Birthday:
02-21-1925
Deathday:
12-28-1984 (59 years)
Birthplace:
Fresno, California, United States
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah (February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch (1969). He was known for the innovative and explicit depiction of action and violence, as well as his revisionist approach to the Western genre.
Peckinpah's films generally deal with the conflict between values and ideals, and the corruption of violence in human society. He was given the nickname "Bloody Sam" owing to the violence in his films. His characters are often loners or losers who desire to be honorable, but are forced to compromise in order to survive in a world of nihilism and brutality.
Peckinpah's combative personality, marked by years of alcohol and drug abuse, has often overshadowed his professional legacy. Many of his films were noted for behind-the-scenes battles with producers and crew members, damaging his reputation and career during his lifetime. Many of his films, such as Straw Dogs (1971), Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), remain controversial.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Sam Peckinpah, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah (February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch (1969). He was known for the innovative and explicit depiction of action and violence, as well as his revisionist approach to the Western genre.
Peckinpah's films generally deal with the conflict between values and ideals, and the corruption of violence in human society. He was given the nickname "Bloody Sam" owing to the violence in his films. His characters are often loners or losers who desire to be honorable, but are forced to compromise in order to survive in a world of nihilism and brutality.
Peckinpah's combative personality, marked by years of alcohol and drug abuse, has often overshadowed his professional legacy. Many of his films were noted for behind-the-scenes battles with producers and crew members, damaging his reputation and career during his lifetime. Many of his films, such as Straw Dogs (1971), Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), remain controversial.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Sam Peckinpah, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Read morearrow_drop_down
Their works
- Release swap_vert
- Title swap_vert
- Ratings swap_vert
close
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Act like Charlie the Meter Reader
event1956 star_border 7.5
top_panel_open
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
China 9, Liberty 37
Act like Wilbur Olsen
event1978 star_border 5.3
top_panel_open
Gunslinger Clayton Drumm is about to be hanged when he is given a chance to live if he agrees to murder Matthew, a miner who has steadfastly refused to sell his land to the railroad company. Matthew’s refusal is a major obstacle to the railroad’s plans for expansion.
Dial Red O
Act like Cook in Diner (uncredited)
event1955 star_border 5.2
top_panel_open
The first of the five films where Bill Elliott played a detective lieutenant in the L.A Sheriff's department, Dial Red "O" (the correct title with the number 0 (zero), as on a telephone dial, shown in ") opens with war-torn veteran Ralph Wyatt getting word that his wife is divorcing him, and he flees the psychiatric ward of the veteran's hospital, wanting to talk to her. His escape touches off an all-out manhunt, led by Lieutenant Andy Flynn of the sheriff's department.
The Visitor
Act like Dr. Sam Collins
event1979 star_border 5.2
top_panel_open
An ancient intergalactic warrior arrives on Earth to put a stop to a demonic child's plot to reproduce Satan's next generation of evil.
A Justified Life: Sam Peckinpah and the High Country
Act like Self (archive footage)
event2006
top_panel_open
Sam Peckinpah's younger sister Fern Lea Peter recalls days from their childhood and details about the Peckinpah family. Footage of her interview is intercut with scenes from Peckinpah's movies and the landscape of the area of California where he grew up. Fern Lea draws parallels between members of the Peckinpah family and characters in Peckinpah's 1962 feature, "Ride the High Country."
Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron
Act like Self (archive footage)
event1993 star_border 6.8
top_panel_open
This straight-talking program seeks to understand the enigmatic and controversial Sam Peckinpah, whose violent films such as The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs had a telling effect on the cinema of the 1970s and 80s. Those who knew and worked with him, including actor James Coburn, actress Ali MacGraw, his associate Katherine Haber, his cousin Bob Peckinpah, and several screenwriters and producers, examine his life in an attempt to separate the man from the persona. Clips from key films reinforce this detailed discussion of Peckinpah's art and a fixation on violence that still permeates Hollywood today.
