The Taste of the Savage (1971)

Joe Carson is working his ranch one day when three men ride out of the hills and gun him down in front of his home.

Young son Judd (Jorge Luke) witnesses the killing; wife Sara (Isela Vega) arrives minutes later and winds up covered in blood from hugging her husband’s bullet-riddled body.

From that day forward, they form a pact: The three men responsible for the murder will pay. And they pay at Judd’s hand.

To make sure that happens, Sara hires a roving gunslinger named Huck (Cameron Mitchell) to work on her ranch and train Judd in the art of the gun.

And Judd learns well. Too well for Huck’s liking. He winds up riding off, fearful of the monster he’s created.

Sure enough, Huck’s fears are realized. Soon, Judd’s violence stems beyond those responsible for his father’s death.

When Huck returns, it’s with orders to eliminate the young menace with the fast gun. But Judd has a mother and a hired hand named Lobo who will do anything to protect him.

Review:

Well-done revenge flick that’s grittier, considerably more violent and far less predictable from the norm.

There’s also a sense of doom early on — doom projected by the world-weary Cameron Mitchell character, who realizes he’s helped create “the makings of a real bastard.”

But the fault isn’t Judd’s alone. Nor Huck’s. It’s Judd’s mother who has nurtured the hate in him, repeatedly making him promise to fulfill their joint quest for vengeance.

In fact, the film’s title comes from a conversation Huck has with Judd’s mom. Most women lose loved ones and learn to move on with life. Instead, she’s allowed “the taste of the savage” to take hold of her heart.

Helene Rojo plays the young woman Judd falls for; Arthur Hansel is her over protective brother who forbids such a relationship.

Mario Almada, Carlos East and Nicholas Georgiade plays the men on Judd’s hit list, men Lobo has been dispatched to find.

Directed by:
Alberto Mariscal

Cast:
Jorge Luke … Judd Carson
Cameron Mitchell … Huck
Isela Vega .. Sara Carson
Helene Rojo … Rina Pittman
Arthur Hansel … Sam Pittman
Enrique Lucero … Lobo
Mario Almada … Al Gibson
Carlos East .. Collins
Nicholas Georgiade … Neil Robertson
Antonio Raxel … Hank
Rogelio Guerra … Joe Carson

Runtime: 86 min.

aka:
El sabor de la venganza
An Eye for an Eye
Branded X

Music: Ruben Fuentes

Memorable lines:

Sara Carson to her son, following the murder of her husband; “Judd, we must never forget this. We must never forget this. Promise.”

Huck: “Man was right. You are a tease. All that scenery stickin’ out in front out you. Almost any man would want to stab you. Almost, anyways.”
Sara Carson: “Do you?”
Huck: “Well, ma’am, I’m the almost. I quit that a long while ago.”

Huck to Judd, when he pulls his gun on someone who insults him: “You can’t wait, can you? To use that black and white stick of dynamite? You can’t wait.”

Huck, watching Judd walk away: “Here’s to our boy, Lobo. He’s got all the makings of a real bastard. And I made him. I made him in my own fouled up image.”

Trivia:

Co-stars Isela Vega and Jorge Luke play mother and son in this film, but were later married for about five years and had a daughter, Shaula, who also became an actress. They met while filming “The Taste of the Savage;” Isela was about three years older than Jorge.

Isela Vega reflects on her relationship with Jorge in an interview here.

This marked Jorge’s first credited film role. Western fans are likely to remember his as the Apache scout Ke-Ni-Tay in 1972’s “Ulzana’s Raid” or as one of William Holden’s “Revengers” (also 1972). He died at age 70 in 2012 following a long bout of depression.

Isela Vega became a sex symbol in Mexico in the 1960s and posed for Playboy in 1974. The same year, she starred in Sam Peckinpah’s “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia,” starring Warren Oates.