Savage Sam (1963)

How sad is this?

Good concept, poorly executed.

Fantastic!

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Not that many people, even among those who are big fans of OLD YELLER, know that a sequel was made to that beloved movie. Seeing the sequel today, I think I know why this sequel quickly drifted out of the public's conscious. Despite the movie having the name of the family dog in its title, there are large chunks of the movie where the dog is off camera. (And why is Sam shown to have a dark colored coat of hair when in the first movie as a puppy, he had golden hair?) Also, the characters of the little brother and the teenage girl are off camera for a sizable chunk of time as well. The biggest problem the movie has is that there isn't as much excitement or big feelings about anything like the first movie had. It's as if the movie was trying to be as mediocre as possible. Still, some loutish viewers may get a few laughs from how uncomfortable Tommy Kirk seems to be in the scenes where he's paired up with a female love interest.

Six years after "Old Yeller", Tommy Kirk (as Travis Coates) and Kevin Corcoran (as Arliss Coates) are home alone. The disappearance of "Young Yeller" is never explained. Parents Katie and Jim Coates are away from the ranch, caring for an ailing grandmother - but, don't worry, Brian Keith (as Uncle Beck Coates) checks up on the lads. Still, they are kidnapped by Native American Indians. So, can New Dog on the Block "Savage Sam" save Mr. Kirk, brother Corcoran, and Marta Kristen (as Lisbeth Searcy) from the savage Indians? Stupid, insulting, offensive, and unworthy… To be blunt, "Old Yeller" was one of the BEST films of this type, and "Savage Sam" is one of the WORST films of this type. They should have let sleeping dogs lie. Replacement pooch "Sam" is given no personality, and has almost nothing to do. The dog should have barked, "Get me out of this picture!" The "Injun" abduction scenes are unbelievably wretched. On the plus side, the Coates Family farm set, and location, is Disney dreamy - you couldn't help but want to live there. And, you get to see beautiful Ms. Kristen before she became "Lost in Space". But, really… you wouldn't send a dog out to see a movie like this.** Savage Sam (6/1/63) Norman Tokar ~ Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran, Brian Keith, Marta Kristen

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.