I remember seeing this film in 1961 at a local drive in theater.As a native Floridian I enjoyed it very much,especially since it was filmed nearby in Naples, Florida.To me it was an accurate depiction of how life was back then. Poaching was common,wildlife officers and environmentalists were fighting a losing battle against it. It showed Florida as it was at the turn of the century,when it was young and wild. This movie is truly a treasure of history in this area. I have been hoping it would be re-released for many years but to no avail. It is a shame that it cannot be viewed by our children.I would greatly appreciate owning a copy of this great film. Skip Kent,Bonita Springs, Fl.
17 Reviews
An important movie that never got the exposure it deserved
paddycoen30 January 2006
For it's time, I considered it original, thought-provoking, and typical of Schulberg's quirky, off-beat style. I would rate "Wind Across the Everglades", as a movie ahead of it's time, given it's now much-debated theme. I still remember--after almost 40 years---Burl Ives speaking lines which included the phrase "A man's an eel", or did I hear it right? Finally, it was the first film in which I ever saw ChristopherPlummer. I would dearly love to see it again, but it's seldom on television, and in my home town of Sligo, in the Irish Republic, it is not available on video or DVD. Well,that's about wraps my comment. Goodbye, and thank you Paddy Coen.
Those who live by the glades shall die by the glades
weezeralfalfa8 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The screenplay is basically a contest between the traditional exploitation of nature's bounty to near exhaustion, and the new conservation movement to conserve natural resources so that they may be with us in the future. Cottonmouth(Burl Ives) and his crew of waterbird poachers represent the epitome of exterminate and move on practice, that reached its peak in the late 19th century, with the advent of superior repeater weapons, and population pressure. Walt Murdock(Christopher Plummer)(also called 'bird boy') represents the wave of the future, as a student of nature, and game warden with the dangerous job of enforcing recent no kill laws.
Ives' character very much reminds me of his character in "The Big Country", also released in 1958. There too, he is the patriarch of a motley crew of men, again ruling with an iron fist. His character also much reminds me of Eddie Robinson's Wolf Larsen, in "The Sea Wolf", who preferred to go down with his ship rather than have to start over as a nobody. Cottonmouth 'knew' he wouldn't survive that snake bite, thus ordered Murdock to leave him there in his beloved glades rather than try heroics to save him.
But, Murdock and Cottonmouth are, in some ways, more alike than different. They both relish wild places, far from the prying eyes of conventional civilization. Murdock acknowledges this connection in his participation in the drinking spree and rough games of the poachers.
Incidentally, the dramatized death by tying a Seminole to a Manchineel tree is a bit overplayed. There is indeed such a tree in the glades that contains many types of poisons, whose sap mostly causes bad skin and eye ulcers, which may become septic. The tempting fruit is quite toxic when eaten.
Ives' character very much reminds me of his character in "The Big Country", also released in 1958. There too, he is the patriarch of a motley crew of men, again ruling with an iron fist. His character also much reminds me of Eddie Robinson's Wolf Larsen, in "The Sea Wolf", who preferred to go down with his ship rather than have to start over as a nobody. Cottonmouth 'knew' he wouldn't survive that snake bite, thus ordered Murdock to leave him there in his beloved glades rather than try heroics to save him.
But, Murdock and Cottonmouth are, in some ways, more alike than different. They both relish wild places, far from the prying eyes of conventional civilization. Murdock acknowledges this connection in his participation in the drinking spree and rough games of the poachers.
Incidentally, the dramatized death by tying a Seminole to a Manchineel tree is a bit overplayed. There is indeed such a tree in the glades that contains many types of poisons, whose sap mostly causes bad skin and eye ulcers, which may become septic. The tempting fruit is quite toxic when eaten.
Whose movie is this, anyway!
antcol810 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
The Final Battle...
No, not Ecologists vs. Poachers...
But the real battle!
Auteurists vs. Writer-Driven Cinema!
