Fred Gipson's son, found the Gipson family dog, the inspiration for Savage Sam, chained and clubbed to death in a shed behind the new family home. The next day, Mike returned to university in shock, and committed suicide that weekend. Gipson's wife would leave him a month after the premiere of Savage Sam. It was one of the first movies from director Norman Tokar. "I got him from TV," said Walt Disney. "I like young talent. When people get to be institutions, they direct pictures with their left hand and do something else with their right." Pat Hogan appears as tribesman Broken Nose. Dean Fredericks, formerly Steve Canyon on NBC, played a Comanche chief in this film. Filming started August 6, 1962. It was mostly shot around the San Fernando Valley. Critical reception The film received poor reviews and fell short of box office expectations, paling in comparison with Old Yeller. According to Gipson's biographer, ""criticized as clichéd and overdirected, the production was especially faulted for inconsistency with Gipson's tone." The Washington Post called it a "dogged, listless effort." "Action melodrama with a formula plot" said the Los Angeles Times. The Chicago Tribune said "the members of the cast are all capable enough, but they are all handicapped by a lurid plot which looks like it was made up by all the action scenes in a bunch of old television scripts." See also List of American films of 1963 Old Yeller, 1957 film References Notes External links 1963 films 1963 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Walt Disney Pictures films Films about dogs 1960s English-language films Films directed by Norman Tokar Films produced by Walt Disney Films scored by Oliver Wallace 1960s American films