When I happened to come upon this film on TV, Constance Smith was on the screen. Immediately, I thought of Jean Peters because the resemblance was so great. I even thought she WAS Jean Peters, although the eye color and absence of the turned up tip of the nose gave me reason to doubt my initial impression. Lo and behold, who did I find was also in the film - Jean Peters! I did not see any reference in the film to the resemblance between the two, but I wonder if they were cast together because of this resemblance (admittedly, a subjective impression on my part). Perhaps there was an unstated implication that Jeffrey Hunter was attracted to Jean because of her resemblance to his "fiancee", played by Constance. In any event, a very good, if relatively unknown film, even as a remake of the generally more highly rated film it's derived from (with Walther Brennan in both!).
14 Reviews
Into the wild.
ulicknormanowen11 February 2021
A remake of "swamp water " ,Renoir's first American movie ,"lure of the wilderness 's is an estimable one ;the star of the movie is the swamp water ,and if it was filmed in black and white in the first version, color landscapes are a feast for the eye .Twelve years later , Walter Brennan plays the same part as in the French director's work .
But the characters are not cardboard; Jim and Laurie are outcasts , but they are not that much anxious to come back to "civilization" because the dice are loaded and the father won't have a fair trial ; Ben runs into them by chance ;he,too ,is some kind of orphan, for his father has thrown it out of the house when he told him he intended to come back to this doomed swamp where many a man got lost .So Jim becomes a surrogate father to him , his life comes now to resemble his/theirs,not the other way about ; and Jean Peters (who would also play an indian opposite Lancaster in Aldrich's " Apache" (1954))is a better "wild " girl than Ann Baxter .
The ball is an important scene because it's the first (timid) attempt to take Laurie back to the community ;as a fugitive outlaw's daughter she does not stand any chance to be accepted by the well-to-do people;the film is as much a man clearing his name as a younger 's initiation rite : the graves he digs is not for Harper ...
But the characters are not cardboard; Jim and Laurie are outcasts , but they are not that much anxious to come back to "civilization" because the dice are loaded and the father won't have a fair trial ; Ben runs into them by chance ;he,too ,is some kind of orphan, for his father has thrown it out of the house when he told him he intended to come back to this doomed swamp where many a man got lost .So Jim becomes a surrogate father to him , his life comes now to resemble his/theirs,not the other way about ; and Jean Peters (who would also play an indian opposite Lancaster in Aldrich's " Apache" (1954))is a better "wild " girl than Ann Baxter .
The ball is an important scene because it's the first (timid) attempt to take Laurie back to the community ;as a fugitive outlaw's daughter she does not stand any chance to be accepted by the well-to-do people;the film is as much a man clearing his name as a younger 's initiation rite : the graves he digs is not for Harper ...
Outlandish Western under the opressive green of the Everglades , dealing with a young who strays into a swamp
ma-cortes14 February 2020
The year is 1910 , it stars a hunter, Ben Tyler (Jeffrey Hunter) , a young man living with his father Ned Tyler (Harry Carter) , who is searching for his dog, and strays deep into the treacherous Okefenokee swamp in Georgia. He comes across a young girl (Jean Peters) and her father Jim (Walter Brennan) . The old man Jim Harper several years ago was unjustly accused of a murder , as he is living and hiding in the swamp with his beautiful daughter, Laurie . Lure of love in the devil's own domain ¡ . The Treacherous Swampland of Georgia . The Swamp ! Sinister - mysterious - it shaped the lives and loves and hates of the people who lived around its edges !!
A really off-beat Western regarding young hunter stumbles upon a wanted fugitive and his lovely daughter who have been hiding from law for years until they are befriended by a trapper who penetrates the swamp in search of his dog , and then he helps them return to civilization. It is a romantic and colorful film set in a Georgia swamp , with a triangular romance in which two young people Ben/Jeffery Hunter and Laurie/Jean Peters fall in love, and while another lover/Constance Smith has jealous and schemes her vengeance . And adding the ordinary suntry denizens , such as : alligators , snakes , and quicksands . Based on a story by Vereen Bell that was formerly adapted as ¨Swamp water¨ 1941 by Jean Renoir , Irving Pichel with Walter Brennan , Walter Huston , Anne Baxter , Dana Andrews . Fine acting abounds all around . Decent interpretation by Jeffrey Hunter as Ben, a young who works on getting a fugitive to come out of the wilderness and clear his name . Jean Peters is extremely gorgeous as an intrepid heroine . Walter Brennan is good as an old man who was unjustly accused of murder, seeking refuge in a Georgia swamp . Suppport cast is pretty good , such as : Constance Smith ,Tom Tully , Robert Adler , Harry Shannon , Dale Robertson , and the ordinary nasty Jack Elam. There's glimmer technicolor cinematography , with the overpowering atmosphere of the swamps wonderfully captured by cameraman Edward Cronjager , shot on location in the Okefenokee Swamp Park . His camerawork helps build up a nice sense of the claustrophobic menace conjured up by the lush vegetation .
