The actor who called Sam Peckinpah a genius, but only for four hours a day
If you’re a fan of westerns and don’t know the name Sam Peckinpah, then you are missing out. Born in Fresno, California in 1925, Peckinpah brought a level of violent realism to the genre, which previously had been fair game for crooners and frivolous musicals. His 1969 film The Wild Bunch was a double Oscar nominee, and the rest of his filmography, which also includes thrillers like Straw Dogs and The Getaway, is brimming with classics.
Unfortunately, Peckinpah lived a troubled existence. His struggles with substance abuse often led to a tense environment on his sets. His personal life can be best summed up through his relationship with actor Begoña Palacios; the pair were married three different times after various disagreements led to multiple break-ups.
One man who witnessed the director’s instability first hand was James Coburn. The Oscar-winning actor appeared in multiple Peckinpah films and even served as a second unit director on the movie Convoy. In 1998, Coburn spoke to Venice Magazine about working with “Bloody Sam”.
“Sam Peckinpah was a genius for four hours a day.” he said. “The rest of that time he was drunk. He called himself ‘a working alcoholic,’ but he was much more than that.” Coburn explained that the booze seemed to let Peckinpah focus more on shooting, but numbed him to anything else. “You never talked with Sam about things like motivation,” he said, referring to when they were making the movie Major Dundee. “I said ‘Sam, what is it that makes my character tick?’ And he thought about it for a minute and finally said ‘Drier. Dry. He doesn’t give a shit.’ And that’s who that character was!”
Major Dundee, which is about a ragtag group of soldiers who travelled to Mexico during the American Civil War, was significantly damaged by studio cuts. This was a common theme among Peckinpah’s movies, as the same thing happened to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, also starring Coburn. “When he [Peckinpah] finished cutting Pat Garrett, it was taken away from him.” Coburn revealed. “This was Jim Aubrey at MGM and he was more interested in getting his hotel ready than he was in film. I think he really despised anybody who displayed artistry.”
Coburn’s role in the film was the titular Pat Garrett, the sheriff who shot and killed infamous Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid. The interview asked the star about the rumours that a drunken Peckinpah tried to change the ending of the movie by having Billy survive. “Yeah, but he wasn’t that drunk,” he revealed. “We were sitting in his trailer and he said ‘Goddammit! Why do we have to kill him?’” When Coburn reminded his boss that that was the way it had happened in real life, his response was “Well, why can’t we make it un-happen?” These sorts of discussions, alcohol-fuelled or otherwise, were what led to the filmmaker developing his prickly reputation.
Sam Peckinpah died in 1984 from heart failure, aged just 59. He paid the ultimate price for living his life the way he did, but left behind a legacy that is still being dissected decades later. He serves as a cautionary tale of the toll creativity can have on a person. Just imagine what he could have achieved had he let his true genius show for more than just “four hours a day”.