Edge of Outside
Act like Self (archive footage)
event2006 star_border 5.8
top_panel_open
An hour-long documentary designed to celebrate the spirit of the independent filmmaker from D.W. Griffith to Quentin Tarantino. Interview footage and film clips are blended together to form a chronological approach to the subject matter.
Convoy
Act like News Crew Director (uncredited)
event1978 star_border 6.3
top_panel_open
Trucker Rubber Duck and his buddies Pig Pen, Widow Woman and Spider Mike use their CB radios to warn one another of the presence of cops. But conniving Sheriff Wallace is hip to the truckers' tactics, and begins tricking the drivers through his own CB broadcasts. Facing constant harassment from the law, Rubber Duck and his pals use their radios to coordinate a vast convoy and rule the road.
An Annapolis Story
Act like Pilot (uncredited)
event1955 star_border 3.3
top_panel_open
Two brothers, both cadets at Annapolis, fall in love with the same girl.
Junior Bonner
Act like Man in Palace Bar (uncredited)
event1972 star_border 6.1
top_panel_open
With his bronco-busting career on its last legs, Junior Bonner heads to his hometown to try his luck in the annual rodeo. But his fond childhood memories are shattered when he finds his family torn apart by his greedy brother and hard-drinking father.
Sam Peckinpah: Portrait
Act like Self (archive footage)
event2006
top_panel_open
A portrait of director Sam Peckinpah focusing more on his personal life than his moviemaking - featuring lots of interviews, backstage footage and even some of his TV commercials and rock videos.
Passion & Poetry: The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah
Act like Self (archive footage)
event2005 star_border 7
top_panel_open
Portrayal of a talented, influencial and troubled artist: a filmmaker who fought his own demons and seemed to live his own legend like no other director. Against all odds Sam Peckinpah was able to create a very personal body of work in the studio system of Hollywood and with his powerful directing and editing style changed the way of filmmaking forever. Legendary for his use of slow-motion violence, various scandals and his ongoing problems with sudios and producers, the story of Peckinpah is filled with tragedy, humor, success and defeat.
Passion & Poetry: Sam's Final Cut
Act like Self
top_panel_open
A documentary about Sam Peckinpah's personal director's cut of his last film The Osterman Weekend (1983); recently restored by film historian Mike Siegel. Siegel documents the discovery and acquisition of the 35mm print after 24 years of unprotected storage; outlining the process of cleaning and scanning the film as well as some assets now lost to time.
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
Act like Will (uncredited)
event1973 star_border 7.2
top_panel_open
Pat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.
The Osterman Weekend
Act like Maxwell Danforth's Aide (uncredited)
event1983 star_border 5.6
top_panel_open
The host of an investigative news show is convinced by the CIA that the friends he has invited to a weekend in the country are engaged in a conspiracy that threatens national security.
Filmmakers in Action
Act like Self (archive footage)
event2006 star_border 6.8
top_panel_open
What is the state of cinema and what being a filmmaker means? What are the measures taken to protect authors' copyright? What is their legal status in different countries? (Sequel to “Filmmakers vs. Tycoons.”)
On Location: Dustin Hoffman
Act like Self
event1971
top_panel_open
Profile of actor Dustin Hoffman on the set of Sam Peckinpah's 1971 film STRAW DOGS.
Peckinpah Suite
Act like Self (archive footage)
event2019 star_border 7.5
top_panel_open
The life and career of filmmaker Sam Peckinpah as told from his daughter's perspective. She travels to his final home to learn more about his life and work.
Wichita
Act like Bank Teller (uncredited)
event1955 star_border 6.3
top_panel_open
Former buffalo hunter and entrepreneur Wyatt Earp arrives in the lawless cattle town of Wichita Kansas. His skill as a gun-fighter makes him a perfect candidate for Marshal, but he refuses the job until he feels morally obligated to bring law and order to this wild town.
Alpha to Omega: Exposing 'The Osterman Weekend'
Act like Self (archive footage)
event2004 star_border 7
top_panel_open
Testimony of the cast, the producers and other participants of the shootings of "The Osterman Weekend".
