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The Savage is set in motion by the rivalry between two behavioral scientists, played by Tom McGuire and Sam Hardy. Hoping to discredit McGuire, Hardy hires city-dwelling Ben Lyon and plants the young man on a desert island. He then arranges for McGuire to discover Lyon on the island. Instructed to behave like a "savage," Lyon is brought back to civilization by McGuire, who intends to exhibit the boy as proof of his Missing Link theory. Meanwhile, Hardy sits back and waits for the right opportunity to expose McGuire as a fraud. But when Lyon falls in love with McGuire's daughter May McAvoy, he decides to teach Hardy a good -- and painful -- lesson.