The
novelA novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Savage Sam was the 1962 sequel to
Old YellerOld Yeller is a 1957 Walt Disney Productions feature film starring Tommy Kirk, Jeff York and Beverly Washburn about a boy and a stray dog in post-Civil War Texas, based upon the 1956 Newbery Honor-winning book Old Yeller by Fred Gipson. The screenplay was written by Gipson and William Tunberg and...
written by
Fred GipsonFrederick Benjamin Gipson was an American author. He is best known for writing the 1956 novel Old Yeller, which became a popular 1957 Walt Disney film. Gipson was born on a farm near Mason in the Texas Hill Country, the son of Beck Gipson and the former Emma Deishler...
. It was inspired by the story of former Apache captive
Herman LehmannHerman Lehmann was captured as a child by Native Americans. He lived first among the Apache and then the Comanche but eventually returned to his family later on in his life. The phenomenon of a "white boy" raised by "Indians" made him a notable figure in the United States...
, whom Gipson had seen give an exhibition when he was a child.
The live-action film was released by
Walt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist. Disney is famous for his influence in the field of entertainment during the twentieth century. As the co-founder Walter Elias...
on June 1, 1963. Savage Sam is Old Yeller's son, and every bit as courageous and loyal as his father, as well as an incredibly keen tracker.
Tommy KirkThomas Lee "Tommy" Kirk is a former American actor, and later a businessman.-Disney years:...
and
Kevin CorcoranKevin Anthony "Moochie" Corcoran is an American director, producer, and former child actor. He appeared in numerous Disney projects between 1957 and 1963, frequently as an irrepressible character with the nickname Moochie...
return to reprise their roles as frontier brothers, Travis and Arliss Coates (now both noticeably older). Both father and mother Jim and Katie Coates (originally played by Fess Parker and Dorothy McGuire in "Old Yeller") are away visiting McGuire's sick mother, and have left oldest son Travis in charge of things. Travis and Arliss are once again at odds with the old issue "who's in charge?" with Travis trying to get the work done, and Arliss wanting to go off hunting with Savage Sam.
Brian KeithBrian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor, who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney film, The Parent Trap, the 1966 movie, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 movie, The Wind and the Lion...
plays the boy's Uncle Beck (referred to as the younger brother of Fess Parker's Jim Coates) who comes by to check on how the boys are doing, and gives advice to Travis on how to handle Arliss a little better ("All little brothers hate bossin'. You've got to learn how to outfigger him, Travis"). During the story, Travis, Arliss, and their neighbor's daughter, Lisbeth Searcy (
Marta KristenMarta Kristen is an American actress, specializing in character-type parts....
) are taken captive by Indians. Uncle Beck gathers up some neighboring men to go in search of them, which includes Lisbeth's somewhat overbearing father, Bud Searcy (once again played comically well by
Jeff YorkJeff York was an American film and television actor who began his career in the late 1930s using the stage name Granville Owen...
), and
Slim PickensLouis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
joins the group as well. Travis manages to escape and is found by the search party (partly thanks to Sam's keen sense of smell), and the whole search party, along with Travis and Savage Sam, rescue Arliss and Lisbeth.