Strangler of the Swamp

***Strangler of the Swamp*** is a 1946 black-and-white American horror/drama film produced by Producers Releasing Corporation. It was released to American theaters on January 1, 1946.

## Synopsis

### Summary

A man hanged for murder returns to strangle his executioners.

### Plot

When Bill Craig's body is found in the swamp with a noose around his neck, the villagers attribute the death to "The Strangler." The Strangler is thought to be the ghost of ferryman Douglas, who was convicted of the murder of farmer Berkeley on the testimony of Joseph Hart, the current ferryman. Douglas maintained his innocence until he was hanged and before his execution, vowed vengeance on the men responsible for his conviction and their families. Since then, many have died by various means of strangulation. The village women ask Joseph to sacrifice himself to break the curse, which will only be ended when someone voluntarily offers himself to The Strangler. Joseph refuses and, later that night, starts to burn a piece of paper when he is summoned by someone on the opposite shore. His caller is The Strangler, and Joseph is killed. Later, Maria, Joseph's granddaughter, who left town as a little girl, returns to the village and, learning of Joseph's death, takes over the ferryman's job. Secretly, Christian Sanders, one of the jurors who convicted Douglas, reveals that Joseph confessed that he killed Berkeley during a quarrel and falsely accused Douglas because he wanted his job. It was this confession that he tried to burn the night of his death. Even though he is now aware that he was responsible for the execution of an innocent man, Sanders still believes that The Strangler is just a superstition. He insists that all the deaths will end if they drain the swamp and proposes to use the money the villagers have saved for a new church for this purpose. In the meantime, Chris, Sander's son, and Maria have fallen in love and plan to marry. Sanders refuses to allow the marriage, however, because Maria's grandfather was a murderer. Chris then accuses his father of equal guilt for hanging an innocent man. When Chris is almost killed by stepping in a deer trap, Maria saves him, but is prevented from fetching the doctor by the appearance of The Strangler, who tells her that Chris is doomed. Maria vows that as long as she lives, The Strangler will not touch Chris, and together with Sanders, takes Chris to the old ruined church. Despite their efforts, Chris grows near to death. To save him, Maria offers herself to The Strangler in his place. Her unselfish act puts The Strangler's ghost to rest, and a grateful Sanders gives Chris and Maria his blessing.

## Cast

* Rosemary La Planche   as   Maria Hart
* Blake Edwards   as   Christian Sanders junior
* Robert Barrat   as   Christian Sanders senior
* Therese Lyon   as   Bertha
* Virginia Farmer   as   Anna Jeffers
* Effie Laird   as   Martina Sanders

## Staff

* Directed by   Frank Wisbar
* Written by   Frank Wisbar, Harold Erickson, Leo J. McCarthy
* Music by   Alexander Steinert
* Cinematography by   James S. Brown Jr.
* Edited by   Hugh Winn

## Alternate titles

* ***The Swamp Stranger*** (*Estrangulador del pantano*, Mexico)
* ***The Strangler in The Fog*** (*Der Würger im Nebel*, Austria)

## Production background

On the day of the so-called Reichskristallnacht in 1938, Frank Wysbar left Germany for the USA. His Jewish wife Eva (born in 1908 as Eva Krojanker) had already left Germany in September 1938 and emigrated to the United States. Here he changed his last name to  *Wisbar* , but found it very difficult to find work in the film business and to build on his earlier successes. Only a few smaller production companies from Poverty Row Hollywood employed him as a screenwriter. He was able to direct a total of four films for the "Producers Releasing Corporation" (PRC), the poorest of these companies that exclusively produced the cheapest B- and C-films . The second of these was Stranglers of the Swamp. Wisbar himself suggested the subject: a remake of "Fährmann Maria", perhaps the most outstanding of the films he directed during his time in Germany.

The budget for  *Strangler of the Swamp*  was just about $ 20,000 . For comparison: Val Lewton had an average of about 150,000 dollars each for his "intelligent" horror films made by RKO between 1942 and 1946, which were also considered cheap productions.  *Strangler of the Swamp*  has been compared by critics to Val Lewton's productions .

