I was one of the female stars in the 1972 American/Filipino film Savage (aka Black Valor). It was written by B-movie screenwriter Ed Medard for Roger Corman. It was directed by Cirio Santiago in the Philippines. The film enjoyed much success on the B-movie circuit, though it was never shown on American television. Probably, because of some nudity.

A very interesting location during the filming of Savage was the Island of Luzon. Even though it was only about 30 miles from Manila, it seemed to be another world. After playing war on the beach, I decided to wade into the Philippine Sea. It was warm--like taking a bath, because the Taal Volcano was active. Even more interesting: the volcano had a lake with an island on it. The island also had a lake on it. To top it off, there were people living on the island. So the Filipino Government were hurriedly assisting the people down the mountain. There had been a deadly eruption of the Taal Volcano in 1965. Seven years later, no one wanted to chance it.

As I looked towards the top of the Taal Volcano, I wondered how people could even feel comfortable living on top of an active volcano. However, even in the small Village of Taal, they seem to take it in stride. The Filipino people living in small rooms built on stilts on the beach, didn't even seem concerned about a tidal wave. They had lived that way for centuries. When the Philippine Sea rose, they stayed huddled in their stilted home. They felt like they were part of the sea...they never fought against it. So their floors had open spaces so that the salt water could run back out, and join the Philippine Sea.

While sitting in one of their homes, I noticed that they seemed to be void of the stress of modern society. Some were very old with strong black hair with just a hint of gray. They adjusted to mother nature's blessings and wraths, and were not even aware of the Viet Nam War or any of man's nuclear powers. Their parents probably went through World War II without really being affected. After all, I'm sure the Japanese never went on top of the Taal Volcano looking for anyone. They truly were the free people.

As a whole I love Filipino food. Like most Asian food, it's spicy and delicious. Working with Cirio Santiago, of course, gave us assets to the best caterers in Manila. However, working on the beach in Taal, he used the local people. Attempting to please me with what they thought was a delicacy, I had raw seaweed placed under my nose. The smell seem to reach to the pit of my stomach. I felt light-headed as if I would vomit. No matter how healthy raw seaweed was, I realized that at 3:00am I couldn't deal with it. Again, I had another reality check. The first when I first arrived in the Philippines which was learning to sleep with lizards hanging on the walls. The second was I couldn't eat directly out of the sea as the Taal people.

Again, I found myself being American...hotel, Holiday Inn?????? I was definitely ready for the Manila Intercontential Hotel.

After spending most of the day on the beach, we headed for a hotel in the Village of Taal. Needless to say it was rickety. The beams even seemed shakey holding the old hotel up. Perhaps it wasn't even that old, the salt air off of the Philippine Sea certainly added to the deterioration of the wood.

After we were settled into our rooms, Lada Edmund, Jr., Sally Jordan, and myself decided to walked to the beach. Cirio Santiago ran out of the hotel, saying it wasn't safe. Not safe? Somehow Santiago had some intelligence that rebels were in the area. He was so nervous, he had guards coming in from Manila. What the upper class called rebels, they called themselves revolutionaries. After dinner, while laying in the bed, I calculated my odds. If they did decide to hit the hotel, they wouldn't stop to ask me if I was an American. I was the size of a Filipino woman, and they could assume that my natural was a wig. Perhaps, by Lada and Sally being blond they would stand a chance. After several hours of thinking about the rebels, I decided to go to sleep. If they did hit the hotel, it would be swift. If we made it through...well, I'd wake up refreshed.

We made it through the rest of Savage without any more incidents, except for gun powder burns on Lada Edmund, Jr.'s hand. All of Santiago's guns were relics from World War II.

The underwater scene in Savage was filmed in a swimming pool that could be viewed from a nightclub bar. Actually, I got a kick out of the fact that people could sip on a drink and watch people swim. Not wanting to have anything to drink, I proceded to the ladies room. Lada Edmund, Jr. ordered a Tom Collins. I thought that was odd, because swimming underwater and alcohol didn't mix. But then Lada had become quite reckless. She'd, also, become vicious towards me. I couldn't figure that one out, because she was dating every rich playboy in Manila. She was always at the Polo Matches. Yet, I knew something was wrong, because she couldn't be alone. Oh, well, I joined Sally Jordan in the ladies room. She had another problem...the first American white girl I had met who couldn't swim underwater. So while pulling on my bikini bottoms and making sure my makeup would last underwater, I was teaching Sally how to hold her breathe. By the time I got up to the swimming pool, my white satin costume for the next scene was at the bottom of the pool. I looked at Lada ignorantly drinking before a water scene. She smiled and continued sipping. I rushed over to Cirio Santiago livid. He assured me he'd have another made...a better outfit. During the filming of the entire underwater scene Lada Edmund, Jr. and I had nothing but "ice water" between us. And, of course, Sally Jordan kept surfacing to get air. It took all day to film that one scene. After that, I needed to sit at the bar myself, and watch the people swim.

Although I enjoy a little comic relief from time to time, I'm tired of the confusion stemming from Spielberg's Savage (aka Watch Dog). There's something strange about being listed in a Universal TV movie called Savage that was directed by Steven Spielberg which I never filmed. It's definitely a joke that doesn't make me laugh.

Carol Speed, August 2001