Al
I have a few happy memories and a mini-claim to fame associated with Peckinpah's
Straw Dogs. In the early 1970s I was involved with an attractive young lady who lived in the small village of St Buryan in Cornwall. For you guys across the pond St Buryan near Penzance is your idea of a quintessential quaint English village that dates back to the 12th century.
On one of my visits to see her she told me that Hollywood had arrived in her village in the personage of Dustin Hoffman who was making a film titled The Siege of Trencher's Farm (the movie's original title) My reaction to that was "My God, Sam Peckinpah's directing that." Here was a man who I was in awe of after watching his great western
The Wild Bunch which he had directed a couple of years before. Much to the young lady's annoyance I spent the next two days hanging around the village square and pub watching Peckinpah direct his bunch of primarily English actors including the absolutely stunning Susan George. It was around February 1971 and typical British weather was bitterly cold and raining. On the second day the filming was apparently not going well and Peckinpah appeared to be in a foul mood. He jumped off his camera dolly stuck a cigarette in his mouth and strode toward where I was standing watching. As he approached he said "You gotta match Buddy". He had obviously noticed I was smoking and I extracted my trusty Zippo and lit his cigarette. He said nothing else just patted me on the arm and went back to his actors silently bunched and waiting for him.
Peckinpah and Susan George whilst filming Straw Dogs in St Buryan 1971
I lived on the story of "I actually lit Sam Peckinpah's cigarette" for quite a few years much longer than my association with the young lady of St Buryan. But I was brought down to earth just a couple years ago whilst attending a dinner party and the conversation over the coffee and brandy turned to movies. Great I thought I'll resurrect my Sam story from years ago and proceeded to tell them. When I finished I was met with blank stares from the dozen or so guests around the table until one said "Bob, who the hell is Sam Peckinpah?" I suddenly realised how old I had become^&grin
Bob[/QUOTE Bob, that is what I call a superb anecdote. According to everything I have read about Peckinpah when he was in a bad mood, you seem to have come-off very well. You survived with a great memory and story. ^&cool -- Al
