''Savages'' is a 1974 American

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Lee H. Katzin Lee H. Katzin (12 April 1935 - 30 October 2002) was an American film director. Early life and education He was born in Detroit, Michigan, and became a TV director in the late 1960s, including episodes for ''Bonanza, Mission: Impossible ''and '' ...

and based on the 1972 novel '' Deathwatch'' by

Robb White Robb White III (June 20, 1909 – November 24, 1990) was an American writer of screenplays, television scripts, and adventure novels. Most of the latter had a maritime setting, often the Pacific Navy during World War II. White was best ...

. It stars

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his character ...

and

Sam Bottoms Samuel John Bottoms (October 17, 1955 – December 16, 2008) was an American actor and producer. Early life Bottoms was born in Santa Barbara, California, the third son of James "Bud" Bottoms (a sculptor and art teacher) and Betty (Chapman ...

Synopsis

A successful

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

lawyer and hunter, Horton Madec (

), receives a rare permit to hunt

bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...

in the nearby

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

. He hires a timid

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

student currently working as a filling station attendant named Ben (

), who will drive him into the desert with his Jeep CJ and help show Madec where the bighorn are. Ben is studying to be a

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

, so therefore he knows the desert very well. After Madec accidentally shoots a ewe with his .30-06

Winchester Model 70 The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt-action sporting rifle. It has an iconic place in American sporting culture and has been held in high regard by shooters since it was introduced in 1936, earning the moniker "The Rifleman's Rifle". The action has s ...

rifle, he buries it and although Ben is disappointed, he agrees that they should pretend like the incident never happened. However, Ben realizes that what Madec shot was no female sheep; upon noting a bloody human hand underneath the grass. Horrified, Ben digs it up and realizes that Madec has actually shot a local

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...

named Winnie Haas, who was Ben's friend and mentor. Madec apologizes, but argues that he cannot afford to sit in jail, as he is too important and has a family to take care of. Refusing to cover it up, Ben argues that the honest thing to do would be for the two of them to report the accidental shot, but Madec refuses, even going as far to bribe Ben with thousands of dollars just to keep quiet about the incident. It is then that Madec decides to eliminate the only witness to the crime - Ben. Madec forces Ben to strip down to nothing but his shorts at gunpoint. He intends to make up a story saying that the two became separated, then Ben went crazy, tore off all his clothes and died within a matter of hours due to dehydration and heat. Ben attempts to escape by walking 45 miles to the nearest highway. Madec watches Ben the entire distance while aiming at him with his rifle. After trying to climb the nearby Big Lizard

butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word me ...

, Ben is shot by Madec, causing him to fall and injure his back. Time is running out as he begins to

hallucinate A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...

. Suffering from

dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...

, hunger,

sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and animals include: red or reddish skin that is h ...

, and his gunshot wounds, Ben needs to find water, food, shelter, and a weapon. Ben later gets a slingshot from the prospector's tent and uses it to breathe after he buries himself to avoid Madec finding him. Ben eventually uses survival techniques the prospector taught him to locate water inside a cave, later overpowering Madec by lighting his tent on fire, distracting him and allowing him to shoot Madec in the hand with the slingshot. He then drives them back to town and attempts to convince the local police to believe his story; however, Madec's story is more meticulously detailed and convincing to them. Madec claims that Ben shot the prospector after a drunken dispute, backing up his story by stating that he never knew the prospector. As the police cannot find the slingshot, either, they have to go with Madec's story. However, right as Madec is preparing to leave town and filling up with gasoline, there is something lodged in the pump. Ben unclogs it by putting a pole into the underground tank and unearthing the slingshot which Madec had earlier put there and hidden from the police. The local police believe Ben's story and tell Madec to get a lawyer, only for Madec to reply that he ''is'' a lawyer. They apologize to Ben for the confusion and Ben replies that he only wanted to report an accident.

Cast

as Horton Madec *

as Ben Campbell * Noah Beery Jr. as George Whiting *

James Best Jewel Franklin Guy (July 26, 1926 – April 6, 2015), known professionally as James Best, was an American television, film, stage, and voice actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician. Duri ...

as Sheriff Bert Hamilton * Randy Boone as Deputy Dickie Haycroft * Jim Antonio as Deputy Les Hanford * James Chandler as The Doctor

Production

The casting of Griffith and Bottoms was announced in June 1974.

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' called the film "riveting, chilling".'Savages': An Inspired Chase Thomas, Kevin. Los Angeles Times 11 Sep 1974: g22.

References

External links