Swamp Girl (1971)

Director: Donald A Davis

Starring: Ferlin Husky, Simone Griffeth and a bunch of locals.

More Info: IMDB

Tagline: Filmed on location in the strangely beautiful Okefenokee swamps of Georgia.

Plot: A little blonde girl who was abandoned by her mother in the Florida swamps is rescued and raised by a man she calls her "Pa". She takes it upon herself to protect all the creatures in her swamp from poachers and other dangers, and wins the respect of the local sheriff. One day an escaped convict and her boyfriend take the girl prisoner and try to force her to guide them through the swamp in their escape from the law. However, the girl has other ideas.

My Rating: 6.5

Would I watch it again? SHIT, YEAH!


Growing up in Florida in the 70s, this brought back a lot of memories. Living in a swamp, wearing a red cocktail dress, prancing around barefoot attacking poachers, living off the land and so forth. But, seriously. Watching this flick did feel like home at times. The grain of the film and the beautiful shots of the swamp felt just like those 8mm home movies my family had of us as kids going to the Everglades, Sea World, Busch Gardens and the Jungle Cruise ride at Walt Disney World. Then, a few years later as a Boy Scout, there was that 75-mile canoe trip down the Suwanee River that began in the Okefenokee Swamp. Swamp Girl was a nice little trip back in time.

The film starts with some groovy backwoods tune that is soon-to-be-sung by the film's star, country & western singer Ferlin Husky. This guy kicks fucking ass! He's got that down-home, Southern, laid back style about him and he's just a blast to watch. He seems like a natural.


In one HILARIOUS instance, Husky's getting close to the end of his song and one of the boys comes over and grabs him, ending the song. Watch the trailer above. You'll see it. It's a hoot when you get the context in the picture.

Now the actress of the film's titular character, Simone Griffeth (who later played Annie Smith in DEATHRACE 2000), is absolutely horrible! Imagine, and it's REAL easy, the girl that played Marsha Brady in THE BRADY BUNCH and she used the money her mother gave her for acting lessons and spent it on heroin instead. THAT'S Griffeth. O...M...F...G! She's terrible.


So the movie's going along...some dude washes ashore in the swamp reserve...the local good 'ole boys doing some illegal fishing at night find it...the ranger (Husky) and the sheriff ask them questions and the boys blame it on Swamp Girl. She's just a legend the some believe lives in the swamp. She's a legend 'cause Husky's singing a song about her, see?

Husky takes a ride on his air boat, finds an article of clothing or something and he's hot on the trail of SG. He gets hurt in a trap and she shows up to help and they get to know each other a little better. She starts yappin' about her Pa and whatnot. Goddamn, she's bad. Anyway, she...wait. You know how when you're watching someone who's supposed to have grown up somewhat isolated so their vocabulary isn't supposed to be that good but it actually is until someone utters one particular word that isolated person hadn't heard and then they put on that dumb fuck face and try to articulate the said word slowly like they are 5 fucking years old? It's here and the secret word is "deputy". "day-pew-tai"? Yep, "deputy."


Husky's look says it all for me.


After cooking some chicken or something, SG goes back to her shack and starts talking to Pa in the next room who then puts some cut wood by the stove and sits down for a talkin' to.

HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE! IS HE BLACK? (ayayayayaya - double take) YEP, HE'S BLACK! Didn't see that comin'.


But here's the coolest part of that whole situation. NOT ONCE does race play a factor. Hell, it's not even brought up. FUCKING AWESOME! We soon get some back story about how this came to be. The short story is, he saved her from an evil swamp abortion doctor and his nefarious business colleagues when she was a child. Since then he raised her on his own as if she were his all along. Too bad she turned out to be one helluva shitty actress. Can't blame it on Pa. She didn't come from his seed. This guy's a good actor so it must not be the environment but the genes.

A-Ha! She runs like a swamp girl!

Next thing you know we've got us a Bonnie & Clyde situation when a couple of lovebird criminals on the lam show up and have to get over the state line to keep from getting caught. Where's the state line? On the other side of the swamp. Think they're going to make it out alive? Think they're going to fuck with the wrong Swamp Girl by killing her Pa? Think Husky's a-comin' to the rescue with the good 'ole boys from the beginning of the picture and save the day? Think tha real mother of SG, who was going to abort SG all those years ago but didn't because she was too far along and the doctor kept her to sell to a white slavery outfit but didn't because Pa did the right thing, shows up and takes back her now fatherless baby girl and they live happily ever after? If you answered NO, YES, YES and YES, you are correct. Now go drink some hooch, have some crazy moonshine sex and yell out my name during each and every hee-haw orgasm!


Growing up around people like this I can really appreciate this film and the obvious local actors used. It does bring back wonderful memories of growing up in the South around colorful characters and the beautiful locales. Hell, I've even known some girls like Swamp Girl to some degree. This is a pretty good, made with some degree of passion and tenderness, hicksploitation flick that is a strong entry into the genre due to the cast and the little twists and turns the story takes. And I'm most impressed with how it handles race. Pa is not looked upon as being anyone but a caring human being and he's treated with respect. SWAMP GIRL is colorblind where this region of the country and the time it was filmed wasn't.


All I know is I can't wait for the sequel to the video game, LEFT 4 Dead, coming out later this year which includes a level where you get to kill fuckloads of zombies in a swamp! I'm already there, brother. I'm already there.