Strangler of the Swamp
Written and directed by Frank Wisbar, this hour-long B thriller  from 1946 is so obscure that it doesn't even rank an entry inLeonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide, but it's a perfectly adequate example of the low-budget fare that was cranked out like sausages by Producer's Releasing Corporation (PRC) in post-World War II Hollywood. Of interest to trivia buffs is the youthful appearance of futurePink Pantherdirector Blake Edwards as the movie's youthful would-be hero, while Rosemary La Planche  plays his beloved, who would sacrifice herself to spare her lover from the title character--the shadowy ghost of a ferryman (played by Charles Middleton) who haunts the local swampland, avenging his wrongful hanging for murder. Steeped in rich, foggy atmosphere, the film copies the effective visual style of Wisbar's earlier German filmFährmann Maria, and although this shoestring spooker barely registers on the fright meter, it's still an interesting oddity for hardcore film buffs, who will appreciate the fact that a movie of such minimal consequence has somehow made its way to DVD. (Collectors, take note: Another Wisbar curio from 1946--The Devil Bat's Daughter--was also released on DVD in 1999.)--Jeff Shannon