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Sam Peckinpah Biography
SAM PECKINPAH BIOGRAPHY
Born: 21 February 1925
Where: Fresno, California, USA
Awards: 1 Oscar Nomination
Height: 5' 9"
Died: 28 December 1984 (aged 59)
Filmography: Complete List
If any director of the twentieth century defined the term 'a man's man' then it was undoubtedly Sam Peckinpah. A hard-living, straight-talking maverick, Peckinpah resolutely refused to bow to the pressures of the Hollywood system, instead preferring to follow his own instincts in making films that were characterised by violence and rugged male values - themes that would consistently land him in trouble with both his producers and critics. And while not every film he made may have lasted the test of time, his golden period of the late 60s and early 70s saw a remarkable series of popular and commercially successful films that are now regarded as landmarks.
Peckinpah's style was informed by his background. Born in California in 1925, his forefathers were settlers of the new West with a tradition of working in the law. A troubled youth with an aggressive streak, Peckinpah enrolled in the army towards the end of the Second World War but was disappointed never to see active service. He settled down somewhat in 1947 when he married Marie Selland, a drama student who awakened his interest in the arts.
For the next few years Peckinpah climbed the entertainment ladder in an orthodox way, working variously as a stagehand and technician on plays and television programmes. His big break came when he met Don Siegel (himself a notorious tough guy and later Clint Eastwood's mentor) in the mid 50s. Impressed by the raw talent he found, Siegel encouraged Peckinpah to turn his hand to writing and directing (and even offered him a walk-on role in his classic 1956 film Invasion of the Bodysnatchers).
Buoyed by the situation he found himself in, it wasn't long before Peckinpah was given the chance to direct and he made his mark with his second film. Ride the High Country in 1962 made critics and the studios sit up and take notice. Its familiar theme of transporting treasure through dangerous country was given an elegiac feel by Peckinpah, who also wrote the screenplay. Its modest success allowed him to make the western Major Dundee in 1965, and with a big budget, a fiery star (Charlton Heston) and a Mexican location in tow, it wasn't long before rumours of Peckinpah's wild behaviour began to surface, with Heston threatening to fire him repeatedly from the set.
Nevertheless, a new star was born and in 1968 Peckinpah fulfilled his promise with his first masterpiece. The Wild Bunch turned the western on its head, with its relentless violence, its prophetic opening scene and its stunning final shootout. Women barely got a look-in and again Peckinpah found himself butting heads with some of Hollywood's toughest leading men, among them William Holden as the ageing leader of a gang desperate to rediscover the Old West. The theme and style of the film established Peckinpah as the natural successor to Howard Hawks in the library of great American directors.
But even Peckinpah's greatest admirers baulked at his 1971 film Straw Dogs. A harrowing tale of a young writer and his wife (Dustin Hoffman and Susan George) who are bullied and taunted by their new neighbours, the film contained a graphic (and highly dubious) rape scene which consigned it to video nasty status in Britain for many years. Something of a curious period piece, the film remains symbolic of the director's somewhat difficult relationship with the opposite sex.
Greater glory would arrive in 1972 with his biggest commercial success, The Getaway, in which he managed to contain the crumbling relationship between Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw, and in 1973 he made another minor classic, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, controversially choosing Bob Dylan in a leading role. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia in 1974 became a byword for on-set friction and scandal and seemed to drain Peckinpah. The remaining films he made have been somewhat forgotten (although Convoy was something of a novelty hit in 1978). In 1984, while working on the pre-production of a Stephen King film that never saw the light of day, Peckinpah died of a heart attack at the age of 59.
A colourful character to say the least, Peckinpah lived life to the full and was a notorious drinker, drug-taker and womanizer. Even some of Hollywood's toughest names found his excesses too much to bear. However, his visual style, his inability to compromise and certainly four or five of his films have guaranteed him a legendary and respected status in the film world.
Paul Hurley
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