SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

dukeakasmudge Spoilers Ahead, Most definitely.A man accidentally kills a woman's son & to make up for it, he escorts her & her son's coffin through dangerous Indian territory??? I don't know about you but if somebody killed my son, accidentally or not, I'd be seething with rage.I wouldn't want them to escort me anywhere because any chance I'd get, I'd probably end up trying to kill them.The thing that truly surprises me is that she falls in love with him in the end, WOW!!! I kinda figured that was going to happen.Anywayz, The Deadly Companions was OK.Nothing great at all.It's watchable but I imagine if you watch it once, once is enough.Nothing really happens & it's almost boring at times.I think I might have even fell asleep watching it.In my opinion, the best thing about The Deadly Companions was Chill Wills & Steve Cochran as Turk & Billy.They were perfect together & at times, hilarious.It's a shame they turned on each other at the finale but that's what thieves do.I'd say watch it if you have the chance to see it for free but if you miss it, I don't think you're missing much

Wuchak This 1961 Western has a lot going for it: It stars Brian Keith and the beautiful Maureen O'Hara, who had such great chemistry in "The Parent Trap," released the very same year. It's Sam Peckinpah's directorial debut in motion pictures; most people reading this know that Peckinpah went on to become a highly acclaimed director with such notable efforts as 1969's "The Wild Bunch." In addition, "The Deadly Companions" was filmed on location in Arizona (including Old Tucson); you can't beat Arizona for fine, authentic Western locations. Lastly, the picture only runs 90 minutes, so it won't likely wear out its welcome.THE STORY: Keith's character vengefully searches for a scumbag who tried to scalp him alive 5 years earlier and accidentally kills a beautiful saloon girl's son. Feeling guilty, he offers to escort her to the ghost town where the boy's father was buried so she can bury the son as well. There are a couple problems: They have to go through injun territory and two lowlifes accompany them most of the way.BOTTOM LINE: On paper this sounds like it would be a worthwhile Western, unfortunately it never rises above mediocre, and dangerously verges on being deadly dull. Plus the viewer can hardly see what's going on during the numerous (brief) night sequences. Moreover, two of the main characters are incredibly unlikable (which can be defended on the grounds that they're the real villains of the story). Hence, I can only recommend "The Deadly Companions" to uber-fans of Keith and O'Hara or Peckinpah completists.With all that said, there are some worthwhile aspects, like the church service in the saloon and the depiction of O'Hara as a social outcast amongst the church folk (for legitimate reasons).NOTE: There are numerous editions of this film by different DVD companies; my DVD is from PDC Home Entertainment and the picture quality is great for such an old film; the main menu is kind of cheap, but who cares about that? A 5/10 rating is generous. GRADE: C

williwaw Maureen O'Hara gloriously beautiful movie star and fine actress produced 'The Deadly Companions'. ( Know the credits claim Maureen's Brother produced the film but reading her book, one realizes Maureen O Hara is one "take charge" woman). Maureen O Hara had rejuvenated her career with a hit in Disney's 'The Parent Trap'. Ms. O'Hara hired Sam Peckinpah to direct and no matter what one thinks of a Peckinpah film it is never boring. "Deadly Companions" has some great camera setups and action scenes and Ms. O Hara does well as always; Professional. In her book 'Tis Herself' Maureen O Hara said she had a hard time dealing with the free wheeling Sam Peckinpah and it shows in this film. Some parts of the 'Deadly Companions' seem disjointed. (Sam Peckinpah would lose final cut on another Western Charlton Heston's 'Major Dundee' at Columbia because of his clashes with Columbia Pictures management, but in that case Mr. Heston was a supporter of Peckinpah's). If memory serves me correctly this film was not distributed all that well and was quickly forgotten. Only due to cable and the interest in works of Peckinpah ( and of O'Hara) has it been re discovered.'Deadly Companions' is the last film Maureen O Hara produced, however the great Irish-born star kept busy in movies as co star to John Wayne, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Rosanno Brazzi and Jackie Gleason. Now retired, Maureen O Hara has a great body of work: 'Hunchback of Notre Dame', 'How Green Was My Valley', 'Miracle on 34th Street', 'The Parent Trap'. Maureen OHara's films with John Wayne, i.e a John Ford masterpiece 'The Quiet Man' and Andrew McLaglen's 'McClintock' are movie magic.

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.