The Deadly Companions (1961)
First feature film for Peckinpah and it shows, as there isn’t much emotional weight to the otherwise tragic premise. What does work though, is O’Hara and how Peckinpah makes use of the wild nature. Almost exclusively shot on location gives the film a proper desolate atmosphere, that reminded me of similar westerns by Budd Boetticher. The script leans a bit too heavily into the sexualization of O’Hara, which is a shame because she has by far the most interesting character and O’Hara does what she can, even though the script doesn’t do her justice. Decent enough for a bit of a sleepy evening on the couch.
Rating: 3