Main Cast: Anthony Quinn, Yoko Tani, Francis de Wolff, Marie Yang, Andy Ho, Peter O'Toole
Release Year: 1959
Country: US/UK/FR/IT
Run Time: 110 minutes
Plot
Anthony Quinn added Eskimo to the many ethnic types he portrayed on film with this drama about a clash of cultures from director Nicholas Ray. Inuk (Quinn) is a typical Eskimo hunter, living proudly as his ancestors did, eking out an existence on the frozen Canadian tundra. When Inuk takes his wife and mother-in-law to a trading post to exchange furs, the family meets a friendly priest (Marco Guglielmi). In time-honored Eskimo custom, Inuk offers the missionary his wife's sexual favors. Offended by the man's rejection, Inuk kills him. Having broken Western law, Inuk is pursued by two Mounties (Peter O'Toole and Carlo Giustini). Slowed down by his wife's elderly mother, he sends the woman out on the ice to perish, another of his people's ancient traditions. The police capture Inuk, but the lawmen and their prisoner encounter severe weather. The Savage Innocents (1959) was the feature debut of actor O'Toole, who objected to the overdubbing of his voice in the finished film. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Kaida Horiuchi - Imina; Yvonne Shima - Lulik; Lee Montague - Itti; Marco Guglielmi - Missionary; Anthony Chin - Kidak; Anna May Wong - Hiko; Michael Chow - Undik; Ed Devereaux - Pilot; Carlo Giustini - Second Trooper
Credit
Don Ashton - Art Director, Dario Cecchi - Art Director, Douglas Wilkinson - Consultant/advisor, Vittorio Nino Novarese - Costume Designer, Nicholas Ray - Director, Baccio Bandini - Director, Eraldo Da Roma - Editor, Ralph Kemplen - Editor, Angelo Francesco Lavagnino - Composer (Music Score), Geoffrey Rodway - Makeup, Jack Atcheler - Camera Operator, Peter Hennessy - Cinematographer, Aldo Tonti - Cinematographer, Joseph Janni - Producer, Maleno Malenotti - Producer, Nicholas Ray - Screenwriter, Franco Solinas - Screenwriter, Hans Ruesch - Screenwriter, Hans Ruesch - Book Author
The Savage Innocents is a 1960film, adapted from the novel Top of the World by Swiss writer Hans Rüesch.
The screenplay was mainly written by its director, Nicholas Ray, who shot the film in the Canadian Arctic (with interiors shot in Britain's Pinewood Studios and in Rome's Cinecittà studios). 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 entered into the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.[1]
The film stars Anthony Quinn as Inuk the Eskimo, and Japanese actress Yoko Tani, as his wife. Peter O'Toole plays a Canadian trooper. O'Toole's voice was dubbed in the film, and the actor demanded that his name be removed from the credits.
One of the cast members is restaurateur Michael Chow, who appeared in several British films from the late 1950s onwards. Chow is the brother of actress Tsai Chin, and they are the offspring of the famous Beijing Opera star Zhou Xinfang.
Plot
The movie shows the lifestyle of the Eskimo with a point of interest revolving around the custom of wife sharing. A Canadian police trooper pursues an Eskimo for the killing of a missionary, who had refused his hospitality of sharing his wife, thus gravely insulting the Eskimo.
Themes
The film's themes include the Eskimos' survival in the extreme arctic wilderness, as well as their raw existence and struggle to maintain their lifestyle against encroaching civilization.