The showing in NY was a trip, with a Schulberg relative coming to the showing - at a Nicholas Ray retrospective, no less! - to announce that this was not only NOT a Nicholas Ray film, but CLEARLY a Schulberg film (this was simply bad manners, given the occasion). And she went on to talk about how drug-addled Ray was during the shooting (that was worse than bad manners, given the occasion).
Anyway...if you care...
Lots of Ray stuff: the created "family unit" of outlaws, with their twisted bonhomie and their rituals; the sense that living in a particular "natural" environment creates an alternative sense of right and wrong, and that someone who enters into that environment has to confront this other reality, even if it goes against his or her belief system. Christopher Plummer finds himself in a position akin to that of Peter O'Toole in The Savage Innocents, Robert Ryan in On Dangerous Ground,Susan Hayward in The Lusty Men.
On the other hand...lots of stagy soliloquies, lots of scenes which don't get to really inflect; they just make their plot points and move on. One can imagine a lot of footage which was discarded because it didn't "advance the story".
Some beautiful swamps and animals.
It's a real mess - but a beautiful mess.
Film-making...it can be a real heartbreak for the directors who believe in their personal vision.
No, not Ecologists vs. Poachers...
But the real battle!
Auteurists vs. Writer-Driven Cinema!
The showing in NY was a trip, with a Schulberg relative coming to the showing - at a Nicholas Ray retrospective, no less! - to announce that this was not only NOT a Nicholas Ray film, but CLEARLY a Schulberg film (this was simply bad manners, given the occasion). And she went on to talk about how drug-addled Ray was during the shooting (that was worse than bad manners, given the occasion).
Anyway...if you care...
Lots of Ray stuff: the created "family unit" of outlaws, with their twisted bonhomie and their rituals; the sense that living in a particular "natural" environment creates an alternative sense of right and wrong, and that someone who enters into that environment has to confront this other reality, even if it goes against his or her belief system. Christopher Plummer finds himself in a position akin to that of Peter O'Toole in The Savage Innocents, Robert Ryan in On Dangerous Ground,Susan Hayward in The Lusty Men.
On the other hand...lots of stagy soliloquies, lots of scenes which don't get to really inflect; they just make their plot points and move on. One can imagine a lot of footage which was discarded because it didn't "advance the story".
Some beautiful swamps and animals.
It's a real mess - but a beautiful mess.
Film-making...it can be a real heartbreak for the directors who believe in their personal vision.
Outlandish and strange Nicholas Ray film with colorful and brilliant cinematography shot in Florida everglades
ma-cortes25 November 2020
In this peculiar movie there various and motley characters , such as : Burl Ives as Cottonmouth, more terrrifying than the dreadly marshland he ruled , Chistopher Plummer , the one who dared go in after him, Gypsy Rose Lee who imported the Girls , Tony Galento the heavy wright fighter as Beef , he escaped with Sammy Renick , the famous jockey , a renegade from the track, Emmett Kelly , the great circus clown , as Bigamy Bob , the multi-married outlaw McKinlay Kantor and introducing a new European star from Poland , lovely Chana Eden . The people passions and plunder that swept the 1000 terror-miles of everglades ¡ Storming the heights of motion picture greatness ¡. Hollywood bulletion : Nothing like it since " Grapes of Wrath" . Best-selling novel now on the screen, now the screen is adult enough !. Please see it from the beginning . No motion picture ever stabbed so deep ¡
This is an offbeat movie plenty of barroque scenes , ecologism, rare roles , disjointed set pieces and gorgeous outdoors from Florida . Financed by Warner Bros and produced by Stuart Schulberg and script by his brother Budd Schulberg , the prestigious man who gave you "On the Waterfront" . Schulberg attempted to take the filmmaking against an alcoholic Nicholas Ray, and finally Budd made the final scenes. Main and support cast are pretty good . The incombustible Christopher Plummer in his second screen appearance is pretty nice as the ornithologist who fights a bunch of bird poachers and Burl Ives is top-notch as the boss who imposes his own law in the Florida Everglades . And fine support cast , such as: Gypsy Rose Lee , Pat Henning , introducing Chana Eden and Peter Falk in his feature debut , among others .
