O Estrangulador

No, it's not PRC's finest hour (and even though it's listed at 59 minutes, I swear it's closer to 50)--that honour has to go to Edgar Ulmer's Detour. Strangler of the Swamp is a neat little cheapie, though, and it's atmosphere is unlike that of any other Hollywood film, with the exception of Night of the Hunter. Perhaps Charles Laughton caught this at the bottom of the bill one night and tucked his memories away for a decade. It certainly strikes me as being more or a fable than a true horror story, and what little I've read of Frank Wisbar's earlier Ferryboat Maria seems to bear out that interpretation. The film is rife with illogic, starting with the idea that a ferry is needed across a swamp that seems to span no more than a few yards. Villagers try to run away in order to escape the curse of the Strangler, and instead of leaving via the ferry they take a donkey cart on a road that otherwise doesn't figure into the story! Leading lady Rosemary La Planche sleepwalks through her role as the granddaughter of the cursed ferryman, and Blake Edwards is reasonably likeable as the heartthrob whose love heals all wounds. All things considered--not least it's brevity and dreamlike atmosphere--Strangler of the Swamp is essential viewing for anyone interested in second features, Poverty Row cinema, or the influence of German filmmakers on American cinema.

"Strangler of the Swamp" is a very strange little picture from PRC, one of the so-called Poverty Row studios of the '40s; the same studio responsible for such wonders as "The Devil Bat" (1941) and "The Devil Bat's Daughter" (1946). This last film starred Miss America 1941, Rosemary La Planche, in the same year that she appeared in "Strangler." Here, she plays Maria, the granddaughter of a ferry boat operator in one of the most dismal-looking swamps you could ever imagine. Having felt lonely while working in the big city, what could be more natural than her taking over her grandpappy's job when he is killed by the eponymous swamp strangler, the pale-faced spirit of a wrongfully hanged man, eerily played by Charles "Ming the Merciless" Middleton? Whilst pulling this tow-rope swamp barge through its courses, Maria meets hunky Chris Sanders, played by Blake Edwards (yes, THAT Blake Edwards, almost a full decade before he was to begin his glorious career as a director). Anyway, cheaply made and studio bound as "Strangler" is, I suppose the picture does have atmosphere to spare. Shot mostly on darkened sets and with prodigious amounts of swirling ground mist and bullfrog croakings, the film does evoke a creepy bayou feel, and its brief running time (the whole thing barely clocks in under an hour) allows for zero padding. This is basically a minor little "B" picture, to be sure, that does what it sets out to do: tell a weird ghost story with absolutely no frills. The film is hardly ever scary, although there are several shots of Middleton's blank-faced mug that are fairly riveting. La Planche herself is very appealing, strange as her character may be (honestly, who would ever lay down in a pile of grass and swamp muck at night to take a nap?!?), and Edwards fine as the surprisingly UNheroic leading man. The DVD that I just watched features a battered-looking print with no extras, but I suppose we may never see this oddball curiosity look any better. Fans of '40s "B" horror may find the picture sufficiently rewarding to warrant a look; others, I feel, may find it a fairly hard pull.

Well, it was not all that bad of a film.... I've seen better and I've seen worse. Worth watching if you want a different type of a ghost film and like the classics.

Easy story to watch: An innocent man was hanged, a confession made and ghost out for revenge. For me, the best part about the film was the fact it is set in the swamp - it has a creepy aura to it. I also liked the ferry - pretty cool way to cross the swamplands. What I was not crazy about the ending nor did I like the "romance" in this flick - wish the "budding romance" was left out and someone else rid the swamps of the ghost. Still an OK movie to watch.

6/10

Many others here have commented well on this little movie, and I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said. It's very foggy, it's very atmospheric, and it's extremely dated. I suppose that's why I liked it so much.

The story takes place in a village that is secluded by marshes, and I became fascinated by the location more than anything else. It seemed to be mostly fantasy, but could there really have been a place like this in real life? The characters live in relatively nice houses and seem to even have electricity, yet at one point a family is seen leaving town in a covered horse-drawn wagon. The heroine is a woman who is intent on taking over her deceased grandfather's role as a ferryman, although when she arrives at this town she does not even know the old man is dead, leading me to believe they don't have phones. The ferry itself is a diminutive boat pulled back and forth by a rope fixed over the swamp. Where are these people going? What's on the other side of the swamp? How were the houses built in this swamp if the only access is by a small boat? Is the village located on an island?

There is also a perpetual fog that permeates the film, and this is probably one of the coolest elements of the movie. Even during the day the fog is present, and we see the new female ferryboat operator reclining in some grass while she waits for the next fare, billows of fog drifting over her. I found myself asking a lot of questions, like...Is the swamp not infested with mosquitos? Is the grass dry enough to relax on? What is the weather like in this swampy area anyway that would make it so darn foggy all the time?

The movie has a charmingly stagy look, the swamp set is pretty wonderful and the idea of an entire community existing under these isolated conditions is a great idea. The ghost is actually pretty spooky too, and real for a change (instead of being exposed as a fake at the end). I liked how obscure the film apparently is, although now it's available on DVD, which is where I saw it. I recommend this for all fans of low-budget black & white spooky movies.

An innocent man had vowed revenge on the lynch mob who strung him up and two generations of men have been dying along the bayou in mysterious ways ever since. The latest is the village ferryman whose granddaughter takes over his scow and falls for a young man whose father was also involved in the tragedy. Legend has it that the curse can be lifted if a descendant offers their life to the spectre and when it comes for the girl's beau, well...

German director Frank Wisbar re-worked his Reich film FAHRMANN MARIA for PRC and, like fellow émigré Edgar G. Ulmer, he knew how to make an atmospheric film on a shoestring budget. Set almost entirely in a fog- enshrouded swamp of gnarled trees and murky waters, the tale visually resembles it's predecessor but the theme has changed from a "love and death" fable to revenge from beyond the grave. In the original, Death itself had come to take Maria's lover but in the re-make, it's a vengeful ghost. Even so, both gals bargain for the life of their man.

B-movie bad guy Charles Middleton ("Ming The Merciless") was the vengeful cadaver in the mist and Maria was played by "Miss America 1941" Rosemary La Planche. Although Maria was the real hero, future producer/director Blake Edwards, of all people, played "the hero" and he wasn't a bad-looking guy. As far as Poverty Row chills go, STRANGLER is a cut above the rest thanks to an imaginative director.