The Exiles  /  The Savage Eye

The Exiles  (1961)

Kent MacKenzie renders an indelible portrait of an urban Native American community. We are introduced to three Native American youths living in downtown Los Angeles, facing diverse dreams and challenges. The film chronicles a typical nightly bar-crawl, ending in a night of drumming and dancing on a hilltop overlooking the downtown skyline. Displacement and cultural survival are given eloquent voice in this unique screen story.

Restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive with funding from the National Film Preservation Foundation. Courtesy of Milestone Film & Video.

35mm print from the UCLA Film & Television Archive, b/w, 72 min. Director/Screenwriter: Kent MacKenzie. Cinematographer: John Merril, Robert Kaufman, Erik Daarstad. Cast: Yvonne Williams, Homer Nish, Tommy Reynolds.

The Savage Eye  (1960)

A quintessential Los Angeles independent film, The Savage Eye follows a woman waiting out her divorce while confronting the loneliness of an impersonal city. Seeking distraction from her boredom, she throws herself into the seedier side of Los Angeles life. Two stream-of- consciousness narrators, the woman and a poet/angel, dominate the soundtrack carrying on a dialogue about what she sees and experiences.

Restored print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.

35mm, b/w, 68 min. Director/Screenwriter: Ben Maddow, Sidney Meyers, Joseph Strick. Cast: Barbara Baxley, Gary Merrill, Herschel Bernardi.