Here stands out the stunning cinematography shot on location in Florida marshland , showing the lush exteriors and a lot of wildlife and birds that are the peculiar and real protagonists of this nice movie. The motion picture was uneven but professionally directed by Nicholas Ray in his usual style . He was a great director who made masterpieces , successes and failures . Ray directed all kinds of genres as Epic , Noir Film , Drama , Western , Religious , Wartime, such as : "The live by Night" , "Knock in any Door" , "In a lonely place" , "Born to be bad" , "On Dangerous Ground", "Flying Leathernecks", "The Lusty Man" , "Johnny Guitar", "Party Girl", "The King of Kings" , "55 days in Pekin" and several others. Rating : Notable 7/10. Better than average . The film will appeal to Christopher Plummer fans that he is still playing with certain success , as well as followers of this great and rebel filmmaker called Nicholas Ray . Essential and indispensable watching .
This is an offbeat movie plenty of barroque scenes , ecologism, rare roles , disjointed set pieces and gorgeous outdoors from Florida . Financed by Warner Bros and produced by Stuart Schulberg and script by his brother Budd Schulberg , the prestigious man who gave you "On the Waterfront" . Schulberg attempted to take the filmmaking against an alcoholic Nicholas Ray, and finally Budd made the final scenes. Main and support cast are pretty good . The incombustible Christopher Plummer in his second screen appearance is pretty nice as the ornithologist who fights a bunch of bird poachers and Burl Ives is top-notch as the boss who imposes his own law in the Florida Everglades . And fine support cast , such as: Gypsy Rose Lee , Pat Henning , introducing Chana Eden and Peter Falk in his feature debut , among others .
Here stands out the stunning cinematography shot on location in Florida marshland , showing the lush exteriors and a lot of wildlife and birds that are the peculiar and real protagonists of this nice movie. The motion picture was uneven but professionally directed by Nicholas Ray in his usual style . He was a great director who made masterpieces , successes and failures . Ray directed all kinds of genres as Epic , Noir Film , Drama , Western , Religious , Wartime, such as : "The live by Night" , "Knock in any Door" , "In a lonely place" , "Born to be bad" , "On Dangerous Ground", "Flying Leathernecks", "The Lusty Man" , "Johnny Guitar", "Party Girl", "The King of Kings" , "55 days in Pekin" and several others. Rating : Notable 7/10. Better than average . The film will appeal to Christopher Plummer fans that he is still playing with certain success , as well as followers of this great and rebel filmmaker called Nicholas Ray . Essential and indispensable watching .
A movie ahead of its time..
dbdumonteil23 January 2008
And in Nicholas Ray's canon,it's not the only one.Few directors (if there were any) displayed ecological concern fifty years ago.Maybe John Huston did when he filmed the plight of the elephants in "roots of Heaven" at the time.But it was not as successful as "wind across the everglades.
They say Ray did not finish the film (once again it was not the only one;see also "55 days at Peking" )but ,apart from his plea for the everglades wildlife,we find one of his permanent features:the Walt/Cottonmouth relationship is very complex and verges on a father and son one (for that matter ,see also " knock on any door" "the lusty men" " run for cover" ..) The picture with these birds flying away is sublime.
They say Ray did not finish the film (once again it was not the only one;see also "55 days at Peking" )but ,apart from his plea for the everglades wildlife,we find one of his permanent features:the Walt/Cottonmouth relationship is very complex and verges on a father and son one (for that matter ,see also " knock on any door" "the lusty men" " run for cover" ..) The picture with these birds flying away is sublime.