Passion & Poetry: Sam Peckinpah's War
Act like Self (archive footage)
event2011
top_panel_open
A documentary about Sam Peckinpah's "Cross of Iron," shot in Yugoslavia in 1976.
Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Act like Self (archive footage)
event2004 star_border 7.3
top_panel_open
An account of the life and work of American film director Sam Peckinpah (1925-84), a tortured artist whose genius and inner demons changed the Western genre forever.
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Act like Self (1 ep.)
event1962 star_border 7.4
top_panel_open
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
Straw Dogs
Director (1 ep.)
event1971 star_border 7.2
top_panel_open
David Sumner, a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy, an Englishwoman. In order to escape a hectic stateside lifestyle, David and his wife relocate to the small town in rural Cornwall where Amy was raised. There, David is ostracized by the brutish men of the village, including Amy's old flame, Charlie. Eventually the taunts escalate, and two of the locals rape Amy. This sexual assault awakes a shockingly violent side of David.
The Wild Bunch
Screenplay (1 ep.)
event1969 star_border 7.6
top_panel_open
An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.
Cross of Iron
Director (1 ep.)
event1977 star_border 7.1
top_panel_open
It is 1943, and the German army—ravaged and demoralised—is hastily retreating from the Russian front. In the midst of the madness, conflict brews between the aristocratic yet ultimately pusillanimous Captain Stransky and the courageous Corporal Steiner. Stransky is the only man who believes that the Third Reich is still vastly superior to the Russian army. However, within his pompous persona lies a quivering coward who longs for the Iron Cross so that he can return to Berlin a hero. Steiner, on the other hand is cynical, defiantly non-conformist and more concerned with the safety of his own men rather than the horde of military decorations offered to him by his superiors.
The Getaway
Director (1 ep.)
event1972 star_border 7.1
top_panel_open
A recently released ex-convict and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes wrong.
The Ballad of Cable Hogue
Director (1 ep.)
event1970 star_border 6.9
top_panel_open
Double-crossed and left without water in the desert, Cable Hogue is saved when he finds a spring. It is in just the right spot for a much needed rest stop on the local stagecoach line, and Hogue uses this to his advantage. He builds a house and makes money off the stagecoach passengers. Hildy, a prostitute from the nearest town, moves in with him. Hogue has everything going his way until the advent of the automobile ends the era of the stagecoach.
The Killer Elite
Director (1 ep.)
event1975 star_border 5.8
top_panel_open
Mike Locken is one of the principal members of a group of freelance spies. A significant portion of their work is for the CIA, and while on a case for them one of his friends turns on him and shoots him in the elbow and knee. His assignment, to protect someone, goes down in flames. He is nearly crippled, but with braces is able to again become mobile. For revenge as much as anything else, Mike goes after his ex-friend.
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Screenplay (1 ep.)
event1974 star_border 7.1
top_panel_open
An American bartender and his prostitute girlfriend go on a road trip through the Mexican underworld to collect a $1 million bounty on the head of a dead gigolo.
Ride the High Country
Director (1 ep.)
event1962 star_border 7
top_panel_open
An ex-lawman is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him.
Major Dundee
Screenplay (1 ep.)
event1965 star_border 6.7
top_panel_open
During the last winter of the Civil War, cavalry officer Amos Dundee leads a contentious troop of Army regulars, Confederate prisoners and scouts on an expedition into Mexico to destroy a band of Apaches who have been raiding U.S. bases in Texas.
The Glory Guys
Writer (1 ep.)
event1965 star_border 6.5
top_panel_open
Though a fictionalized Western based on George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry Regiment at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, the film is almost a generic war story covering the enlistment, training, and operational deployment of a group of recruits that could take place in any time period.
Villa Rides
Screenplay (1 ep.)
event1968 star_border 6.3
top_panel_open
Pulled into the Mexican Revolution by his own greed, Texas gunrunner and pilot Lee Arnold joins bandit-turned-patriot Pancho Villa and his band of dedicated men in a march across Mexico battling the Colorados and stealing women's hearts as they go. But each has a nemesis among his friends: Arnold is tormented by Fierro, Villa's right-hand-man; and Villa must face possible betrayal by his own president's naiveté
The Deadly Companions
Director (1 ep.)
event1961 star_border 5.7
top_panel_open
Ex-army officer accidentally kills a woman's son, tries to make up for it by escorting the funeral procession through dangerous Indian territory.
