The Deadly Companions

1961
Approved
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith in 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.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.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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.1/10

2.9K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos46

+ 39

Top cast15

Edit

Maureen O'Hara

Kit Tildon

Brian Keith

Yellowleg

Steve Cochran

Billy Keplinger

Chill Wills

Turk

Strother Martin

Parson

Will Wright

Dr. Caxton

James O'Hara

Cal, General Store
(as Jim O'Hara)

Peter O'Crotty

Mayor of Gila City

Billy Vaughan

Mead Tildon Jr.

Hank Gobble

Bartender
(uncredited)

Big John Hamilton

Gambler
(uncredited)

Chuck Hayward

Card Sharp
(uncredited)

Riley Hill

Gambler
(uncredited)

Buck Sharpe

Apache Indian
(uncredited)

Robert Sheldon

Gambler
(uncredited)

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Maureen O'Hara, her brother Charles B. Fitzsimons and writer Albert Sidney Fleischman formed Carousel Productions in order to get the film made. Sam Peckinpah was hired for $15,000, Brian Keith was paid $30,000; the entire picture was done for $300,000. Another brother, James O'Hara, has a small role in the opening scenes.

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.

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.

Alternate versions
The print distributed by UPA for television in the seventies was in black and white.

Connections
Edited into Cynful Movies: Dangerous Companions (2019)

Soundtracks
Rock of Ages
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Augustus Montague Toplady and music by Thomas Hastings
Sung in the church bar

User reviews57

Review

Featured review

Foreshadows his later works

Peckinpah is getting to what he later mastered in movies such as Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid; outlaws with deep emotional scars who live in the past and wander around like the Flying Dutchman. The scar is made physical as Yellowleg is unable to raise his arm when shooting, which leads to a tragic accident. In Deadly Companions we also see similar character as Bob Dylan played in Pat Garrett; the little boy playing his harmonica. Deadly Companions is a bit clumsy a movie, sometimes it is difficult to see what is actually going on, but the story is good and the characters are real. It's a must see for Peckinpah fans.