A bit uneven but acceptable .......
merklekranz15 December 2013
Burl Ives and his band of lowlife bird poachers are the equivalent of the "rednecks" in "Deliverance". Christopher Plummer on the other hand is their Audobon Society adversary, trying to protect the tropical birds and their valuable feathers. When the movie is in the Everglades, it moves along at a pretty good pace, while the Miami scenes feel padded. I'd imagine there has to be at least a bunch of fashionable ladies parading around in their feathered hats to make a point, but the scene on the beach and Gypsy Rose Lee's ladies of the evening are somewhat overplayed. The film is strongest when Ives and Plummer are on screen, almost everyone else is forgettable. I would rate this only slightly above average, but definitely watchable. - MERK
Wise Owl say Billy don't hurt Bird Boy! Bird Boy good man!
sol-kay19 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
**SPOILERS** Set at the turn of century in the uncharted Florida Everglades the movie is about the feather craze that swept the nation and the world that resulted in the killing of millions of Blue Herons and Snow White Egrets by poachers who got as much as $100.00 an ounce, this in the early 1900's being a King's Ransom, for the birds beautiful and valuable feathers.
Upset over whats happening down under in the Sunshine State the Audubon Society had the Federal Government send law enforcement Marshall's down to Florida to prevent and arrest the gangs of poachers, who called themselves Swamp Rats,and prevent them from upsetting the delicate balance of nature that in the end would destroy all the wildlife in the swamps and wetlands.
Nature and bird lover Walt Murdoc, Christopher Plumer, goes down to Miami as a Federal Mrashall to enforce the law against the indiscriminate killing of birds by the scuzzy and insensitive poachers and has it out with the biggest baddest and heaviest poachers of them all Cottonmouth, Burl Ives, and his motley gang of Swamp or Water Rats. Even though the Cottonmouth Gang could easily take out and put away Mudoc they instead have one of their lackey's Seminole Indian guide Billy One Arm get Murdoc lost in the swamps where he's to end up as dinner for the local alligators.
Billy won over by Murdoc's love of nature and concern for the birds as well as his people the native Seminole Indians can't bring himself to do him in which later costs Billy One Arm his life. Cottonmouth enraged at Billy One Arm's humanity, which he totally lacks, gives him the full treatment by having Billy One Arm tied to the poisonous Manchioneel tree, thats a fate far worse then death itself. The the sap of the plant slowly eats away Billy's skin and infects his blood stream killing poor Billy with it's lethal venom that's more deadlier then the bite of a hundred cottonmouths or rattle snakes.
Murdoc still trying to arrest Cottonmouth & Co and bring him back to civilization, Miami, to face justice goes by himself to Cottonmouth's hideout, Cottonmouth Key. But instead of Murdoc bing killed by the murderous poachers he's invited to a drinking contest with the far bigger, who can really pack it away, Cottonmouth which ends up with Murdoc passing out from consumption and ending up in the swamps during a raging hurricane.
The ending is a little too much to take with for some strange reason Cottonmouth agreeing to go back to Miami with Murdoc, after he recovered from his hangover, and give himself up but under only one condition: that Murdoc do all the driving or rowing through the snake and alligator infested swamps! We have then Murdoc and Cottonmoth sloughing their way back to Miami with Murdoc,like Cottonmouth planned, losing his way and getting an ore bashed over his head by Cottonmouth. This happened after a delirious Murdoc shot at an imaginary snake that he thought was trying to kill him. Cottonmouth losing his hat, with a white bird feather stuck on it, later goes back to the swamp to retrieve it and as Murdoc is just about to be submerged by the rising waters. It's then when Cottonmouth gets bitten by a real cottonmouth that leaves him crumpled up, like a bag of potatoes, and slowly dying from the bite of the poisonous reptile.
Murdoc gets instructions in how to get back to Miami from the dying Cottonmouth who, with him at death's door, finally sees what he overlooked all his life in the beauty of nature and the indigenous birds of the Glade's as he loses consciousness and peacefully passes away. As he finally departs from this realm of existence the birds of the Glade's that he and his gang of poachers had been ruthlessly gunning down by the hundreds,for a nice and tidy profit, end up pelting Cottonmouth with their daily deposits.
Upset over whats happening down under in the Sunshine State the Audubon Society had the Federal Government send law enforcement Marshall's down to Florida to prevent and arrest the gangs of poachers, who called themselves Swamp Rats,and prevent them from upsetting the delicate balance of nature that in the end would destroy all the wildlife in the swamps and wetlands.
