Swamp Girl (1971) User Reviews

take of yourself, swamp rat

[ethylester · 6/10 · 21 October 2003]

Never a dull scene in this one. There is always something exciting happening. I love the local guys and their accents. You can tell they cast real swamp rats for this movie!

A girl has never really talked to anyone her whole life besides one man who she calls her pa. She is White, he is Black. She comes to learn about her entrance into this protected swamp life in a hasty, roundabout way. Her life is a tragic story, but she has managed to live happily thanks to Nat, her "pa". When outsiders invade their secret territory, she makes a lot of good moves. You're rooting for her.

I got a kind of excitement from how happy she was once she realized her home is a nationally protected wildlife refuge. She realizes she is allowed to throw all the hunting traps into the deepest waters of the swamp if she wishes because they are illegally set there. It satisfies you knowing that the sheriff respects her and even mentioned making her a deputy because she knows the swamp so well and doesn't like those poacher's traps any more than he does.

I recommend this film. It's a good story and it never gets boring.

Kinda turgid but not too bad

[ofumalow · 4/10 · 16 January 2010]

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.

Tame 'swamploitation' drama

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 4 July 2017]

SWAMP GIRL is one of those films that features as part of a sub-genre I'll call "swamploitation" movies. Put out by Something Weird back in the day, it's now available in an online version, but if viewers go in hoping for something exploitational then they're likely to be disappointed; this is tame stuff indeed, featuring very little in the way of the sex or violence you'd expect from the genre, era, and premise. A pretty blonde girl lives in the swamp and becomes embroiled with a criminal, but the thrust of the plot merely has her wandering all over the place in her pink dress. The scenery is attractive, at least.

PG-rated "hicksploitation" movie with Simone Griffeth

[lazarillo · 29 January 2008]

This is another "hicksploitation" movie, a genre largely pioneered by Russ Meyer and Roger Corman but really stretching all the way back to roadshow classics like "Poor White Trash" and "Child Bride". As these films go this is a rather tame, PG-rated version, but this does give it some of the charm of my much beloved 1970's bigfoot movies, except that instead of bigfoot we have a wee bit of blonde jailbait named "Janeen" who is the titutlar "swamp girl". As you might imagine "Janeen" is a girl who lives a swamp, but like bigfoot she is enough of a local legend to have a country/bluegrass song written about. She is white, but lives with an African-American "Pa". In the exposition-heavy beginning, "Pa" relates her origins to her for the benefit of the viewer. They basically involve "Pa's" former employer, a swamp rat abortionist who ran a side business selling "girl childs" to Arab sheiks and such on the white slavery market (which would be a pretty sick idea for a PG movie if it weren't so ludicrous).

"Janean's" idyllic existence in the swamp is threatened, first by a nice-guy "swamp warden" who is pressured to charge her with the death of a poacher she in fact rescued, then by a vicious Bonnie and Clyde-type couple lamming it in the swamp, and finally by her birth parents, who upon discovering her existence want to bring her back to civilization.

The swamp girl is played by Simone Griffeth, who's actually pretty good in her first role. She was only about sixteen at the time, which kind of precluded the full-frontal nude scenes she did in later films like "The Young Prey" and "Death Race 2000". Disappointing as that may be to many, the bigger problem is that she is a little miscast here--she is simply not the the feisty, tomboy type like say Claudia Jennings who played a similar role in the later and more well-known "Gator Bait". Griffith is very pretty, but looks more like an underage and underfed fashion model slumming in the backwoods than anything (you have to wonder for instance where she gets her hair care products in a swamp).I'd still maybe recommend this to those who don't mind PG-rated "hicksploitation" or are big fans of Griffeth. But for most people though I'd recommend something more like "Gator Bait" or a good Southern-fried bigfoot flick like "Legend of Boggy Creek", or, if you just want to see a lot "more" of an older and more voluptuous Griffeth, "Death Race 2000".

Swamp Girl (1971) BOMB

[JoeKarlosi · 1/10 · 26 August 2007]

SWAMP GIRL (1971)

I don't even know what I saw with this utterly boring film. There's a pretty blonde woman who endured some hard knocks as a child and then continued her entire life living in a stinky swamp in Georgia. She was raised by a black man who she now affectionately calls her "pa", but ultimately has to defend her homeland when ruthless outsiders threaten to interfere. Whatever.

