''The Savage Seven'' is a 1968

outlaw biker An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, ...

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

directed by Richard Rush, who had directed the previous year's ''

Hells Angels on Wheels ''Hells Angels on Wheels'' is a 1967 American biker film directed by Richard Rush, and starring Adam Roarke, Jack Nicholson, and Sabrina Scharf. The film tells the story of a gas-station attendant with a bad attitude who finds life more exciting ...

''. Rush agreed to direct ''The Savage Seven'' in exchange for the opportunity to make the

psychedelic film Psychedelic film is a film genre characterized by the influence of psychedelia and the experiences of psychedelic drugs. Psychedelic films typically contain visual distortion and experimental narratives, often emphasizing psychedelic imagery. Th ...

Psych-Out ''Psych-Out'' is a 1968 American psychedelic film about hippies, psychedelic music and recreational drugs starring Susan Strasberg, Jack Nicholson (the film's leading man despite being billed under supporting player Dean Stockwell) and Br ...

''.

Penny Marshall Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, director and producer. She is known for her role as ...

appears in one of her earliest screen roles.

Plot

Kisum, the leader of a

motorcycle gang An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, ...

, is in love with waitress Marcia Little Hawk. Her brother Johnnie Little Hawk, the leader of a group of Indians, is upset about the romance. The bikers and Indians join forces but a scheme by crooked businessmen causes them to become adversaries.

Cast

Robert Walker Jr. Robert Hudson Walker Jr. (April 15, 1940 – December 5, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in films including ''Easy Rider'' (1969) and was a familiar presence on television in the 1960s and early 1970s. He became less active in lat ...

as Johnnie *

Joanna Frank Joanna Frank (born Johanna Bochco; March 7, 1941) is an American actress. Career Her first role was in Elia Kazan's 1963 film ''America, America'' as the character "Vartuhi", and she also appeared in ''The Young Animals'' (1968) and the cult bi ...

as Marcia * John Garwood as Stud *

Larry Bishop Larry Bishop (born November 30, 1948) is an American actor, screenwriter and film director. He is the son of Sylvia Ruzga and comedian Joey Bishop. He has been featured in many Hollywood movies including '' Hell Ride''. Early life Bishop atte ...

as Joint *

Adam Roarke Adam Roarke (born Richard Jordan Gerler, August 8, 1937 – April 27, 1996) was an American actor and film director. Life and career Roarke was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he was a street gang member during his youth. His father was a v ...

as Kisum *

Max Julien Maxwell Julien Banks (July 12, 1933 – January 1, 2022), better known by his stage name Max Julien, was an American actor, sculptor, and clothes designer best known for his role as Goldie in the 1973 blaxploitation film ''The Mack''. Julien a ...

as Grey Wolf * Richard Anders as Bull *

Duane Eddy Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel- ...

as Eddie *

Billy "Green" Bush William Warren Bush (born November 7, 1935) is an American actor, usually credited as Billy Green Bush and sometimes as Billy Greenbush. Typecast Bush is a character actor, typically projecting in his screen appearances the good-ol'-boy image. ...

as Seely *

as Tina

Reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', critic Richard F. Shepard wrote: "The movie is one continuous uproar of unmuffled motors and head-cracking and emphasized cruelty from one and to another. It is colorful and technically competent but completely cheap in its primitive, uninquiring, kick'-em-in-the-groin sensationalism, too serious to be lusty and too one-note to be interesting." Several critics consider the film to be a

biker film This list is for films where at least one biker appears as a significant plot element. A bike in a film does not qualify for this list. Before 1960 * '' The Uncontrollable Motorcycle'' (1909) * '' Alkali Ike's Motorcycle'' (1912) * '' A Motorcyc ...

adaptation of

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

's 1954 classic ''

Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The story takes place in 1586 during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. It follows the story of a village of desperate farmers who hire seven ...

''.

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack album was released 1968 on

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

as 33-245 (mono) and SD-33-245 (stereo).

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Savage Seven, The 1968 films 1960s action thriller films 1960s crime drama films 1960s exploitation films American International Pictures films American action thriller films American crime drama films American exploitation films 1960s English-language films Films about Native Americans Films directed by Richard Rush Films scored by Jerry Styner Outlaw biker films 1960s American films