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Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

"The Savage", an unforgettable western directed by George Marshall and starring Charlton Heston in the beginning of his film career, is a sensitive film, which was able to show the Indian in a humane and friendly way. We must consider that the film was when the Indians appeared only as hostile, dangerous and treacherous beings whose life was worthless. Not deserve any respect and kill them anything represented as punishment to whites. Some films have sought to show a more humanized Indians (the optimal "Devil's Doorway" directed by Anthony Mann, with Robert Taylor, and "Broken Arrow" directed by Delmer Daves, with James Stewart, and Jeff Chandler playing the role of Cochise). But "The Savage" is a powerful film pro-Indians, when we observe the course of the plot the immense love that united Jim Aherne, white adopted as an infant by the Indians, and their adoptive parents. It is wonderful to see the relationship between the three, valued for outstanding performance from Charlton Heston and also Ian MacDonald, a great role. The same Ian MacDonald almost simultaneously starred in High Noon, with Gary Cooper, playing the role of villain killer. And yet we can see the beautiful Joan Taylor in the role of Luta, of great expression. I consider "The Savage" a classic, a film of extreme sensitivity and very enjoyable to watch. It's one of my favorite westerns.

This is a very unusual sort of western and in some ways I commend it. On one hand, the film is very sensitive in its portrayal of the American Indians--much more so than the typical film of the day. They are NOT savages (despite the title) and have much to admire. Yet, on the other hand, most of the 'Indians' are actually just white actors in brown paint--an opportunity lost for real Indian actors.The film begins with a wagon train being attacked by the Crow tribe. All but one are killed--a young boy survives and is adopted by the Sioux. This boy grows into Charlton Heston--and it made sense to have a white actor playing this role. He is caught in the middle--as the Sioux are moving towards being pushed to fight against the white men to survive. But some of the Sioux are worried he has divided loyalties and favors the whites over his own people. So, Heston has to show his loyalty while at the same time taking a cautious approach--as he and his adopted father do not want a war if it can be avoided (which, as history has demonstrated, was not possible). And, if war comes, on which side will he fight?! In many ways, this film is reminiscent of later westerns like "Little Big Man" and "Dances With Wolves" because these films, too, are told from the natives' point of view. And, they all have a white guy in the lead who has been adopted by the tribe. If you think about it, this is a HUGE step from the typical westerns of the era where the Indians are all faceless savages and idiots. Yet, they also are a bit paternalistic because they MUST have a white guy in the lead. Wouldn't it be interesting if the leading man was an American Indian?! Overall, a better than average western that isn't perfect but it does have a unusual take on the typical cowboys versus Indians plot.

To a large degree calling this film The Savage is quite the misnomer because Charlton Heston as the lead character is anything, but savage. Heston who starts out in the film with his character as a child played by Orley Lindgren is the only survivor of a wagon train massacre by the Crow Indians. A band of Sioux drive off the Crow who are their bitter enemies and take in Heston who is raised by the Sioux and given the Indian name War Bonnet.That's his last real contact with white people until years later he rescues some cavalry troopers pinned down by the Crows who are his mortal enemies now as well. Lieutenant Peter Hansen brings him to the cavalry fort where he's accepted and even evinces some interest by Hansen's sister Susan Morrow. But when Heston's own Indian sister Joan Taylor is killed by some other troopers the Sioux call for war and Heston is in the fight.The Savage is a sincerely made effort at showing the American Indians as three dimensional characters in line with Broken Arrow and Devil's Doorway which came out a couple of years earlier. But the script and plot are totally muddled and with it Heston's character. In the end I'm not sure how or why he was doing what he did.Heston does well in the part and another crucial role of note is that of Indian hating army captain Richard Rober whose career was cut short when he was killed in an automobile accident. He played a fine selection of villains in his short career and his last film was released five years after he died. Rober probably hid his face in shame in an afterlife when Jet Pilot came out.In Heston's early years between those two DeMille epics The Greatest Show On Earth and The Ten Commandments his films varied in quality from good to mediocre. The Savage kind of falls between both categories, good intentions with poor execution.

This colorful western adventure has a nice mixture of action and moral dilemma as hostilities break out between the cavalry and Indians. Charlton Heston, in one of his early roles, is obliged to walk a fine line between loyalty and treason, as an adopted son of a chief and as a cavalry scout. The picture was filmed in South Dakota's lush Black Hills, a country of great natural beauty. There are cavalry-Indian skirmishes and intrigue at the army post as Heston plays both ends against the middle. As both sides prepare for battle, the pressure mounts for Heston to be a hero or a renegade, and bring peace or destruction for his Sioux brethren. Peter Hansen, Richard Rober and Milburne Stone are among the good cast and Susan Morrow and Joan Taylor are the ladies who are smitten with Heston, one as a scout, the other as a Sioux warrior. Paul Sawtell contributes another fine score, a spare, melancholy accompaniment to a golden-age western.