Nature and bird lover Walt Murdoc, Christopher Plumer, goes down to Miami as a Federal Mrashall to enforce the law against the indiscriminate killing of birds by the scuzzy and insensitive poachers and has it out with the biggest baddest and heaviest poachers of them all Cottonmouth, Burl Ives, and his motley gang of Swamp or Water Rats. Even though the Cottonmouth Gang could easily take out and put away Mudoc they instead have one of their lackey's Seminole Indian guide Billy One Arm get Murdoc lost in the swamps where he's to end up as dinner for the local alligators.
Billy won over by Murdoc's love of nature and concern for the birds as well as his people the native Seminole Indians can't bring himself to do him in which later costs Billy One Arm his life. Cottonmouth enraged at Billy One Arm's humanity, which he totally lacks, gives him the full treatment by having Billy One Arm tied to the poisonous Manchioneel tree, thats a fate far worse then death itself. The the sap of the plant slowly eats away Billy's skin and infects his blood stream killing poor Billy with it's lethal venom that's more deadlier then the bite of a hundred cottonmouths or rattle snakes.
Murdoc still trying to arrest Cottonmouth & Co and bring him back to civilization, Miami, to face justice goes by himself to Cottonmouth's hideout, Cottonmouth Key. But instead of Murdoc bing killed by the murderous poachers he's invited to a drinking contest with the far bigger, who can really pack it away, Cottonmouth which ends up with Murdoc passing out from consumption and ending up in the swamps during a raging hurricane.
The ending is a little too much to take with for some strange reason Cottonmouth agreeing to go back to Miami with Murdoc, after he recovered from his hangover, and give himself up but under only one condition: that Murdoc do all the driving or rowing through the snake and alligator infested swamps! We have then Murdoc and Cottonmoth sloughing their way back to Miami with Murdoc,like Cottonmouth planned, losing his way and getting an ore bashed over his head by Cottonmouth. This happened after a delirious Murdoc shot at an imaginary snake that he thought was trying to kill him. Cottonmouth losing his hat, with a white bird feather stuck on it, later goes back to the swamp to retrieve it and as Murdoc is just about to be submerged by the rising waters. It's then when Cottonmouth gets bitten by a real cottonmouth that leaves him crumpled up, like a bag of potatoes, and slowly dying from the bite of the poisonous reptile.
Murdoc gets instructions in how to get back to Miami from the dying Cottonmouth who, with him at death's door, finally sees what he overlooked all his life in the beauty of nature and the indigenous birds of the Glade's as he loses consciousness and peacefully passes away. As he finally departs from this realm of existence the birds of the Glade's that he and his gang of poachers had been ruthlessly gunning down by the hundreds,for a nice and tidy profit, end up pelting Cottonmouth with their daily deposits.
Wind Across the Everglades
weismuller8886 July 2005
I first saw this film as a youngster, and it had a huge impression on me. As this movie showed on TV semi regularly back then I watched it many times. I was blown away the first time and every other time I saw it. With each re-watching I always picked up on new things I'd missed or didn't understand before, I was a kid after all.
Wind Across the Everglades invokes raw power, beauty, commitment, wilderness, redemption, morality, Human Nature, Nature.
This movie really needs to be re-released on DVD. I haven't seen it in maybe 36 years or more, but still consider it a major "Classic" that has everything going for it..great acting, great story, a non-partisan moral.
Wind Across the Everglades invokes raw power, beauty, commitment, wilderness, redemption, morality, Human Nature, Nature.
This movie really needs to be re-released on DVD. I haven't seen it in maybe 36 years or more, but still consider it a major "Classic" that has everything going for it..great acting, great story, a non-partisan moral.
Demented but very entertaining
JasparLamarCrabb25 October 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Playing like a demented cross between Fellini & Lil' Abner, Budd Schulberg's & Nicholas Ray's film features Christopher Plummer in one of his first roles. He plays an ornithologist working in the Florida Everglades and attempting to stop swamp gangster Burl Ives & his goons from pouching the bird population. Ives is ruthless but Plummer proves a worthy adversary. Director Ray and writer Schulberg create quite a potboiler leading up to an all-night moonshine drink-off between Plummer & Ives. The actors are all perfect (among Ives's posse is a young Peter Falk and a make-up-less Emmett Kelley). Curt Conway plays the "prefesser." The art direction is by Richard Sylbert & the stunning cinematography is by Joseph C. Brun, who later shot FLIPPER (also filmed in the Sunshine state).
