The Savage Seven

1968 film by Richard Rush

May 5, 1968 (1968-05-05)

Running time

94 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBox office$2,100,000 (US/ Canada rentals)^[1]

The Savage Seven is a 1968 outlaw biker exploitation film directed by Richard Rush, who had directed the previous year's Hells Angels on Wheels. Rush agreed to direct The Savage Seven in exchange for the opportunity to make the psychedelic film Psych-Out.^[2]

Penny Marshall appears in one of her earliest screen roles.^[3]

Plot

Kisum, the leader of a motorcycle gang, 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. as Johnnie
Joanna Frank as Marcia
John Garwood as Stud
Larry Bishop as Joint
Adam Roarke as Kisum
Max Julien as Grey Wolf
Richard Anders as Bull
Duane Eddy as Eddie
Billy "Green" Bush as Seely
Gary Kent as Lansford
Penny Marshall as Tina

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, 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."^[4]

Several critics consider the film to be a biker film adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic Seven Samurai.^[5]^[6]

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack album was released 1968 on Atco Records as 33-245 (mono) and SD-33-245 (stereo).^[7]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performer	Length
1.	"Anyone for Tennis (Theme from The Savage Seven)"	Eric Clapton, Martin Sharp	Cream	2:39
2.	"Desert Ride"	Jerry Styner		1:23
3.	"Maria's Theme (Vocal)"	Guy Hemric, Jerry Styner	Barbara Kelly & the Morning Good	2:27
4.	"Shacktown Revenge"	Jerry Styner	Barbara Kelly & the Morning Good	1:58
5.	"The Medal"	Jerry Styner	Barbara Kelly & the Morning Good	1:36
6.	"Here Comes the Fuzz"	Jerry Styner	Barbara Kelly & the Morning Good	1:15
7.	"Iron Butterfly Theme"	Doug Ingle	Iron Butterfly	4:32
8.	"Unconscious Power"	Doug Ingle, Danny Weis, Ron Bushy	Iron Butterfly	2:30
9.	"Everyone Should Own a Dream"	Guy Hemric, Jerry Styner	Iron Butterfly	2:23
10.	"The Deal"	Jerry Styner	Iron Butterfly	1:43
11.	"Desert Love"	Jerry Styner	Iron Butterfly	1:47
12.	"Ballad of the Savage Seven"	Guy Hemric, Valjean Johns	Barbara Kelly & the Morning Good	2:35
13.	"Maria's Theme (Instrumental)"	Guy Hemric, Jerry Styner	Barbara Kelly & the Morning Good	2:08
14.	"The Savage Struggle"	Jerry Styner	Barbara Kelly & the Morning Good	2:24

References

^ "Big Rental Films of 1969", Variety, 7 January 1970 p 15 and "Big Rental Films of 1968", Variety, 8 January 1969 p 15. Please note this figure is a rental accruing to distributors.
^ Murray, Noel (June 13, 2011). "Interview: Richard Rush". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
^ "Penny Marshall Interview - Dick Clark and Cast of 1000s". YouTube. 2012-09-14. Retrieved 2012-12-20.
^ Shepard, Richard F. (1968-08-22). "Screen: Just Plain Brutal". The New York Times. p. 47.
^ Baltake, Joe (9 September 1998). "Kurosawa deserved master status". The Windsor Star. p. B6. Retrieved 21 April 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Demme, Jonathan (2009). Jonathan Demme: Interviews. University Press of Mississippi. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-60473-117-0.
^ Various - Original Motion Picture Sound Track The Savage Seven Featuring Cream / Iron Butterfly, 1968, retrieved 2022-02-07