However, these small, independent production companies often gave their directors much more creative freedom than they would have had with a major studio, and Wisbar used the small budget as effectively as possible. He underlined the claustrophobic mood of the story by consciously emphasizing the spatial confinement of the swamp setting set up in the studio. Plastic lighting, the targeted use of fog and sophisticated image design - such as longer tracking shots along the ferry moving through the swamp - create depth and atmosphere. The perspective effect is also enhanced by simple means, such as the use of camera attachments painted on glass, which create the illusion of rushes and swamp grass in the foreground. (At one point, however, the existence of the glass plate was obviously forgotten, so that the grass in the foreground moves when the camera is panned.)), are enough to give the "Strangler" an otherworldly charisma. Even the very calm narrative pace, despite the short running time of the film of less than an hour, helps to intensify the spooky atmosphere of the story.In the representation of the ghost, Wisbar dispenses with elaborate special effects (as in the appearances of death in  *Fährmann Maria* ). A simple but effective mask (makeup: Bud Westmore), and the way Douglas slowly emerges from the shadows and melts back into them each time he appears (supported by a little Vaseline smeared on the camera lens

## Comparison between *Ferryman Maria* and *Strangler of the Swamp*

While the base story is very similar in both films, there are also some noticeable differences. Some of them are probably due to the lower budget and the shorter running time of the remake - "Fährmann Maria" lasts about 20 minutes longer than "Strangler of the Swamp". Other differences, however, are in terms of content and also partially change the message of the film. While  *Fährmann Maria*  was created in National Socialist Germany before the start of the Second World War (and contains some hidden criticism of the regime), Wisbar became  *Strangler of the Swamp*  after his own escape, in exile, and shortly after End of the war, filmed - some of these experiences are likely to have influenced the script decisions.

* In  *Fährmann Maria*  a legendary keynote predominates, while in  *Strangler of the Swamp*  the horror elements are more in the foreground.
* The scene of  *Fährmann Maria*  is a village somewhere in the heath, only near the ferry hut is a larger moor area.  *Strangler of the Swamp* , on the other hand, only plays in the swamp throughout. Accordingly,  *Fährmann*  was shot mostly outdoors, at original locations in the Lüneburg Heath, while  *Strangler*  was shot almost exclusively in the studio.
* The construction of the ferry is identical in both films: it is attached to a rope stretched taut across the water, along which the ferryman pulls it from one bank to the other with muscle power (so-called Cable ferry).
* "Ferryman Maria" takes place at the time of the Harvest Festival (which is shown in detail in the film), while in "Strangler of the Swamp" a Halloween celebration is mentioned (but not shown ) becomes.

## References

This is a list of references for **Strangler of the Swamp**. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

1. ↑ Review by Hans J. Wollstein
2. ↑ Der Würger im Nebel.
3. ↑ Review by Hans J. Wollstein
4. ↑ Z. B. here Review by Brett Gallman, here Review on mondo-digital.com or here analysis by Roderick Heath
5. ↑ [ https://web.archive.org/web/20190221232922/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-09-02-9003140008-story.html "Shoestring Sagas"], Chicago Tribune, Sept. 2, 1990

## Gallery

Main article: Strangler of the Swamp/Gallery

**Japanese**
**Invisible Man Appears* (1949) · *The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly* · *The Invisible Avenger* (1954) · *Invisible Man: Rape!* · Oh! Invisible Man · *Oh! Invisible Man – Invisible Girl Appears!?* · *Invisible Demon* · *The Invisible Swordsman* ·*
**Other**
*Invisible Avenger* · *Invisible Invader* · *Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare* · *Yokai Monsters: Along With Ghosts* · *Kujira Gami* · *Memoirs of an Invisible Man* · *The Invisible Man* (1984) · *The Invisible Man* (1977) · *Dr. Jekyll Meets the Invisible Man* (1977) · *The Human Vapor* · *The Secret of the Telegian* · *The H-Man* · *The Fly* (1958) · *The Invisible Woman* (1969) · *The Amazing Transparent Man* · *Fear the Invisible Man* · *The Invisible Witness* · *The Invisible Man* (2016) · *The Invisible Maniac* · *The Invisible Man* (2017) · *The Invisible Man* (2018) · *Invisible Man* (2018) · *Mad Monster Party* (1967) · ***Strangler of the Swamp*** · *The Invisible Man Attacks* · *The Incredible Shrinking Man* · *The Astral Factor* · *Attack of the 50 Foot Woman*