Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Robert J. Maxwell This is handled pretty well by newly arrived French director Jean Renoir (son of August), including the regional dialect. "Fit" for "fought," and so on. I wonder if he quite grasped the connotations of some of the exchanges. Dana Andrews to his fiancée: "Seems like lately all I git from you is cussin' out and tongue lashin'." Spiteful Virginia Gilmore: "You ain't felt m'tongue yet." The basic story is this. A small group of subsistence farmers and trappers live on the edge of the dreaded Okefenokee swamp in Georgia, perhaps in the 1920s or 30s, judging from the artifacts. Young Dana Andrews enters the swamp alone, looking for his hunting hound.He runs into Walter Brennan, who disappeared from town years ago after being convicted of a murder he didn't commit. The good folk of the town believe Brennan to be dead. The two become friends and partners in a lucrative trapping business, with Andrews promising never to reveal Brennan's existence. He also promises to look after Brennan's young'un in town, the illiterate and barefoot Anne Baxter. But things go awry and feelings turn right hard agin Andrews. Even Baxter, who worships the trousers that cling to him, is given to animadversions.The plot is complicated. Essentially, Andrews is the pressed and misunderstood hero. Virginia Gilmore is his duplicitous ex fiancée. Ward Bond, John Carradine, and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams are the heavies. With a few exceptions, the townspeople are dull conformists, easily manipulated, yearning for revenge. Plus ça change.

MartinHafer Considering that Hollywood's view of the South consisted of films like "L'il Abner" and "Swing Your Lady" during this era, the fact that "Swamp Water" turned out so good is a bit of a surprise. What's even more surprising is that this film about the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia was directed by a Frenchman, Jean Renoir.The film is set along the edges of the swamp. Apparently the locals all are a bit afraid of going into the treacherous swamp and if they do, it's only in groups. Considering all the gators and snakes, it's easy to see why they avoid it! However, when Dana Andrews' dog gets lost there, he ventures into the swamp alone. Instead of dying or never finding his way back, he meets up with a wanted man (Walter Brennan). Despite Brennan being wanted for murder for the last five years, it soon becomes apparent he's too nice a guy to have killed anyone--and Andrews agrees to keep his whereabouts secret and become his partner in the fur trapping trade.In addition to this major plot thread, several other seemingly divergent plot elements occur during the course of the film--and by the end they all come together. First, Andrews' mother has been allowing an old boyfriend (John Carradine) to spend time at the house when her older husband (Walter Huston) is gone on hunting trips. While she rebuffs Carradine's advances, you wonder why she doesn't tell him to leave---so it's obvious she' ambivalent about this. When the husband finds out she's been with another man, things get tense--but he has no idea who the man was. And, there is another plot involving two rough and nasty brothers (Ward Bond and Guinn Williams) who just seem to be up to no good! Finally, there is a blossoming love between Brennan's daughter (Anne Baxter) and Andrews.So why did I like the film? Well, I appreciated how although the actors approximated accents of the locale, it was NOT exaggerated and the people were not made out to be a bunch of ignorant yokels. While I am sure the film would not be one recommended by the Georgia Department of Tourism, the film clearly is not offensive or overdone. The acting is good, the complex plot involving and interesting. While not exactly a great film, it did have some nice tense moments and was quite enjoyable.By the way, despite the nice Midwest sort of 'perfect' accent, Dana Andrews was Mississippi-born! Interesting.

GManfred Went an' bought me this here DVD but 'taint as good as I hoped, ah reckon. Yep, might oughta got stuck for a wad o'money.To tell you the truth, I don't know what I was thinking but I thought that IMDb's (over)rating of this picture would foretell some lively entertainment. I don't know why I thought a movie about backwoods country folk would be either lively or entertaining and I should have gone with my first instinct. It had an impressive cast, a renown director and a screenplay by Dudley Nichols - what more could you ask for.Well, for one thing, a more compelling story. Apparently, not an awful lot happens in that neck of the woods. There was a fist fight, some arguing among the locals and a country dance. Oh, and John Carradine tried to hit on Walter Huston's wife. Most of the story is devoted to a character study between Dana Andrews, a passable actor, and Walter Brennan, a better one. Brennan is the nominal star of the picture as a fugitive from justice, but no one pursues him or even looks for him. But Huston, America's best film actor, is severely underutilized. To watch him was the main reason I bought the movie. It seems to have been filmed mostly on a soundstage with a couple of outdoor shots thrown in and has the feel of a filmed stageplay.Well, ya cain't win 'em all. And I ain't recommendin' this pitcher to ya ennaways because it ain't interestin'. And that's a natchrel fact.

dbdumonteil If you want to enjoy "Swamp water" you'd better forget all you know about Renoir's previous movies of the thirties.If it were a minor director,it would not be a problem.But Renoir is probably the greatest French director of the era ,and the French might feel disappointed because this film is completely impersonal.That does not mean it's bad,by a long shot.The real star of the movie is this swamp water,these luxuriant landscapes which the cinematography in black and white perfectly captures.Dudley Nichols' screenplay is ,as always ,absorbing ,and even if some subplots are a bit far-fetched (Miss Hannah and Jesse" I'm only passing by" Wike)the story 's interest is sustained till the end.Walter Brennan is convincing as Keefer ,the outcast.His daughter (Ann Baxter)is also some kind of Cinderella of the community.As Ben (Dana Andrews) is himself an orphan ,it's only natural that they hook up together.It also makes sense that he teams up with Keefer who becomes like a father to him.It 's only after he is knocked about that Thursday (Walter Huston)shows a true foster parent."Swamp water" is actually the story of three human beings who used to live on the fringe of society and become at last part of it.