Savage Sam (1963)

My Review

“Savage Sam” is the sequel to 1957’s “Old Yeller.” It stars Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran returning as their characters, brothers Travis and Arliss Coates, along with a new dog called Savage Sam, who gets into as much trouble as Old Yeller. While their parents are away visiting an ailing grandmother, their uncle, played by Brian Keith, looks in on them occasionally. It was filmed in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.

This picture holds it own as a family drama, with a decent effort by director Norman Tokar and screenwriters Fred Gipson and William Turberg. It was adapted from Gipson’s 1962 children’s novel of the same name. However, it did not have the same appeal and subsequent success at the box office for Walt Disney Productions as did “Old Yeller.” Co-stars of “Savage Sam” include Marta Kristen (TV’s “Lost in Space”), Dewey Martin, Slim Pickens, Royal Dano, Jeff York, Rodolfo Acosta, Pat Hogan, Dean Fredericks, and Brad Weston.