Private Hell 36
Dialogue (1 ep.)
event1954 star_border 6.2
top_panel_open
In New York, a bank robbery of $300,000 goes unsolved for a year, until some of the marked bills are found in a Los Angeles drugstore theft. Police detectives Cal Bruner and Jack Farnham investigate and are led from the drugstore to a nightclub, where singer Lili is another recipient of a stolen bill. With Lili's help, the partners track down the remaining money, but both Lili and Frank are dismayed when Cal decides he wants to keep part of it.
Pericles on 31st Street
Director (1 ep.)
event1962
top_panel_open
Racial tensions break out on 31st Street, a multi-ethnic community. Sam Peckinpah directed this original adaptation of the Harry Mark Petrakis novel for NBC, and the project became an hour-long presentation for NBC's The Dick Powell Theatre, premiering on Apr. 12, 1962.
The Lady Is My Wife
Director (1 ep.)
event1967
top_panel_open
After the Civil War ends, a rich horse rancher out West hires the Bannisters, a married Southern couple who lost everything in the war, to help run his ranch. What the Bannisters don't know is that their new boss has more on his mind than breeding horses, and his plans include the pretty Mrs. Bannister.
The Losers
Story (1 ep.)
event1963
top_panel_open
A couple of hard-drinking cardsharp drifters find themselves in the unlikely situation of having to play Cupid. A TV movie / episode of The Dick Powell Theatre.
Noon Wine
Director (1 ep.)
event1966 star_border 6.8
top_panel_open
A dark tragedy about a farmer's futile act of homicide that takes place on a small dairy farm in southern Texas during the 1890s. Sam Peckinpah directed this original adaptation of the Katherine Anne Porter novel for ABC, and the project became an hour-long presentation for ABC Stage 67, premiering on Nov. 23, 1966.
Tom Tit Tot
Director (1 ep.)
event1958 star_border 6.8
top_panel_open
A fairy tale short film by Sam Peckinpah.
Portrait of a Madonna
Writer (1 ep.)
event1952
top_panel_open
A woman talks about her troubles. A lot.
One-Eyed Jacks
Additional Writing (1 ep.)
event1961 star_border 6.7
top_panel_open
Running from the law after a bank robbery in Mexico, Dad Longworth finds an opportunity to take the stolen gold and leave his partner Rio to be captured. Years later, Rio escapes from the prison where he has been since, and hunts down Dad for revenge. Dad is now a respectable sheriff in California, and has been living in fear of Rio's return.
Straw Dogs
Original Film Writer (1 ep.)
event2011 star_border 5.9
top_panel_open
A young couple moves to a quaint southern town. Soon their perfect getaway turns out to become a living hell when dark secrets and lethal passions spiral out of control.
The Dick Powell Show
Director (2 ep.)
event1961 star_border 5
top_panel_open
The Dick Powell Show is an American anthology series that ran on NBC from 1961- 1963, primarily sponsored by the Reynolds Metals Company. It was hosted by longtime film star Dick Powell until his death from lymphatic cancer on January 2, 1963, then by a series of guest hosts until the series ended. The first of these was Gregory Peck, who began the January 8 program with a tribute to Powell, recognizing him as "a great and good friend to our industry." Peck was followed by fellow actors such as Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Ford, Charles Boyer, Jackie Cooper, Rock Hudson, Milton Berle, Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin, Robert Taylor, Steve McQueen, David Niven, Danny Thomas, Robert Wagner and John Wayne.
The Westerner
Writer (4 ep.)
event1960 star_border 6.8
top_panel_open
The Westerner is an American Western series that aired on NBC from September to December 1960. Created by Sam Peckinpah, the series was produced by Four Star Television. The Westerner stars Brian Keith as Dave Blassingame and features John Dehner as semi-regular Burgundy Smith.
