Savage Sam

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.

We all know that "Old Yeller" is a classic. It will always stand out as one of the best live-action Disney films of its time. With that said, does any kind of follow-up film deserve any attention? "Savage Sam" certainly does. It is another well made Disney adventure. Classic? Almost, but "Old Yeller" was a tough act to follow.

I found "Savage Sam" refreshing because it made no attempt to be anything like "Yeller". Sam the dog is not a threat to anyone. In this movie, he is also not the center of attention. This story is different; Travis and Arliss are older. That's how it should be. Six years passed between the release of the movies.

Brian Keith was great in this film. Here, he is supposed to be the younger brother of Fess Parker's character in "Yeller". I really liked him here.

As another DVD in my Disney collection, everyone in the family enjoyed it. I give it *** out of four stars.

Norman Tokar took over directing duties on this sequel to "Old Yeller" that sees Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran return as Travis and Arliss Coates, who, several years later, now have a new dog called 'Savage' Sam(though whether he really is related to Yeller is never established) who still proves as brave and heroic as Yeller, since both boys(along with a female friend) are abducted by a hostile Native tribe, and held for some undetermined reason. Meanwhile, their Uncle Beck Coates(played by Brian Keith) is looking for them, since their parents are away taking care of a sick relative. Just how can the group get out of this predicament? Disappointing film isn't at all bad, but is forgettable and ineffectual, with little of the folksy charm of the first.

I can't believe this movie is even listed. i love it, don't get me wrong, but i didn't think anyone else knew it existed. Savage Sam is a great movie for everyone. I used to watch it at my grandmother's house on tape when i was little, but i saw it again recently and loved it just as much as ever. The characters are kind of hokey, but so what. You don't find characters like this anymore. Travis is so cute, with his hot temper and rock throwing. I think that everyone should give it a chance, after all Savage Sam is Old Yeller's pup.

If you like the old Disney family movies like Old Yeller, Parent Trap, Swiss Family Robinson, Davy Crockett, etc., then you will probably like this movie. While it is advertised as a sequel to Old Yeller, the only similarities are the same actors are back for the boys and Mr. Searcy and the story does involve a dog. That's it for similarities.

You are best to watch this movie for what it is and ignore the sequel part. Brian Keith is a nice addition to the movie playing the boys' uncle and though it is familiar story, it is not a repeat of the original story as so many sequels tend to be.