The Sam Peckinpah Collection

The Sam Peckinpah collection acquired by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City contains a fascinating variety of both the mundane and the substantial, all giving insight into the great filmmaker. Here are just some of the standout items.

• Sam’s trusty rifle: Peckinpah claimed he was going to use the rifle to shoot the tails off cats, but no felines were in any real danger. Instead, he used the gun to shoot holes in the walls and ceiling of his suite on the third floor of the Murray Hotel during drunken rampages. Later, after sobering up, he complained about the roof leaking. Now a renovated historic hotspot in downtown Livingston, Montana, The Murray boasts The Peckinpah Suite, originally built for an heir to the Burlington railroad fortune. “Named after director Sam Peckinpah, ‘Peck’s Place’ is our largest suite and offers the best space for family and friends to celebrate and commiserate. … This suite does not allow pets.”
• A portable Remington typewriter Peckinpah used as far back as the 1950s.
• Peckinpah’s shooting scripts for classics like The Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.
• A plaque from Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia stating “Listo ParaSam Peckinpah” (“Ready for Sam Peckinpah”) with a drinking mug attached and signed “Al Garcia.”
• Signed and framed original musical scores by Peckinpah’s friend and frequent collaborator Jerry Fielding.
• A crate from Japan used to ship fish and numerous sake sets to Montana.
• Dozens of files pertaining to his company, Latigo Productions, dating back to the 1950s.
• Business records and correspondence related to some of his most important films, including The Wild Bunch.
• Lobby posters and other marketing materials from his films.
• And those custom-made cowboy boots with his distinctive brand stitched on the shafts.

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Read the story of the Sam Peckinpah Collection and check out the late screenwriter’s Western Film Collection.

This article appears in our January 2024 issue.