Maybe it's just me, but this film just didn't seem to make much sense.
planktonrules15 November 2015
The subject matter for this film is interesting and I'm shocked Hollywood would even bother to make this film back in the late 50s. Because of an insane fashion craze, ladies loved having hats filled with bird plumes in the late 19th and early 20th century. The problem was that to get these plumes, bird colonies were decimated-- especially birds like snowy egrets. So, the government deputized agents to protect these birds. But how could these folks possibly enforce the laws--especially in the wild backcountry where the swamp folk lived and hunted? This is the problem in "Wind Across the Everglades" where an eager young agent (Christopher Plummer) is battling the forces of Cottonmouth (Burl Ives)--a foul man who, along with his band of rogues, raped the swamp of its birds.
This is clearly the case of a film where the subject matter is very intriguing but the execution left a lot to be desired. Too often, the film just seemed to drag and the big confrontation scene between Cottonmouth and the agent just didn't make a whole lot of sense. Nor, for that matter, did ANY of the final portion of the film make sense! I see it as a noble experiment of a film...but a failure due to problems with the silly script.
By the way, if you care, Bigamy Bob is played by the super-famous clown, Emmett Kelly and this is Peter Falk's first film.
This is clearly the case of a film where the subject matter is very intriguing but the execution left a lot to be desired. Too often, the film just seemed to drag and the big confrontation scene between Cottonmouth and the agent just didn't make a whole lot of sense. Nor, for that matter, did ANY of the final portion of the film make sense! I see it as a noble experiment of a film...but a failure due to problems with the silly script.
By the way, if you care, Bigamy Bob is played by the super-famous clown, Emmett Kelly and this is Peter Falk's first film.
A must see..if you can find it
sirk466 May 2006
Taken in the context of the 'feather' craze that almost decimated the birds of the Everglades at the turn of the 20th Century, this movie -almost- presaged Rachel Carson and Marjorie Stoneman Douglas. A moving depiction of the River Of Grass, those who lived WITH it and those who tried to DESTROY it. Christopher Plummer and Burl Ives gave this movie a depth that seemed effortless It deserved a wider release and I can only hope it will be issued as a DVD. It was based upon a true story of a federal wildlife ranger. The Manchineal trees have been displaced by Malelucas, what a pity, I would rope all the inhabitants of South Florida to the formers caustic trunks and enjoy he howls of pain
Somewhat For the Birds
Bob-4520 September 2000
Warning: Spoilers
Bud Shulberg started his own production company with this movie. He pretty much ended it with the same movie. Well-acted and beautifully photographed, the movie suffers from what appears to be very heavy cutting. Christopher Plummer plays a man whom by chance becomes a protector of the exotic birds in the Everglades. Burl Ives plays the head of a group of poachers. POSSIBLE SPOILER: At a key point during the film, for some reason, Ives spares Plummer's life. It really amazes me this film would be so highly regarded by IMDB viewers, when GREEN MANSIONS, a much more coherent movie, is so badly panned. Oh well;if you must see it, expect to be a bit bored. I gave it a six, entirely for its aspirations, and what was undoubtedly left on the cutting room floor.
Vibrant and Colorful
jarnold1169 June 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Strange pseudo-Western set in turn-of-the-century Florida, with Christopher Plummer as a seemingly half-crazed ornithologist going up against Burl Ives as a fully-crazed cottonmouth-snake-fondling swamp-god of the Everglades. Gypsy Rose Lee turns up as a whorehouse madame and Peter Falk stalks the sidelines in his first film appearance.
