Straw Dogs (1971 film) Straw Dogs (1971 film) Straw Dogs is a 1971 psychological thriller film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Dustin Hoffman and Susan George. The screenplay, by Peckinpah and David Zelag Goodman, is lightly based upon Gordon M. Williams's 1969 novel, "The Siege of Trencher's Farm". The film's title derives from a discussion in the "Tao Te Ching" that likens people to the ancient Chinese ceremonial straw dog, being of ceremonial worth, but afterwards discarded with indifference. The film is noted for its violent concluding sequences and a complicated rape scene. Released theatrically in the same year as "A Clockwork Orange",
Gordon Williams (writer) Gordon Williams (writer) Gordon M. Williams (20 June 1934 – 20 August 2017) was a British author. Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, he moved to London to work as a journalist. He wrote for television and was the author of more than 20 novels, including "From Scenes Like These" (1969), shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1969, "Walk Don't Walk" (1972) and "Big Morning Blues" (1974). Other novels include "The Camp" (1966), "The Man Who Had Power Over Women" (1967) and "The Upper Pleasure Garden" (1970). He was a ghostwriter for the autobiographies of association footballers Bobby Moore, Terry Venables and