MartinHafer
When you watch "The Deadly Companions", you'd be hard pressed to realize it was a Sam Peckinpah directed film unless you knew it. While it does bear some similarity in style to "Ride the High Country" and "Major Dundee", it lacks the excessive violence most people associate with Peckinpah today. It is far quieter and subtle than a typical Peckinpah films, that's for sure.The film begins with three low-lifes traveling together. This is by far the weakest part of the film, as the three really are way too disparate characters to be together. While Yellowleg (Brian Keith) acts mean, he's decent down deep and why he's with two scum-bags is a perplexing thing. Soon, there is a bank robbery in town and in the the process, a fallen woman's (Maureen O'Hara) son is killed by Yellowleg. Of course, it was an accident--he was trying to stop the robbery. And, the fallen lady really is NOT bad--the townsfolk just assumed the worst about her and her son since they didn't care to know he died before the child was born and before the lady came to town. Because the town treated her so badly, the lady vows never to bury her child in this crappy town but sets off across Indian territory to a town where she and her husband married. It's an insane trip and Yellowleg vows to accompany her--even though she hates him and refuses his help. Unfortunately, his two associates follow as well and you know sooner or later, it's them or Yellowleg.This is a decent film--not great. I liked the character study and quiet moments in the film, though a few plot points simply were confusing and made little sense (such as the identity of the man Yellowleg was pursuing for all those years). Still, the good far outweighs the bad and it's worth seeing.
dougdoepke
The beginning scenes in town made me think this would be first-rate Peckinpah. A demented Turk (Wills) balances atop an unsteady barrel while he hangs by a noose from the ceiling. All the time, the rest of the barroom plays cards. That strikes me as pure Peckinpah and it's a heckuv an audience hook. And soon after, flawed hero Yellowleg (Keith), mistakenly shoots a boy, an unconventional twist typical of Peckinpah's sense of irony. Then there's the church service in the barroom where our three roughnecks look on in curious discomfort. Now I don't know if Peckinpah originated these unorthodox episodes, but he definitely got them on screen. But once Yellowleg and Kit (O"Hara) leave town with the boy's body, the pace and inventiveness come to an unhappy halt. I understand that the ad-hoc production company interfered with the final cut, which may be the reason the second part dissipates. But it was also a low-budget production, causing me to think they may have improvised events along the trail. Certainly there's little costly dialog, plus Yellowleg's dubious raid on the Indian camp would have trouble withstanding serious second thoughts. Then too, the mercurial Peckinpah is not the most appropriate personality to work with a diva like O'Hara, especially when her brother is the producer. In short, I don't blame the director of the Wild Bunch (1969) for generally dismissing this as his first film. It's flawed in ways that would not be repeated.(In passing—for fans of Peckinpah, be sure to catch up with his brilliant but little-known TV series The Westerner (1960), starring the always low-key Brian Keith as an itinerant cowboy. It was clearly too unconventional to last beyond its 13 weeks. Now it can be seen as unfortunately ahead of its time. I caught up with it on The Western Channel.)
Tweekums
This, director San Peckinpah's first film, initially follows three men as the head into the Arizonan town of Gila where they intend to rob the bank. We soon learn that the group's de facto leader, a former Union Army officer known as Yellowleg, has another agenda; he wants to find the former Confederate soldier who had tried to scalp him five years before. All their plans are put on hold though when some other men try to rob the bank and Yellowleg accidentally kills a child in the shootout. Kit Tilden, the boy's mother is determined to take the boy back to the town of Siringo to be buried alongside his father; the problem is the town has been deserted for some time and is deep in hostile Apache territory. Nobody from the town is willing to escort her so Yellowleg decides that he will go with her along with his colleagues; gunslinger Billy and former rebel Turk. Turk isn't that keen to go as he wants to rob the bank but Billy is keen to go; not because he wants to help but because he has taken a shining to the redheaded Kit and means to have her whether she likes it or not. Inevitably tensions raise on the journey and ultimately Yellowleg and Kit find themselves travelling alone with a vengeful Apache taunting them.People watching this hoping to see a typical Peckinpah bloodbath will be disappointed; this was his first feature and he didn't have full control of the picture as he would in later years. It is a fairly low budget B Western but that doesn't mean it isn't interesting; I don't think I've seen another western where the 'good guy' kills a child and has to deal with the consequences. There isn't a huge amount of action but there are some nicely tense scenes. The film isn't totally without humour either; I like how Turk kept going on about how he was going to use the proceeds of the robbery to set up his own country inside Arizona. Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara put in decent performances as Yellowleg and Kit; the chemistry between then growing as their characters get closer. While this is very much a minor Peckinpah film it is definitely worth seeing if you are a fan of his work.
Petri Pelkonen
Yellowleg is a veteran Civil War Yankee officer.He saves the cheater Turk in a card game.Together with a gunslinger Billy Keplinger they ride to Gila City with a bank robbery in mind.There some bandits rob a store and Yellowleg accidentally kills the son of the cabaret dancer Kit Tilden.She has determined to bury her son in the Apache country Siringo, where her husband is buried.Yellowleg has determined to take her and her son there, even though she doesn't want his help.The Deadly Companions (1961) marks the directorial debut of Sam Peckinpah.This is also the least known of his movies.But it is a good movie nevertheless.I enjoyed watching the work of Maureen O'Hara, who turned 90 last month.Her role as Kit Tilden, the mother who has lost her child, is memorable.There's a lot of depth in Brian Keith's acting and his character Yellowleg.Steve Cochran is terrific as Billy.And so is Chill Wills as Turk.Strother Martin does great job as Parson.James O'Hara (Maureen's brother) plays Cal, General Store.Billy Vaughan is Mead Tilden Jr.One of the finest moments in this movie is when Yellowleg shows his scar under his hat, the scar he got when a man tried to scalp him during the war.Also a great moment is when the Apache soldier is causing some trouble.A good start for Sam Peckinpah.
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