SWAMP GIRL (1971)/SWAMP COUNTRY (1966)
Directors: Donald A. Davis, Robert Patrick
Something Weird Video/Image Entertainment

In preparing myself to view this "Southern-Style Swamp Romp" double-bill from Something Weird, I was expecting to unwind to a couple of tease skin flicks. You know, the kind that have Rene Bond shedding her halter top and hot pants to let some ogling farmboy fondle the goods. Well, when SWAMP GIRL started with a "GP" rating before its credits, I thought I was in big trouble (well, neither films have nudity, if that's what you're looking for).

Directed by a former assistant of Ed Wood, SWAMP GIRL begins pretty ordinary. Three moronic hick stooges discovery a body, country star Ferlin Huskey (as the friendly park ranger) sings a song and plays guitar, and we are introduced to a legendary "swamp girl" who most of the locals believe is a myth. The titular character is Janeen, a pretty blond orphan who lives in the middle of the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia (where this entire film was shot). Janeen is played by then 16-year-old Simone Griffeth, who would go on to star as David Carradine's racing partner in DEATH RACE 2000 (1975).

When we are introduced to Janeen's "pa," things get really interesting. Janeen's pa is a black man, and he's played by Harrison Page, easily recognizable from Russ Meyer's VIXEN (1968) and BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1970). Page tells the girl that she has to stop calling him pa, as that he's not her real daddy, and this scene is reminiscent of Steve Martin's discovery of having been adopted in THE JERK. A flashback shows how as a child, Janeen was in the hands of a sleazy abortion doctor who sold white babies as often as he could. When her time came, Page saved her from the hands of some murdering bastards, and hence raised her like she was his daughter. When Page claims he had to stay with the abortion doctor since he thought the police were still after him for stealing a pair of jeans, I burst out in laughter!!!

Before the park ranger comes to meet with Janeen, an escaped female convict arrives with her boyfriend and shoots her poor pa. Janeen is forced to guide the couple out of the swamps, at which point the female convict's parents come looking for her. They pay the three moronic stooges (who look like rejects from DELIVERANCE) to find their nasty daughter, and after some surprisingly violent scenes and several snake attacks, the whole thing culminates in a soap opera conclusion. Actually, Simone Griffeth is quite good in her debut role, playing an unusual character that is naive and fearless at the same time, and SWAMP GIRL is a pretty enjoyable, non-excessive exploitationer.

The other film, SWAMP COUNTRY is a rather tame effort from 1966 (although the copyright says 1965), shot in the swamps of Florida, and it's nothing really to write home about (and you thought only H.G. Lewis and Bill Grefe made bad pictures in FL). Sue Casey (fresh from BEACH GIRLS AND THE MONSTER) is a typical bayou mom with two daughters--a little one (Marian Patrick) and one that looks about the same age as her (Carolyn Gilbert). The girls help a slob of a man who's on the run for a murder that he didn't commit. When he confronts the real killer--a sleazy hotel clerk--he proves that all you need is a good ass kicking to get a confession and not those meddling Scooby Doo kids.

SWAMP COUNTRY does have an interesting supporting cast, including Vincent Barbi (THE BLOB, BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE DEVILS) as a meatball-eating bootlegger, country singer and Disney regular Rex Allen as the sheriff, and a pre-"Carol Burnett Show" Lyle Waggoner as the hunky deputy. One guy sings several annoying songs, and I felt like smashing his guitar on these occasions, much like John Belushi did in ANIMAL HOUSE.

The transfers on both films are not the finest, but perfectly suitable. SWAMP GIRL is full frame, with ok colors (somewhat muted). The image is often too dark and sometimes takes on a soft focus appearance. SWAMP COUNTRY is letterboxed at 2:35.1 (non-Ananmorphic) with stronger colors and rich clarity. The print source suffers from constant lines and scratches, but it kind of gels with the swampy feeling of the film. The mono sound for both titles is passable, with some hiss and scratchiness in check.

Extras include a short black and white film called "Swamp Virgin," which is actually a shortened version of the 60-minute UNTAMED FURY (1947). This concerns the ultimate "Uncle Tom" relaying a pair of tales about young boys being used as gator bait in the swamps of the Okefenokee. A very young E.G. Marshall is in it, and I'm sure his New York Times obituary failed to mention this credit. There are some swamp/Florida themed trailers for THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE (always great to see Lon Chaney scream, "I'll kill you Alligator Man!"), ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES, CRYPT OF DARK SECRETS, OKEFENOKEE, S.F. Brownrigg's SCUM OF THE EARTH, STING OF DEATH and SWAMP GIRL. "Swamp Buggy Race" is some boring, faded footage of a muddy buggy race. Also included is a "Gallery of Amazing Trash-O-Rama Exploitation Art with Radio-Spot Rarities" and you'll want to hunt for an Easter Egg: a trailer for OUR MAN STEEL, a 60s era nudie spy film spoof. (George R. Reis)

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