I was checking some of the other positive reviews here and I can only surmise that I must have watched a different movie.

0 out of ****

Protect the environment

[black_wolf_1970 · 10/10 · 20 March 2005]

This movie was made before the whole save the earth felling took off and it is a great coming on age and just because your from the backwaters of the US and maybe not the next Einesteine you can make a difference. It was also a "risky" move and I love the movie for it showing a interracial "family". and treating a black man in the south with respect in a time period when both were all but unheard off. This is a closet classic and I would recommend it to any one. The footage of the swamps is incredible, the acting is well done and is a must for anyone who loves out door movies that kick the c*** out of the poachers, hunters, defilers in general that never seem to stop tring to ruin our planet

Decent Southern Exploitation

[Michael_Elliott · 6 January 2018]

Swamp Girl (1971)

** (out of 4)

Deep in the swamps of Georgia, legend has it that there's a blonde woman (Simone Griffeth) who lurks in the wilderness. Many people have claimed to have seen her yet there's no real proof. That is until one day when the sheriff goes chasing after her and finally manages to talk to her. Soon after a pair of criminals kill her Pa and force her to take them through the swamp.

SWAMP GIRL certainly isn't a long-lost classic and it's certainly not Oscar-material but I'm pretty sure you already know that. During the 1970's there were all sorts of Southern exploitation pictures that managed to find a spot on various drive-in screens and that's exactly where the majority of them belong. This film here certainly isn't the best of the sub-genre but at the same time it's far from the worst.

I think the best thing this one has going for it are the actual locations. The majority of the running time takes place in the swamp where we get plenty of shots of various wildlife and this here is certainly the highlight of the picture. The setting is obviously just right for the story and I also thought Griffeth was good enough for the role. With that said, there's no question that this is pretty much lacking any sort of real story and calling it a well-made movie would be a mistake.

Still, if you're a fan of these type of no-budget pictures then there's certainly much worse out there so this one here is worth watching out.

Stark, honest, brilliant

[M. Dean · 10/10 · 26 May 2000]

Seemingly without effort, director Don Davis and lead actress Simone Griffeth reach out and lay hands on that flawless sincerity that overrated hacks like Goddard can only pretend to. Griffeth's Janeen is laid bare before us -- emotionally naked -- as the young actress gives herself to the audience completely, rawly, almost desperately.

Also notable is country singer Ferlin Husky, cast here as a good hearted swamp ranger. Husky lends his character an earthy honesty, a sun-wrinkled gentility that only just covers his own scars. He seems to help Janeen in a thinly disguised effort to purge away the acid pain that eats him from the inside every day.

This film has taken an unflinching grip on something living, something grand.

Overlooked Art House Classic, must see to believe!

[poptekus · 10/10 · 24 May 2000]

Swamp Girl is one of those rare cinematic masterpieces that dares to explore and plunge into the toxic spirit that lies deep within disturbed and corrupt souls who try in vain to lay claim to the fruits of an Eden-like swampland in Georgia. Simone Griffeth brilliantly pulls off a complex character study, bridging the gap between an innocent doe-like teen free from the binds of society, yet possessing a believable drive to "deliver the goods" when outside pressure invades her turf. If you are an NRA member, you might be turned off by Simone's anti-firearm declaration (taunting a foe who is powerless without their gun,etc.), but open your mind, and the payoff is worth it! So open up and find a copy of Swamp Girl!

Satisfying Southern-fried 70's drive-in fare

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 9 February 2018]

Sweet and innocent young blonde lass Janeen (a charming performance by the fetching Simone Griffith) was abandoned as a little girl by her mother and raised in the Georgia swamp by protective surrogate dad Nat (nicely played by Lonnie Bower). Janeen's sheltered existence gets ripped asunder after an escaped convict and her boyfriend kill Nat and force Janeen to guide them out of the swamp.

