Savage Sam (1963)

That was an excellent one.

Thanks for the memories!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This is an entertaining film thanks in part to performances by character actor scene-stealers like Slim Pickens and Jeff York, whose ornery interactions are a joy to watch. Brian Keith portrays well the rugged frontiersman, demonstrating courage and offering avuncular wisdom. Kirk and Kristen are good as the young innocents. The main problem is the frequent intrusion of the Arliss character, who has morphed from mischievous/ornery in Old Yeller to deranged/homicidal in this film. Disney loved the image and performances of Corcoran(he was indeed a good kid actor) and perhaps exerted too much influence on the writing and directing of Savage Sam. The more PC viewers have commented on the film's scenes of cruelty to animals (at times just for laughs) and the stereotyping of native "savages." There is some justification for this criticism, but it should be noted, in regard to the portrayal of the Indians, that they were a renegade band and that some white settlers are equally stereotyped. Also, one of the ranchers actually sympathizes with the Indians in their plight, and there is obvious condemnation of the "only-good-Indian-is-a-dead-one" white settler who wants to shoot the wounded. Another virtue of the film is the sweep and color of its exterior landscape shots. There is even an (almost convincing) deadly prairie hailstorm! All this considered, some first-time viewers may find the film's strengths outweigh its weaknesses.

Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran, and Jeff York repeat their roles from Old Yeller in this sequel film about Old Yeller's son, Savage Sam. The Coates boys from the first film have grown up considerably and Tommy is fully into puberty and thinking about York's daughter in a different light. Marta Kirsten later of Lost In Space plays a more grownup version of the part introduced by Beverly Washburn.The parents of Travis and Arliss Coates are away and their uncle Brian Keith comes to look out for the family. Nevertheless on a Comanche raid, Kirk, Corcoran, and Kirsten are all captured although Kirk manages to escape. When Keith who is leading a posse after them finds Kirk, the dog proves invaluable in tracking the kids down and aiding in their rescue.Although I'm still trying to figure out why anyone would want to rescue Kevin Corcoran. He's a royal pain to both the red men and white men alike. I can't believe the Indians just didn't shoot him and leave him on the trail. As he got older Corcoran's presence was more annoying than cute in a lot of movies and television he did for Disney.In addition to Keith and York, other members of the posse consist of such western regulars as Royal Dano, Slim Pickens, and Dewey Martin all in parts they would have been typecast for.Savage Sam is hardly as good a film as Old Yeller though it sure ends better all around for the two legged and four legged players.

i've recently obtained savage sam on 35mm in technicolor no less. the kids and i love watching it on my outdoor theater setup. i show all kinds of stuff on 16mm and now recently 35mm. savage sam is a favorite.

Okay...in my opinion, this sequel was better than the original. I cried my butt off in Old Yeller, but something about this movie makes me like it more than Old Yeller. I have seen Savage Sam so many times that I know ALL the words to it. It's a very good children's film, but its a "Movie that all audiences will love" If you like Old Yeller, and Where the Red Fern grows, you will love this movie.