Swamp Water (1941)

A hunter happens upon a fugitive and his daughter living in a Georgia swamp. He falls in love with the girl and persuades the fugitive to return to town.

Directors:

Jean Renoir, Irving Pichel (uncredited)

Writers:

Vereen Bell (novel), Dudley Nichols

Stars:

Walter Brennan, Walter Huston, Anne Baxter

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Walter Brennan	...	Tom Keefer
Walter Huston	...	Thursday Ragan
Anne Baxter	...	Julie
Dana Andrews	...	Ben
Virginia Gilmore	...	Mabel MacKenzie
John Carradine	...	Jesse Wick
Mary Howard	...	Hannah
Eugene Pallette	...	Sheriff Jeb McKane
Ward Bond	...	Tim Dorson
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Bud Dorson (as Guinn Williams)
Russell Simpson	...	Marty McCord
Joe Sawyer	...	Hardy Ragan (as Joseph Sawyer)
Paul E. Burns	...	Tulle McKenzie (as Paul Burns)
Dave Morris	...	Barber
Frank Austin	...	Fred Ulm

Storyline

A hunter happens upon a fugitive and his daughter living in a Georgia swamp. He falls in love with the girl and persuades the fugitive to return to town.

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Plot Keywords:

swamp | fugitive | dog | hunter | false accusation | 

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Taglines:

The Swamp! Sinister - mysterious - it shaped the lives and loves and hates of the people who lived around its edges!!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 1942 (Uruguay)

Also Known As:

El pantano de la muerte

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$601,900 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jean Renoir's disagreements with Darryl F. Zanuck and studio executives were so intense and unpleasant that after this film was completed Renoir terminated his contract with Twentieth Century Fox.

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Quotes

Tom Keefer: I hope I didn't hurt you none; I tried to throw you easy like.

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Connections

Referenced in M*A*S*H: The Moon Is Not Blue (1982)

User Reviews

people, gators, cottonmouths, and some quick sand

A swamp that is widely perceived by all the locals as impenetrable offers refuge to a convicted murderer who has been hiding out there for years and has learned its lessons well enough to actually get by quite well. Fear of the swamp and its cottonmouths and alligators is enough to keep any civilized person out, but when a hunter's dog jumps out of his canoe and gets lost in this swamp, its the love he (Dana Andrews) has for his dog that draws him deeper into the swamp and sets up the meeting with fugitive Walter Brennan. It turns out the swamp isn't so bad after all, as Andrews and Brennan team up to collect a valuable set of furs from the animals they've trapped. Back in the town the truth of the murder for which Brennan faces hanging emerges in a very well told story. Jean Renoir was able to bring the town into the swamp or vice versa in this beautifully filmed movie. For sure the best actor awards go to Walter Huston who plays Dana Andrews father, and whose second wife is being courted by another great, John Carradine. The primordial beauty of the swamp makes a nice contrast to the dramatic backwoods small town swamp of this slice of America.