Director Don Davis keeps the enjoyable story moving along at a quick pace, stages the exciting action with flair, and offers a flavorsome evocation of the backwoods region and the hardy folks indigenous to the area. Jay Kulp's pulpy script does a good job of presenting Janeen as the larger-than-life stuff of local legend and delivers a real corker of a surprise twist ending. The sound acting by the competent cast holds this picture together: Country singer Ferlin Husky as an amiable swamp ranger (he also sings the catchy theme song), Claude King as the easygoing sheriff, Donna Stanley as the mean Carol, Steve Draxel as the sniveling Steve, and Robert Corley as no-count troublemaker Dent. Kulp's vibrant cinematography boasts lots of lovely shots of the breathtaking sylvan scenery. A fun hicksploitation flick.

"She's A Real Sweetheart, That'n' Is!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 12 June 2021]

SWAMP GIRL begins with a blonde-haired girl of the swamp paddling her way through the swampland. She deposits something of interest on the swamp bank, while nearby, the swamp ranger (Ferlin Husky) strums his guitar, crooning the ballad of the SWAMP GIRL. Her name is Janeen (Simone Griffeth).

The great thing about swamp country is that you don't need a car. Just hop in your air-boat and woosh! You're bouncing over gators in no time flat!

Swamp ranger and girl meet. We are shown that she lives in a dilapidated shack with her swamp dad, who appears to be about five years her senior

Uh oh!

A pair of hardened criminals find the shack, and abduct Janeen. Things get a bit complicated from here.

If you're in the mood for a swamp romp, then this movie should satisfy. It's ridiculous, yet absolutely mesmerizing!

SWAMP GIRL CONTAINS: #1- Illegal abortions! #2- Human trafficking! #3- Snake farming! #4- Catfish angling swamp-billies! #5- More Ferlin Husky than one could ever dream of!

Yes, the ballad of SWAMP GIRL is played again during the end credits!...

Low Budget Drive-In movie that is very Entertaining!

[FloridaFred · 8/10 · 27 January 2024]

This is actually pretty good. It starts out slow, but there is a lot of increasing drama and violence as the story approaches the climax.

Anyone growing up in the 1960's or 70's knows the meaning of "Drive In Movie". This is definitely one of them. Low budget, only a few cameras, very basic scripts, and B-movie actors. Minimal sets used again and again.

Ferlin Husky was a famous singer back in the day, using the stage name Simon Crum. When he sang the opening theme song, his fans probably reveled in it.

The plot is certainly interesting, if a bit far-fetched. The movie does drag in a few places, you are waiting for something to happen. Don't worry, before it's done, there will be alligator attacks, torture, rattlesnake bites, quicksand deaths, and gunfire.

There are of course some serious improbabilities. The Swamp is over 400,000 acres, but somehow the Ranger finds the girl on his first outing. And the escaped convict and her boyfriend bushwhack their way through the woods, and just happen to come upon Swamp Girl's house. Not likely!

In the real world, that beautiful Okefenokee Swamp is swarming with mosquitoes. You need a heavy amount of Off or DEET to keep them away. Other than a joke about killing a mosquito by one of the fisherman at the beginning of the movie, nothing is said about the bugs. (Yes, the same can be said of Tarzan movies or just about any movie filmed in a jungle or a swamp). The cast was probably wearing a lot of bug spray.

Great scene at the Turner Snake Farm. Then, Poor Nat is disposed of without ceremony. The Boyfriend also succumbs to the Swamp. And the writers have a definitive ending for the Bad Girl convict.

Something else they threw in... what Drive-In Movie would be complete without a catfight between a blonde and a brunette?

You can sense a plot twist coming at the end. You won't be disappointed. Or maybe you will be... it gets rather corny in the final scene!

I rate "Swamp Girl" 8 stars!

* * * * * * * *

Personal comment about the Okefenokee: I live in north Florida, I have been to that swamp, and to the Suwannee River and St. Mary's River many times. It is a spectacularly beautiful place. So this movie has a homey feeling for me. (Slightly off topic: if you live anywhere near that Swamp, there are several tour operations that will guide you. Canoe, kayak, motorboat. Go there, see the place!).

Florida Fred.