The story of Frank Wisbar, the German director who fled his country when the Nazis came into power and took up in Hollywood making B-pictures before returning to the motherland after the war, is more interesting than the film itself. STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP is a routine little programmer almost entirely lacking in budget and a decent script, although in actuality it's a remake of Wisbar's own German film FERRYMAN MARIA.
The only good thing you can say about this movie is that the setting is appropriately atmospheric. The fog-enshrouded sets and the decaying vegetation make this a film with plenty of visual appeal. At times you can almost smell the mould and the rot-heavy air. A shame, then, that the story itself is so slight, barely registering in the scheme of things. A ghost is stalking the swamp and locals imagine it's the spirit of a man wrongfully executed for murder.
The film boasts a forthright young heroine who gets to the heart of the matter and lots of acting from tired and ageing character actors. Blake Edwards appears in an acting role and would later become a well-known director. The scenes of the ghost may have provoked a scare or two back in the day but they're quite tame now. STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP shares a few problems with Universal's Dracula in terms of the stilted nature of the production and the lack of momentum and drive, although it lacks the iconic elements that made the Lugosi film an enduring classic.
The only good thing you can say about this movie is that the setting is appropriately atmospheric. The fog-enshrouded sets and the decaying vegetation make this a film with plenty of visual appeal. At times you can almost smell the mould and the rot-heavy air. A shame, then, that the story itself is so slight, barely registering in the scheme of things. A ghost is stalking the swamp and locals imagine it's the spirit of a man wrongfully executed for murder.
The film boasts a forthright young heroine who gets to the heart of the matter and lots of acting from tired and ageing character actors. Blake Edwards appears in an acting role and would later become a well-known director. The scenes of the ghost may have provoked a scare or two back in the day but they're quite tame now. STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP shares a few problems with Universal's Dracula in terms of the stilted nature of the production and the lack of momentum and drive, although it lacks the iconic elements that made the Lugosi film an enduring classic.