The Deadly Companions (1961)

A saloon dance hall girl (Maureen O'Hara) who is looked down upon by the townspeople is determined to make the dangerous trek through Apache territory to bury her son next to her husband (the town believed she was an unwed mother) in the deserted town where he's buried. She's accompanied, unwillingly, by the man (Brian Keith) who accidentally killed her son and two unsavory bank robbers (Steve Cochran, Chill Wills). Based on the novel by A.S. Fleischman (he also wrote the screenplay) and directed by Sam Peckinpah. The first feature film by the great Peckinpah, this bleak western still hasn't received its due. Peckinpah wasn't fond of it much because he had no control over the final product and while it's no where near his best work like THE WILD BUNCH or STRAW DOGS, it's a modest but strong, effective western. With only four major characters in the film, the emphasis is on character as they pass through the bleak Arizona landscape with distrust their only companion. It's a pretty stripped down western, even the guitar and accordion score by Marlin Skiles is sparse and the unsentimental Peckinpah minimizes the romantic elements, such as they are. The cinematographer William Clothier (MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE) makes excellent use of the Panavision wide screen. If you've seen this film only in pan and scan, you haven't seen it. With Strother Martin.