I'm just gonna lay it out here right here and now. I have never and will never watch Old Yeller. I don't care if it's meant to be a classic. There's no way I'm spending an hour and a half of my life getting emotionally invested in these characters only to watch a 15-year-old boy breaking his heart crying as he has to shoot his beloved pet dog. Erm. No. Sorry Mr Disney. Nuh-uh. No siree Bob. Etc. Not for me. Not happening. I'm just gonna pretend that Old Yeller lived to a ripe old age, going on adventures with the boys, snuggling up at night and having cuddles with them, chasing rabbits and dreaming of lady greyhounds. Works for me.
As a result, I have to judge Savage Sam on its own merits. Being a pretty big fan of the Western movie genre, I have to say it really stands up on its own as an addition to the genre irrespective of the Disney affilation.
For approximately the billionth time, Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran were cast as brothers - and honestly I think the casting of them both is brilliant. They clearly have a good chemistry and play off each other well, and there's a real bond between them that lasted the test of time, both of them praising each others' work and character as often as possible in more modern interviews about their time at Disney and their films together. I've seen both the Hardy Boys serials where Tommy plays Joe Hardy to Tim Consadine's Frank, and although again you could see a good deal of affection between the two of them, the connection between Tommy and Kevin really seems more organic and natural. I've seen an awful lot of criticism of Kevin for being annoying and whiny and honestly - back off. He was an extraordinary child actor with an incredible range and, according to many of his coworkers, a natural intelligence and understanding of the craft of acting from a very young age. His performance as the rambunctious, pugnacious, battle-ready Arliss (is that even a real name?!) opposite Tommy's shy, sensitive, serious older brother role of Travis complemented each other so well and the dynamic worked well enough for them to be cast as brothers in pretty much everything Disney made between 1959-63.
Travis is left in charge of both the house and his little brother Arliss for an unspecified length of time while their Mama and Papa are away staying with their maternal grandmother who has been very seriously ill. Travis tries with very little success to keep the farm and Arliss in check while their parents are away, and luckily they're occasionally visited by their paternal Uncle, Beck, who somehow manages to miraculously soothe the troubled waters between both brothers. They manage to go a full five minutes without having an argument (after a protracted scene where Arliss seems intent on stoning poor old Travis to death!), but when Sam, the boys' beloved pet dog, starts chasing a bobcat, Arliss decides that chores and farming can wait, he's going to help his buddy chase the bobcat. Travis runs after him to bring him home, inexplicably accompanied by Lisabeth, a girl who is not backward in coming forward when it comes to getting what she wants - which in this instance is very clearly, and understandably, Travis - and to everyone's amazement, all three of them get kidnapped by some passing Apaches who have just stolen a pack of horses. A huge fight ensues in which we are led to believe that Sam the dog is killed! Gosh! Already?! This is gonna be a short film!! Oh no, wait, it's okay.... he's just playing dead. He's a clever boy!
Lisabeth's father and the boys' uncle Beck rally a few of their pals together and go off in pursuit. In the meantime, Arliss has managed to annoy one of the Apaches so much it's a wonder he wasn't killed twenty times over in the space of one scene, and fight so tenaciously that the Apaches decide to adopt him as one of their own. Lisabeth is understandably terrified about what will happen to her if the Apaches decide to make her one of their squaws, and Travis promises that he won't let any harm come to her, because he is a sweetheart like that. She swoons a bit. He blushes and looks a bit uncomfortable. Arliss rolls his eyes and makes a gagging noise. Soon afterwards another fight ensues in which Travis is mysteriously relieved of his shirt and is left for dead.
Fortunately, when he wakes up, Sam finds him, and the two of them set off to find Arliss and Lisabeth. Even more luckily, after approximately half a scene, they are finally reunited with Uncle Beck and the gang, and they all travel together to find Lisabeth and Arliss. But first thing's first - someone very kindly gives Travis a shirt, as they realise he's been semi-naked for approximately 20 minutes and it's a kids film. Also it seems pretty sunny in Texas and the poor love is probably in immediate danger of developing sunstroke, which is the last thing he needs. However, with Savage Sam's epic tracking skills and infallible nose, and the cosy feeling of having a gang of friends around to look after each other, they all feel pretty confident they'll soon find the missing kids and horses in no time.
Uncle Beck's posse consists mostly of middle-aged men who REALLY don't like Injuns, OR each other, and lots of in-fighting and bickering ensues, which really helps pad the thing out to an hour and a half. There's a flash storm towards the end of their journey and everyone is really worried that the storm will mean that Sam won't be able to track Arliss any more. However, they don't reckon on a) Sam's tracking skills or b) the personal hygiene of a 12-year-old boy. In no time, once the storm has passed, they find the missing kids.
A gigantic, brutal gunfight ensues, in which several of the Apaches are killed multiple times, and Sam personally saves his little buddy Arliss by savagely attacking one of the Apaches who was trying to strangle Arliss. In the meantime, Travis realises he's no fool and he goes and rescues Lisabeth, who weeps lustily into his shoulder and he looks pretty dashed pleased with himself.
Eventually, the battle is over and everyone gets to go home. Travis says he'll get some food on the go, but Lisabeth tells him that cooking is woman's work and she'll do it. He almost looks as though he's about to explain basic feminism to her, but thinks better of it because honestly he's a canonically terrible cook and he's glad of the respite.
Everything is calm and pleasant for ten seconds and then, yes, you guessed it, Sam starts fighting with the bobcat again, leading Arliss to go chasing after them both into the hills. Cue song, roll credits.
It's a genuinely sweet film, with great action sequences, some very cute dialogue and lovely interplay between shy budding lovers Travis and Lisbeth. It's quite slow-paced with a lot of dialogue-free Nice Scenery shots, but fortunately no animals die at the end of it. Not even the mule (epic spoiler, sorry). There are some proper laugh-out-loud moments, some stereotypical dry old cowboy humour, and the threat in the film is certainly present and pressing to the extent you feel a little anxious, but always with a reassuring tone that it will work out in the end.
I've seen A and B-Westerns that aren't nearly as well-made or well acted as Savage Sam. As a film in its own right, irrespective of its prequel, it holds its own as a solid example of the early 60s western film genre. I would highly recommend anyone watch it, irrespective of it being a Disney film, there's certainly something about it which makes it feel more like a regular grown-up Western, and honestly that's no bad thing.
All in all, Savage Sam is a hidden gem in the Disney catalogue which definitely does not get the love it deserves.
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