Gunsmoke
Writer (4 ep.)
event1955 star_border 6.6
top_panel_open
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Writer (1 ep.)
event1955 star_border 5.2
top_panel_open
The 20th Century Fox Hour is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States on CBS from 1955 to 1957. Some of the shows in this series were restored, remastered and shown on the Fox Movie Channel in 2002 under the title Hour of Stars. The season one episode Overnight Haul, starring Richard Conte and Lizabeth Scott, was released in Australia as a feature film.
Route 66
Writer (1 ep.)
event1960 star_border 6.3
top_panel_open
Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America in a Chevrolet Corvette sports car. The show ran weekly on Fridays on CBS from October 7, 1960 to March 20, 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for the first two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod was shown traveling on his own. Tod met Lincoln Case, played by Glenn Corbett, late in the third season, and traveled with him until the end of the fourth and final season.
Among the series more notable aspects were the featured Corvette convertible, and the program's instrumental theme song, which became a major pop hit.
Have Gun, Will Travel
Writer (1 ep.)
event1957 star_border 7.4
top_panel_open
Have Gun – Will Travel is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. It was rated number three or number four in the Nielsen ratings every year of its first four seasons. It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted November 23, 1958.
The television show is presently shown on the Encore-Western channel.
Have Gun – Will Travel was created by Sam Rolfe and Herb Meadow and produced by Frank Pierson, Don Ingalls, Robert Sparks, and Julian Claman. There were 225 episodes of the TV series, 24 written by Gene Roddenberry. Other contributors included Bruce Geller, Harry Julian Fink, Don Brinkley and Irving Wallace. Andrew McLaglen directed 101 episodes and 19 were directed by series star Richard Boone.
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Director (1 ep.)
event1963 star_border 5.5
top_panel_open
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre is an American anthology series, sponsored by Chrysler Corporation, which ran on NBC from 1963 through 1967. The show was hosted by Bob Hope, but it had a variety of formats, including musical, dramatic, and comedy.
ABC Stage 67
Writer (1 ep.)
event1966 star_border 6
top_panel_open
ABC Stage 67 is the umbrella title for a series of 26 weekly shows that included dramas, variety shows, documentaries, and original musicals.
It premiered on American Broadcasting Company on September 14, 1966 with Murray Schisgal's The Love Song of Barney Kempinksi, directed by Stanley Prager and starring Alan Arkin as a man enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City in his last remaining hours of bachelorhood. Arkin was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance By An Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama and the program was nominated as Outstanding Dramatic Program.
Future programs included appearances by Petula Clark, Bobby Darin, Sir Laurence Olivier, Albert Finney, Peter Sellers, David Frost, and Jack Paar.
ABC's effort to bring culture to the masses was a noble but unsuccessful experiment. Scheduled first against I Spy on Wednesdays and then The Dean Martin Show on Thursdays, the show consistently received low ratings. Its last production, an adaptation of Jean Cocteau's one-woman play The Human Voice starring Ingrid Bergman, aired on May 4, 1967.
"Stage 67" was not actually a part of the primary ABC facilities in Los Angeles. It was produced at the old Monogram Studios backlot that was later sold to KCET.
The Rifleman
Writer (5 ep.)
event1958 star_border 7
top_panel_open
The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show was filmed in black-and-white, half-hour episodes. "The Rifleman" aired on ABC from September 30, 1958 to April 8, 1963 as a production of Four Star Television. It was one of the first prime time series to have a widowed parent raise a child.
Broken Arrow
Writer (2 ep.)
event1956 star_border 5
top_panel_open
Broken Arrow is a Western series which ran on ABC-TV in prime time from 1956 through 1958 on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Repeat episodes were shown by ABC on Sunday afternoons during the 1959–60 season. Selected repeats were then shown once again in prime time during the summer of 1960.
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Director (2 ep.)
event1956 star_border 5.5
top_panel_open
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.
Show more expand_more
keyboard_double_arrow_down