Peckinpah wanted to rewrite the script and build up O'Hara's character since he felt she lacked characterization, but the producer, O'Hara's Brother, loved the script as it was and refused to change anything. He also did not allow Peckinpah to talk to O'Hara in any meaningful way even on the set, so all he was left with were the scenes with Brian Keith, and the work shows. After the shoot and Peckinpah's edit, the producer tried to re-edit the movie, but couldn't really change it, so it was re-edited almost to Peckinpah's original movie, except the end shootout, which is edited in the wrong order. In Peckinpah's original shootout, Keith simply shoots the slimy character on his way to kill Chill Wills because the bullet in his shoulder prevents him from being a fast draw. So the way the film is edited now makes it look like Chill Wills kills the slimy guy, and Peckinpah dared anyone to make sense of the finished shootout. Peckinpah also has nothing to do with the choice of music.
Review of The Deadly Companions
