Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

SWAMP WOMAN

Jack La Rue as Pete Oliver
SWAMP WOMAN (1941). Director: Elmer Clifton.

An innocent jailbird named Jeff Carter (Richard Deane) escapes into swampland where an isolated community has thrived, if that's the word, for decades. Chased by determined Det. Lt. Rance (Ian MacDonald), Jeff runs into Lizbet Tollington (Mary Hull), who thinks Jeff is mighty "purty" and wants to keep him. This does not sit well with local moonshiner Pete Oliver (Jack La Rue), who had hoped to marry Lizbet himself. Back into town sashays the "Swamp Woman" herself, Annabelle (Ann Corio), Lizbet's older sister, who in turn is being sought by old vaudeville colleague "Flash" Brand (Jay Novello). Will the assorted love and legal troubles of these characters be happily resolved? A cheap PRC release, Swamp Woman features a minor but interesting story and has several flavorful performances from such good character actors as Novello [The Lost World] and La Rue [The Story of Temple Drake], who makes an impression as the tough if heartbroken Pete. Deane had handsome, sensitive features and was a good actor, but he only had five credits. Corio had few movie credits as well and Hull only appeared in this one picture. Elmer Clifton also directed the wonderful Universal serial The Secret of Treasure Island. Not to be confused with Roger Corman's far superior Swamp Women. 

Verdict: There are worse things in the swamp. **.

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