CRY VENGEANCE

CRY VENGEANCE (1954). Director: Mark Stevens.

Former cop Vic Barron (Mark Sevens) comes to Alaska in search of mobster Tino Morelli (Douglas Kennedy), whom Barron feels is responsible for the death of his wife and child as well as his own facial disfigurement. Searching for the man and plotting his revenge, he encounters bar owner Peggy Harding (Martha Hyer) and old girlfriend, Lily (Joan Vohs). Barron is so understandably intent on getting even that he even contemplates harming Morelli's little girl, Marie (Cheryl Callaway). But before he can get to Morelli, he has to deal with a nasty blond hit man named Roxey (Skip Homeier). Homeier [Stark Fear], Hyer and Vohs [Lure of the Swamp] give the best performances in this; striving for a depiction of single-minded intensity, Stevens, who also directed, plays it all in one note. Mort Mills, the cop in Psycho, has a small role, as does Richard Deacon [The Birds] as a bartender.

Verdict: Acceptable if minor-league film noir. **1/2.

LURE OF THE SWAMP

Joan Vohs and Marshall Thompson

LURE OF THE SWAMP (1957). Director: Hubert Cornfield.

Simon Lewt (Marshall Thompson), who takes people out for boat rides in the swamp, is suddenly meeting all sorts of strangers. There's Lister (Willard Parker), who takes a suitcase into the swamp with him and later turns up dead; Steggins (Leo Gordon), who is looking for Lister; Henry Bliss (Jack Elam), a creepy type who wants Simon to help him find loot from a robbery; and Cora (Joan Vohs), who claims to be a photographer doing a story on the swamp. Then we've got Simon's nutty gal pal, Evie (Joan Lora), who is fond of taking shots at him when she's upset -- no wonder he wants to get out of the swamp! Lure of the Swamp is an odd low-budget affair (in Regalscope) that seems to exist in another universe. The performances are professional, with a vivid and interesting Jack Elam [The Girl in Lover's Lane] and Willard Parker [What a Woman] taking top honors. Former model Vohs mostly did television work; ditto for Lora. As usual, Thompson [Fiend without a Face] is an appealing performer.

Verdict: Ersatz film noir set in a swamp. **1/2.