I stumbled onto Wind Across the Everglades playing on TCM; as a native Floridian, I just had to check it out. The film is undeniably entertaining but it is consistently undercut by strange dialog, uneven editing, and a plot where characters seem to meander aimlessly into and out of trouble. Plummer seems lost in his role, veering from composed and thoughtful to wild and unkempt again and again. Burl Ives fares better in his role as the grizzled poacher, though he isn't really given a lot to do.
The cinematography, too, is as uneven as the old "African safari" travelogues that intermix shots of the actor/s with assorted wildlife. I swear to God, when we got shots of egrets, alligators, ibis, a wood duck, and a freakin' sawfish all in the same montage, I just lost it. I mean, this is great stuff.
The strangest thing about all this hooey is that it is, in the end, really entertaining. While I wouldn't call it a "good" film, it holds up well against classics of "bad" cinema like Spider-Baby, Robot Monster, or any of Ed Wood's gems. This is a worthy cult film for any cinephile.
I stumbled onto Wind Across the Everglades playing on TCM; as a native Floridian, I just had to check it out. The film is undeniably entertaining but it is consistently undercut by strange dialog, uneven editing, and a plot where characters seem to meander aimlessly into and out of trouble. Plummer seems lost in his role, veering from composed and thoughtful to wild and unkempt again and again. Burl Ives fares better in his role as the grizzled poacher, though he isn't really given a lot to do.
The cinematography, too, is as uneven as the old "African safari" travelogues that intermix shots of the actor/s with assorted wildlife. I swear to God, when we got shots of egrets, alligators, ibis, a wood duck, and a freakin' sawfish all in the same montage, I just lost it. I mean, this is great stuff.
The strangest thing about all this hooey is that it is, in the end, really entertaining. While I wouldn't call it a "good" film, it holds up well against classics of "bad" cinema like Spider-Baby, Robot Monster, or any of Ed Wood's gems. This is a worthy cult film for any cinephile.
finally boils down to two great actors
SnoopyStyle18 April 2022
It's the turn of the century. Ornithologist Walt Murdock (Christopher Plummer) arrives in the Florida Everglades to photograph local birds and to enforce the newly declared bird/animal sanctuary. Walt finds himself confronted by a family of poachers led by Cottonmouth (Burl Ives) and the local trade in feather plumage.
This apparently had a troubled production. The swamp people has shades of Deliverance with shocks of bright colors. There are some great natural views but the production can get stuck in the mud. The ecological and native themes are a bit ahead of its time. On the other hand, the melodrama and old costumes feel old. Most of this is a bit of a mess until the last section. It's as if the film figured out that it has two great actors in the cast. It becomes a mano-a-mano film and it's so good. The first two thirds is an interesting fail but it becomes almost electric in the last act.
This apparently had a troubled production. The swamp people has shades of Deliverance with shocks of bright colors. There are some great natural views but the production can get stuck in the mud. The ecological and native themes are a bit ahead of its time. On the other hand, the melodrama and old costumes feel old. Most of this is a bit of a mess until the last section. It's as if the film figured out that it has two great actors in the cast. It becomes a mano-a-mano film and it's so good. The first two thirds is an interesting fail but it becomes almost electric in the last act.
LOVE this movie!!!
terilee618 March 2019
Hothouse decadence meets missionary zeal
scotmistro2 November 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this title as a young boy (7 or 8) and got seriously warped by its palpably sensual cinematography and scenes of fetishistic violence. It takes place in fin de siecle Florida with Burl Ives as the head of a bunch of exotic bird poachers and Christopher Plummer as the driven game warden trying to shut down their action. The violence I remember is a fight between Plummer and one of Ive's gang called 'Jockey' who lays about Plummer viciously with a riding crop before Plummer beats the crap out of him in a pool of ankle deep muck. Ives picks up the half-dead Jockey (who always wears riding silks) and carries his senseless, mud-drenched form as tenderly as a child, "You can sleep in my bed tonight, Jockey" he says - creepy as hell. In another scene a man is tied to a 'poison tree' and left overnight to die, screaming. The next morning we see his body, still tied to the tree, his face covered with oozing blisters. Horrible. And yep, I'd love to see this flick again!
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
