Lure of the Wilderness

A remake of "swamp water " ,Renoir's first American movie ,"lure of the wilderness 's is an estimable one ;the star of the movie is the swamp water ,and if it was filmed in black and white in the first version, color landscapes are a feast for the eye .Twelve years later , Walter Brennan plays the same part as in the French director's work .

But the characters are not cardboard; Jim and Laurie are outcasts , but they are not that much anxious to come back to "civilization" because the dice are loaded and the father won't have a fair trial ; Ben runs into them by chance ;he,too ,is some kind of orphan, for his father has thrown it out of the house when he told him he intended to come back to this doomed swamp where many a man got lost .So Jim becomes a surrogate father to him , his life comes now to resemble his/theirs,not the other way about ; and Jean Peters (who would also play an indian opposite Lancaster in Aldrich's " Apache" (1954))is a better "wild " girl than Ann Baxter .

The ball is an important scene because it's the first (timid) attempt to take Laurie back to the community ;as a fugitive outlaw's daughter she does not stand any chance to be accepted by the well-to-do people;the film is as much a man clearing his name as a younger 's initiation rite : the graves he digs is not for Harper ...

Here is an unusual story about a girl and her father, who take refuge in the Georgia swamps as they try to evade a linching mob. The father (excellently played by Walter Brennan) had been wrongly accused of murder in a small neighboring town. The girl (who turns out to be the beautiful -and quite athletic - Jean Peters)grows up in the swamps, away from civilization, until a man (handsome Jeff Hunter) arrives at their campsite looking for his stray dog. Of course the two young actors eventually fall in love, but even this is believable and interwined into the action and adventure of this highly intersting film. Director Jean Negulesco offers us a well balanced and magnificently edited film that deals with prejudices and lies - which can be abundant in any small town. Very well acted by Peters, Hunter, et all...who award us with quite authentic southern accents, for a change.

excellent movie,wonderful cast,and very enjoyable to watch,so i'm wondering why it was never released to video,I know that there has to be a copy somewhere because it was shown on Disney channel years ago,when satellites first came out,I have a copy from back then,still watchable but would love to own a new copy of it.just can't understand why this version was never released,and swamp water was,Lure of the wilderness is a remake of swamp water,and is a much better movie.,SO if one of these ever becomes available,I would sure love to purchase one.So you guys find me one. Thanks for the chance to express my opinion. Louise

'Swamp Water' was fairly indifferent Renoir to begin with, and this remake with Walter Brennan recreating his original role compensates by being slightly less studio bound and photographed by ace Technicolor cameraman Edward Cronjager. (Franz Waxman's score is sometimes suitably eerie and sometimes unsuitably twee.)

It's also fun to see a young Jack Elam as one of the local rednecks. In the role originally played by Anne Baxter, Jean Peters looks as if she came straight off the set of 'Anne of the Indies', pausing only to discard her headscarf.

I saw this movie in original release and have always wanted to see it again. It is beautifully acted by the entire cast, especially Walter Brennan. As usual, he was always an asset to any movie. The setting of the swamp gave the movie adventure,suspense and beauty. This is one classic that should be restored to its original state.