Swamp Girl

This GP-rated Southern meller is milder and pokier than the best (or at least more luridly enjoyable) of its type. The titular figure is a Marcia Brady-looking blonde who runs around the swamp in a spotless pink dress, living with her "paw"--the African-American man who raised her after she was abandoned by her mother to an abortionist/child trafficker who died not much later). Despite this lurid backstory, plus some deaths by alligator, snake and violent thug, it's pretty mild stuff. Country Star Ferlin Husky plays the local ranger--the whole swamp area is a protected wildlife refuge--who discovers the seemingly mythical "Swamp Girl" really exists. Things are complicated by some loutish local poachers, a criminal couple on the lam (the escaped-con woman is the really mean one), and a couple looking for their "little girl lost" in the swamp. (But said girl is the vicious jailbird.) There's an outrageously contrived revelation at the very end, but nothing else here is special enough to provide major camp or other entertainment value. Still, despite its lack of sufficient energy, exploitative aspects and outrageousness, it holds the attention--just adequately--for fans of old drive-in fare.

The only reason one might see "Swamp Girl" today is in pursuit of its feature on the Something Weird DVD, "Swamp Country" (1966), which is the kind of forgotten oddball gem Z-movie fans love to discover. "Girl" isn't a total waste of time, but "Woman" is the reason you'll want to keep the DVD.