Deadly Companions
Brian Keith play ex-Union soldier referred to as Yellowleg and Maureen O'Hara plays a, er, performer at the Black Garter dance hall in Sam Peckinpah's feature film debut, THE DEADLY COMPANIONS. Keith plays a character with a score to settle with a nasty hombre from his past when he gives O'Hara a grudge of her own to gnaw on when he accidentally shoots and kills her son. Keith, with a brace of prairie thugs in tow (Steve Cochran and Chill Wills) attempts to make amends by escorting the headstrong O'Hara through hostile Apache country after which she'll bury her son.
THE DEADLY COMPANIONS has a lot going for it. Dramatic tension is maintained at a satisfyingly high level - the group is threatened from without by the marauding Apaches and, for a variety of reasons, from within by each other . Keith and O'Hara act and react well with each other. O'Hara always seemed to give her best performance opposite a strong male co-star, and the underrated Keith proves a good match...
A Surprisingly Good Western
This film was director Sam Peckinpah's first feature, and it is a surprisingly good western. What makes this film work is the chemistry and character study between Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith. No, the sparks don't fly quite the same way they do between John Wayne and O'Hara, but both leads create interesting characters that seperate the film from most B westerns. The supporting cast -- Strother Martin and Chill Willis -- were veterans of numerous westerns, and they provide plenty of color. For anyone who enjoys B westerns this one is a cut above most.
before the blood
While Sam Peckinpah is best known for blood ballets such as The Wild Bunch, and Cross of Iron, it should be known that he was making movies before blood bags were used. Deadly Companions marked his feature debut and while it doesn't stand up to his best films(Wild Bunch, Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia,and Ride the High Country) its a nice start to a long and brilliant career. The DVD lacks extras and is standard format, which should be noted that a lot of older films were shot with a TV standard 1:33:1 frame. But this movie has been all but extinct except for shotty old video tapes for over a decade.
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