Appearance
Straw Dogs
Directed by Sam Peckinpah, Straw Dogs (1971) is a controversial and visceral psychological thriller that explores the primal nature of violence. Dustin Hoffman stars as David Sumner, a mild-mannered American mathematician who moves with his English wife, Amy (Susan George), to her quiet home village in rural Cornwall to escape the social unrest of the United States. Their hope for a peaceful life is quickly shattered as David is systematically bullied and ostracized by the local men, leading to a brutal siege of their farmhouse that forces David to tap into a shockingly aggressive side of himself.
The film remains a landmark of 1970s cinema, famous for its intense "siege" climax and its bleak examination of masculinity, territoriality, and the thin veneer of civilization.
Locations
To capture the isolated and brooding atmosphere of the story, Sam Peckinpah filmed entirely on location in the rugged West Country of England, primarily around the Cornish moors.
St Buryan, Cornwall
The fictional village of "Wakely" was played by the real-life village of St Buryan, located near Penzance. Key village locations include the St Buryan Church yard, where children are seen playing, and the village square where the locals congregate. The "Wakely Arms," the pub where the tensions between David and the locals simmer, was a private house on the corner of Rectory Road.
Tor Noon (Trencher’s Farm), Morvah
The central setting of the film, the isolated Trencher’s Farm, is actually Tor Noon, a private farmhouse about a mile south of the village of Morvah. This rugged, stone-built property provided the necessary sense of seclusion and vulnerability for the film’s harrowing final act. While exterior shots were filmed here on the moorland, many of the interior siege scenes were later recreated at Twickenham Studios in London. Map Location
Penzance, Cornwall
The production used the nearby town of Penzance as a base, with several coastal scenes and road sequences filmed along the winding lanes leading toward the town. The proximity to the dramatic cliffs of Land's End added to the film's sense of being at the "edge" of the world. Map Location
Twickenham Studios, London
While the film is celebrated for its location work, the intricate and often violent interior sequences of the farmhouse siege were filmed on controlled sets at Twickenham Studios. This allowed the crew to meticulously choreograph the chaotic "home invasion" elements that would have been difficult to execute in a small, 19th-century farmhouse. Map Location
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Director
Sam Peckinpah
Cast
Dustin Hoffman
Susan George
Peter Vaughan
T.P. McKenna
Del Henney
David Warner
IMDB
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