The Savage Innocents

The Savage Innocents
The Savage Innocents
Directed by	Nicholas Ray
Screenplay by	Nicholas Ray; Hans Rüesch (adaptation); Franco Solinas (adaptation)
Based on	Top of the World; by Hans Rüesch
Produced by	Maleno Malenotti
Starring	Anthony Quinn; Yoko Tani
Cinematography	Peter Hennessy; Aldo Tonti
Edited by	Eraldo Da Roma; Ralph Kemplen; Jolanda Benvenuti
Music by	Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
Production; companies	Société Nouvelle Pathé Cinéma (as Gray Film-Pathé); Appia Films Ltd. (as Appia Film); Gray Films; Magic Film
Distributed by	The Rank Organization (United Kingdom); Paramount Pictures (United States)
Release date	May 1960;
Running time	110 minutes
Countries	Italy; United Kingdom; France
Language	English

The Savage Innocents is a 1960 adventure film directed and co-written by Nicholas Ray. Anthony Quinn and Yoko Tani star, with Lee Montague, Marco Guglielmi, Carlo Giustini, Anthony Chinn, and Michael Chow in supporting roles, alongside Peter O' Toole in his film debut. It was adapted from the novel Top of the World by Swiss writer Hans Rüesch.

The film was an international co-production, with British, Italian and French interests involved; in the United States it was released by Paramount Pictures. The film was shot on-location in the Canadian Arctic, with interiors shot in Britain's Pinewood Studios and in Rome's Cinecittà studios. It was entered in the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.^[1] The film's themes include Inuit survival in the extreme arctic wilderness, as well as their raw existence and struggle to maintain their lifestyle against encroaching civilization.

Plot[]

An Inuk hunter kills a Christian missionary who rejects his traditional offer of food and his wife's company. Pursued by white policemen, the Inuk saves the life of one of them, resulting in a final confrontation in which the surviving cop must decide between his commitment to law enforcement and his gratitude to the Inuk.

Cast[]

Anthony Quinn as Inuk
Yoko Tani as Asiak
- Nikki van der Zyl as Asiak's voice (uncredited)
Peter O'Toole as the First Trooper
- Robert Rietti as the First Trooper's voice (uncredited)
Carlo Giustini as the Second Trooper
Lee Montague as Ittimargnek
Marco Guglielmi as the Missionary
Anna Wong as Hiko
Kaida Horiuchi as Imina
Anthony Chinn as Kiddok
Michael Chow as Undik
Marie Yang as Powtee
Andy Ho as Anarvik
Yvonne Shima as Lulik
Francis de Wolff as Trader

Reception[]

Eugene Archer gave the film a mixed review in The New York Times upon its 1961 release: "Most of the qualities that have made Nicholas Ray one of America's most highly praised directors abroad while leaving him relatively unpopular and unknown at home are clearly apparent in 'The Savage Innocents.'" Describing the movie as "badly cut" and "a bitter drama," Archer nonetheless found that "Mr. Ray's highly individualistic preoccupation with moral tensions expresses itself in a series of unusually provocative scenes" and concluded that this "strange, disturbing drama will leave most of its viewers dissatisfied and some outraged, but few will remain indifferent."^[2]

The Mighty Quinn[]

Bob Dylan is widely believed to have written the song "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)" in tribute to Quinn's performance.^[3]

References[]

^ "Festival de Cannes: The Savage Innocents". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
^ Eugene Archer, "Savage Innocents", 'The New York Times', 25 May 1961 http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B00E6DF123BE13ABC4D51DFB366838A679EDE
^ Oliver Trager, Keys to the rain: the definitive Bob Dylan encyclopedia, Billboard Books, 2004, pp. 505–6.

External links[]

[festival-cannes.com-1] "Festival de Cannes: The Savage Innocents". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 18 February 2009.

[2] Eugene Archer, "Savage Innocents", 'The New York Times', 25 May 1961 http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B00E6DF123BE13ABC4D51DFB366838A679EDE

[3] Oliver Trager, Keys to the rain: the definitive Bob Dylan encyclopedia, Billboard Books, 2004, pp. 505–6.

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