Pushing the boundaries of violence and brutality, Sam Peckinpah defined a new generation of Director’s in Hollywood. One’s of realism and the dark undertones of human society and human behavior. Influenced by his childhood on his grandfather’s ranch and haunted by his young adulthood in the Military, he had funneled all of that into his films. Troubled throughout his career by his addiction to alcohol and later in his life drugs, it proved to be the backdrop to most of his behavior and difficulties with others. But despite all of this, Peckinpah is known to have made some of the most influential films not only of his time but in all of Hollywood’s history.
Sam Peckinpah was born David Samuel Peckinpah on February 21st, 1925. He was born just outside Fresno California in a rural part of Fresno. As a boy Peckinpah frequently skipped school in order to participate in all kinds of cowboy activities on his grandfather’s ranch. During this time as Peckinpah was coming into adulthood he saw the changing from that of the old west to the modern California. This is said to have had a great influence on Peckinpah and that it deeply sadden him.
Upon Graduating from the San Rafael Military Academy (which Peckinpah was enrolled for his senior year for disciplinary reasons) he joined The United States Marine Corps in 1943. Never seeing combat during World War 2, Peckinpah’s unit was deployed to China to disarm and repatriate Japanese soldiers back to Japan. During his time in China he has said to have seen the horrible atrocities that the Japanese and Chinese unleased on each other. Also, during this time Peckinpah was to develop his lifelong addiction to alcohol.
Following his Discharge from The Marines, Peckinpah enrolled and attended California State University, Fresno and earned his B.A. in Drama. In 1948 He again enrolled in college at the University of Southern California and earned his Masters in Drama as well. While obtaining his Masters, Peckinpah was the Director in residence at The Hunting Park Civic Theater for two years. All this leading into a career beginning in Television.
After leaving college he began his career in Television as a stagehand where Peckinpah began his combative streak. Being let go by the Television studio for that combative streak he found work as a dialogue coach almost immediately. Proving to be a valuable asset on one particular occasion in which he gained access for the crew to film in Folsom prison when the warden turned out to be a family friend. With an extensive career in Television, it eventually led to a chance in films.
With the conclusion of his Television series The Westerner in 1961, Peckinpah was asked to direct a low budget film called The Deadly Companions in that same year. Constantly fighting with the producer on The Deadly Companions lead Peckinpah to vow to never direct another film again unless he had complete script control. In the following year, Peckinpah directed Ride the High Country. A typical western with extremely vivid landscapes. Continuing with his good fortune he was asked to direct Major Dundee.
Peckinpah was asked to direct Major Dundee solely because actor Charlton Heston wanted to work with Peckinpah. After a private screening that Heston attended, Heston quickly called up Peckinpah and said, “I’d like to work with you”. With many clashes and constant arguments Peckinpah started to develop a reputation of poor image. It was reported that Peckinpah was so drunk on set constantly that Heston finished directing the movie himself. When the studio wanted to fire Peckinpah it was Heston who made a deal with the brass that if he donated his salary back to them, that they would let Peckinpah stay on. They let him stay on and gave him the directing credit, but however the brass snatched away the editing of Major Dundee. Peckinpah claimed that the studio had hacked his movie up and put it out of order and that it was the greatest movie he ever made, had he been able to edit it himself. But later he would have that chance, and some would say it was Peckinpah’s greatest work ever.
After successfully writing and directing a television movie in 1966 Peckinpah was asked to rewrite and direct a western script. That script would eventually become The Wild Bunch! Shot entirely in Mexico and with many experimental techniques being used, Peckinpah poured his soul into this project. Being hurriedly taken on in order to battle against Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Peckinpah delivered an equally influential film. With complete freedom to develop and create the film to his specifications and having the complete backing of the studio, Peckinpah produced one of his greatest masterpieces.
A string of box office flops proceeded The Wild Bunch. Those included The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Straw Dogs, and Junior Bonner. Peckinpah of course blamed studio executives and producers, while constantly firing crew. All of this in the backdrop to increased alcohol consumption and fits of rage. Peckinpah’s increased difficultly with producers and executives lead to him being withdrawn for consideration to direct on several projects. Making it even more difficult to create films the way he wanted. But Peckinpah would have another chance at a hit.
Meeting and working with Steven McQueen on the film Junior Bonner in 1971, they became fast friends. In 1972 McQueen, anxious to work with Peckinpah again, brought him a screenplay for The Getaway. Both McQueen and Peckinpah were desperate for a hit and this was it. The Gamble paid off and both McQueen and Peckinpah were in the good graces of Hollywood once again. Again, an increase in alcohol consumption would mark his legacy over the film. By 1973 Peckinpah had dramatically increased his alcohol consumption and had also married and divorced a woman. He was heart broken and began a spiraling descent into even greater alcoholism and self-destruction. Unfortunately bringing all these demons to his next project led to its demise.
Under the premise of a broken heart and a deep lock into alcoholism, Peckinpah took on his next project, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Looking to rewrite the western movie genre and stage his own mark, Peckinpah set off and threw himself into the film. Due to a host of unfortunate circumstances things did not go as planned. With an outbreak of illness, Peckinpah’s alcoholism, Clashes with a Studio Executive, Equipment malfunctions, and so many other things it was a wonder the movie was made at all. But it was, and because of the clashes with the studio executive, was yanked from his control and cut even shorter (later it was re-released in its original cut). This had been the most difficult film yet to date for Peckinpah. However, he would get one more chance to make a film his way.
In 1974 Peckinpah set out to make what his true fans and admirers would call the “last true Peckinpah film”. Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia was even admitted by Peckinpah to be the only movie released the exact way he intended it to be. Fueled by alcohol, and now cocaine, Peckinpah created one of the darkest films ever made. Part black comedy, road adventure, romance story, and partly a revenge story thrown into the mix, it has become an influential style for such directors as David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino. Many critics hated the film, but one very notable critic, Roger Ebert, along with a few others gave great praise to the film. It has since gained some level of appreciation among film enthusiasts the world over. This film unfortunately was the last of any of Peckinpah’s charm and magic. Peckinpah’s career had gone down a very steep and dark slope.
After Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Peckinpah’s career took a turn for the worst. Three failed films in a row, The Killer Elite (1975), Cross of Iron (1977), and Convoy (1978) had led to Peckinpah having opportunities dry up. Even though those films have gained greater appreciation in recent years, they performed poorly (all but Convoy) at the box office at the time. These Failures combined with his ever-growing addiction to alcohol and cocaine, difficulties with studio executives, producers, cast and crew members made Peckinpah a marked man. His health had declined so poorly in this time period due to all the years of heavy abuse that he was frequently ill. The end finally came for Peckinpah with his death from heart failure on December 28th, 1984. The total and complete loss of true renegade director. A true and uncompromising visionary and artist.
Sam Peckinpah influenced so many Directors and actors that his legacy stays strong in Hollywood till this day. On the flipside to that, the things that seemed to influence Peckinpah were his witnessing the change of the west, the atrocities he saw while serving in the military, and his many misfortunes with women through failed relationships. Unfortunately, it was the influence of alcohol most of all that seem to hang a black cloud over all the other more influential and great things that made him Sam Peckinpah. There is no doubt that this man knew what he was doing when it came to film making. But the cloud of addiction and a short-fused temper forever tarnished his legacy. Who knows what Sam Peckinpah could have created if it were not for the things that made him Sam Peckinpah.
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