Following the troubled production of Major Dundee and his sacking as director of The Cincinnati Kid, Peckinpah was virtually ostracised from Hollywood. He bounced back with this celebrated TV movie. Based on Katherine Anne Porter’s short novel, Noon Wine tells of a mysterious Swede (Per Oscarsson) who arrives at a small Texas spread owned by Thompson (Jason Robards) and in the course of three years makes a success of the farm, becoming in the process a valued member of Thompson’s family. The peaceful life of the farmers is shattered by the arrival of a crazed stranger who is killed by Thompson when he pulls a knife. Acquitted by a jury, Thompson desperately drags his sickly wife (Olivia de Havilland) from one neighbour’s house to another to defend himself and his deed. Beautifully performed and staged, this is Peckinpah’s most restrained and haunting variation on his favourite theme of violence as a necessary evil.

Plus Mon Petit Chou: an early example of Peckinpah’s excellent work as writer-director for television, this little gem was made for NBC’s ‘Route 66’ series.
U.S.A. • 1961 • Video • 50 min