Llamas de pasión

Historically of interest as Johnny Weissmuller's only starring vehicle in a role other than Tarzan or Jungle Jim, 'Swamp Fire' boasts an original screenplay by Geoffrey Homes - soon to script the classic 'Out of the Past' - and has a solid supporting cast led by shoulder-padded femme fatale Virginia Grey and a moustached and outrageously accented Buster Crabbe as the villain. Weissmuller as usual fights an alligator, but the most daunting task the film presents him with is appearing throughout fully clothed and speaking in sentences.

'Swamp Fire' is for the most part a subdued drama with Weissmuller moodily carrying the baggage of his war service in the coast guard when he lost a ship under his command. The featured cast's scenes are all obviously shot on the soundstage; the Louisiana footage evidently the work of a second unit employing stand-ins, including a montage of various New Orleans bars - starting with the 'Historical Old Absinthe House' - that Weissmuller boozes his way through on a massive bender before he regains his mojo.