The Savage Seven (1968)

Mad bikers storm through an Indian reservation just to have a good ol' time.

Director:

Richard Rush

Writers:

Michael Fisher, Rosalind Ross (story)

Stars:

Robert Walker Jr., Joanna Frank, John Garwood

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Walker Jr.	...	Johnnie
Joanna Frank	...	Marcia
John Garwood	...	Stud
Larry Bishop	...	Joint
Adam Roarke	...	Kisum
Max Julien	...	Grey Wolf
Richard Anders	...	Bull
Duane Eddy	...	Eddie
Charles Bail	...	Taggert (as Chuck Bail)
Mel Berger	...	Fillmore
Billy Green Bush	...	Seely
John 'Bud' Cardos	...	Running Buck (as John Cardos)
Susannah Darrow	...	Nancy
Beach Dickerson	...	Bruno
Eddy Donno	...	Fat Jack

Storyline

Biker gang leader Kisum (Adam Roarke) loves waitress Marcia Little Hawk (Joanna Frank). Her brother Johnnie Little Hawk (Robert Walker, Jr.), the leader of a group of American Indians disapproves. At various times these two groups are adversaries and allies. The two groups join forces but crooked businessmen scheme to have them at each other's throats again. The theme song "Anyone for Tennis" is by Cream. The Iron Butterfly are heard playing their classic "Iron Butterfly Theme." Producer Dick Clark and director Richard Rush made "Psych-Out" earlier in the year.

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Plot Keywords:

biker | biker gang | revenge | native american reservation | 1960s | 

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Taglines:

One for Each of the Deadly Sins...Blessed by the Devil Himself!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die grausamen Sieben

Filming Locations:

Nipton, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP), Dick Clark Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Perfect)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Penny Marshall's film debut.

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Connections

Referenced in The Sinister Saga of Making 'The Stunt Man' (2000)

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Soundtracks

"The Ballad of the Savage Seven"
Lyrics by Guy Hemric
Music by Val Johns (as Valjean Johns)
Performed by The American Revolution

User Reviews

Better Than You'd Think

About the uneasy alliance between a gang of bikers and dirt poor Native Americans with the establishment, naturally, as their common foe. Directed by Richard Rush, who would go on to make the brilliant "The Stunt Man", the film delivers on all the action and stunts you'd expect from this genre while also injecting some obvious but effective social commentary. (The powers-that-be pit the bikers and Indians against each other to dissolve their strength and perpetuate their fringe status.)

The lead biker, Adam Roarke, is commanding and charismatic - he's not the meathead you'd expect from this sort of film. In fact, there is a gravity and depth to his performance that catches you off guard at first. He's a bewildering but fascinating mix of aggression and sensitivity, someone grappling with the scrambled values of the era. I liked Robert Walker Jr. too as the hot-headed, blue-eyed Indian. Often too boyish and elf-like, he's edgier and more natural here.

The movie has style to burn and stands up as an unusually well-mounted (and richly photographed) biker flick, with some brains behind the chains. Rush doesn't seem inhibited by the common-ness of the material - he builds the characters and moves his camera (it glides and whirls like a gymnast) in typically startling fashion. The whole exercise seems to center around Roarke's memorable line "If I'm going to be a bear, it might as well be a Grizzly."