kapelusznik18 ***SPOIERS*** German director Frank Wisbar's re-make of his classic 1936 German ghost story "Death of a Meiden" does the best of the meager budget it had making one of the best of the bargain basement studio PRC's releases. It was after ferryman Douglas, Charles Middleton, was falsely convicted of murder of local yokel Mr. Berkeley and hanged for the crime that his ghost started to appear in the swamp strangling those and their family members responsible for his death. It's when Maria Hart, Rosermary La Planche, the granddaughter of the man who murdered Berkeley Joseph Hart, Frank Conlan,and framed Douglas for it shown up looking for a job as the local ferry skipper. It's then that she fell in love with the judge Christian Sanders-Robert Barratt's-who sentenced Douglas to death-son Chris Jr, Blake Edwards,who like herself were on Douglas's hit-list.Spooky and atmospheric film a lot like the Val Lawton movies classics like "Cat People" & "The Leopard Man" made around the same time that shocked their audience with off the screen and imaginary horrors that leave them to those that are watching imagination. Even though he already strangled the person responsible for him being executed, Joseph Hart, Douglas would only be satisfied if everyone's, Hart the judge & jury, family members innocent or not got the same treatment from him. It's when Chris Jr was near death from pneumonia, in almost drowning in the swamp, that Maria in an effort to save his life offered herself up to the vengeful Douglas as a human sacrifice in order to save his life.****SPOILERS**** This unselfish act by Maria knocked some sense and humanity into Douglas' heart who came to realize that his acts of vengeance have gone a wee bit too far and ended up killing many innocent people who had really nothing to do with his untimely death.It was Maria in proving her love for Chris Jr. and willing to die for it that saved both his as well as, in being targeted by Douglas, her lives as well as proving the saying that "Love conquers all" even in the case when certain death comes knocking at one's door.

dougdoepke A Curse hangs over a swamp and its ferryman for executing an innocent man.It's always pleasing to come across a low-budget gem like this, sort of like getting a minor bargain in a 99-cent store. What this production does so effectively is create a self-enclosed world, and one about as spooky as they come. Sure, the fog machine works over-time, probably to disguise the skimpy two or three sets—this is, after all, a PRC production. Nonetheless, director Wisbar and crew get the most from the limitations in creating the dark stuff of nightmares. And had they been able to resist the conventionally reassuring ending, a real sleeper would have emerged.A big thanks is owed whoever got that incomparable Voice of Doom, Charles Middleton, to appear (well, sort of appear) as the ghostly apparition. His skeletal look and graveyard sound could send shudders through the devil himself. On the other hand, there's the fetching twice over Miss America (1940 & 1941) as the line-pulling ingénue, along with future Pink Panther impresario Blake Edwards as her handsome swain. But, I especially like the underrated Robert Barrat, always a strong, persuasive presence in movies of the period. Anyway, the movie amounts to a bargain basement production worth catching up with, despite the absence of big names.

ferbs54 "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.

Mikel3 **** Includes Spoilers ****I've been a horror film fan now for many decades. Just when I think I've seen all the great ones another pops up to surprise me. I had never seen this film before. It was a treat, off the beaten path too...not just the path to the swamp ferry boat either. Here was a horror film made in the 1940s that dared to try something VERY different. The pretty girl is (gulp) fearless for a change and saves the men, including the man she loves, from the monster ! How is that for a twist. This girl was the complete opposite of most women in films of that time, no screaming at her own shadow, no fainting from fright, no tripping over a leaf as she runs. This gal wasn't afraid to live alone in a secluded hut far away from the rest of the villagers. Not only that but the place was on a foggy swamp rumored to be haunted. Heck she even takes naps on the swamp grass outdoors...like a regular 1940s version of Ripley. No snake, gator or ghostly strangler would dare bother this gal. Books on early feminist films should be sure to include this overlooked work.See this if you are a fan, like me, of those wonderfully atmospheric classic B/W horror films they made only in the 30s and 40s. And be sure to wear your cast iron turtle neck for protection.