimpses of soon-to-be Peckinpah character actors: Chill Willis and Strother Martin), but, more importantly, out of loyalty (a key theme in Sam’s work). A loyalty to the man who stood up to studio heads, Hollywood elite, and national censors, all the while creating such classics as the aforementioned The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs (1971), Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973), and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974).
- The Deadly Companions. Dir. Sam Peckinpah. Perf. Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith, Steve Cochran, Chill Willis, Strother Martin. Pathe-America Distributing Co., 1961. Running Time: 93 min.
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