The Deadly Companions
About The Deadly Companions
Yellowleg, an ex-Union officer played by Brian Keith, kills Kit Tilden's son by accident in a saloon. He offers to take the body through Indian country to the burial she wants. Steve Cochran and Chill Wills ride with them. Maureen O'Hara plays Kit.
Cast & crew
More about The Deadly Companions
Sam Peckinpah's first feature as director. Marion Parsonnet adapted Sid Fleischman's 1960 novel Yellowleg, credited as A. S. Fleischman. Charles B. Fitzsimons, O'Hara's brother, produced it independently. Pathé-America released it in the United States on June 6, 1961. William H. Clothier photographed. Marlin Skiles composed. Stanley Rabjohn edited. Strother Martin and Will Wright are billed. Peckinpah and Keith had just come off the cancelled series The Westerner.
Themes
Look
William H. Clothier shot the ride and the towns.
Music
Marlin Skiles composed the score.
Preservation
A print survives.
Notes
- The novel's title is the man's name, Yellowleg.
- Cochran and Wills are the other two riders, not a posse.
- The territory is the danger. The burial is the destination.
- A copy is on the Internet Archive as tdc1104552.
Scenes
- The saloon shot kills the boy.
- Kit will not bury him until they reach the place she names.
Influenced by
- Sid Fleischman's novel Yellowleg (1960)
Also available
- Internet Archive (tdc1104552)