Evocative production design and art direction from Lyle Wheeler , Thomas Little , Fred J. Rode . Thrilling as well as emotive musical score by the classy composer Franz Waxman . The motion picture was well directed by Jean Negulesco . He was a filmmaker of both popular , polished entertainments , as well as critically acclaimed and he directed all kinds of genres with penchant for musical , drama and comedy . As he realized various dramatic films in the 1940s and 1950s . He helmed a realist war drama : Three came home with Claudette Colbert , a WWII film: The conspirators with Hedy Lamar , Paul Henreid , and made his version of sinking Titanic 1953 with Barbara Stanwick and the hit : Johnny Belinda .Subsequently , he directed : Humoresque , Road house and a remake : The rains of Ranchipur with Richard Burton and Lana Turner , the comedy : How to marry with a millionaire with Marilyn Monroe , Betty Grable ; the colorful movie : Boy on a dolphin with Sophia Loren , Alan Ladd and the musical movies : Daddy long legs 1955 with Fred Astaire and Three coins in the fountain ; furthermore , a Bette Davis vehicle : Phone call from a stranger . His last and unknown films were dramedy as The pleasure seekers , The invincible sex and Hello goodbye . Being his most successful and prestigious movie : Mask of Dimitrios with Peter Lorre .
A really off-beat Western regarding young hunter stumbles upon a wanted fugitive and his lovely daughter who have been hiding from law for years until they are befriended by a trapper who penetrates the swamp in search of his dog , and then he helps them return to civilization. It is a romantic and colorful film set in a Georgia swamp , with a triangular romance in which two young people Ben/Jeffery Hunter and Laurie/Jean Peters fall in love, and while another lover/Constance Smith has jealous and schemes her vengeance . And adding the ordinary suntry denizens , such as : alligators , snakes , and quicksands . Based on a story by Vereen Bell that was formerly adapted as ¨Swamp water¨ 1941 by Jean Renoir , Irving Pichel with Walter Brennan , Walter Huston , Anne Baxter , Dana Andrews . Fine acting abounds all around . Decent interpretation by Jeffrey Hunter as Ben, a young who works on getting a fugitive to come out of the wilderness and clear his name . Jean Peters is extremely gorgeous as an intrepid heroine . Walter Brennan is good as an old man who was unjustly accused of murder, seeking refuge in a Georgia swamp . Suppport cast is pretty good , such as : Constance Smith ,Tom Tully , Robert Adler , Harry Shannon , Dale Robertson , and the ordinary nasty Jack Elam. There's glimmer technicolor cinematography , with the overpowering atmosphere of the swamps wonderfully captured by cameraman Edward Cronjager , shot on location in the Okefenokee Swamp Park . His camerawork helps build up a nice sense of the claustrophobic menace conjured up by the lush vegetation .
Evocative production design and art direction from Lyle Wheeler , Thomas Little , Fred J. Rode . Thrilling as well as emotive musical score by the classy composer Franz Waxman . The motion picture was well directed by Jean Negulesco . He was a filmmaker of both popular , polished entertainments , as well as critically acclaimed and he directed all kinds of genres with penchant for musical , drama and comedy . As he realized various dramatic films in the 1940s and 1950s . He helmed a realist war drama : Three came home with Claudette Colbert , a WWII film: The conspirators with Hedy Lamar , Paul Henreid , and made his version of sinking Titanic 1953 with Barbara Stanwick and the hit : Johnny Belinda .Subsequently , he directed : Humoresque , Road house and a remake : The rains of Ranchipur with Richard Burton and Lana Turner , the comedy : How to marry with a millionaire with Marilyn Monroe , Betty Grable ; the colorful movie : Boy on a dolphin with Sophia Loren , Alan Ladd and the musical movies : Daddy long legs 1955 with Fred Astaire and Three coins in the fountain ; furthermore , a Bette Davis vehicle : Phone call from a stranger . His last and unknown films were dramedy as The pleasure seekers , The invincible sex and Hello goodbye . Being his most successful and prestigious movie : Mask of Dimitrios with Peter Lorre .
Lure of the Wilderness
mhrabovsky1-115 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers
This is one of those very good technicolor 90 minute or so little gems made in the early 50s that is a mostly forgotten movie and it is sad....a very young Jeffrey Hunter and a very young vivacious Jean Peters star in a tale about a girl (Peters) and her father (Walter Brennan) who have been falsely accused of a murder and had to run from the law and hide in the Georgia swamps for years...waiting and waiting until someone could possibly come to find them and get them a fair trial. Enter Jeffrey Hunter who decides to take a fearful journey into the Okefenoke swamp, a place where neither man nor beast dared venture into to find his lost dog from a hunting trip. The swamp is loaded full of death traps, including plenty of gators, deadly snakes and other assorted beasts.....Hunter finally sets up camp in an area where Peters and Brennan have been hidden for years. A relationship develops between the trio and Hunter believes Brennan's story that he was falsely accused and tries to dig up enough money in fur pelts from various animals to help him fund a defense lawyer. Along the way a wily damsel who supposedly will marry Hunter becomes a jealous, sneaky woman and finds out about Hunter's real motives for continuing to keep venturing into the swamp. A love story ensues as Hunter and Peters fall in love...a very sweet and tender story follows and the real killers who had put Brennan into hiding get their due in a quicksand pit...one brother survives to tell the real truth and in the end of the movie Brennan is acquitted and Peters and Hunter ride off into the sunset. This is one little gem of a movie and should be released to video if Fox had any sense. Hunter and Peters very early in their careers make a handsome couple and the acting is very solid, led by the veteran Walter Brennan, who could handle just about any role. See this film if you can...watch for it on the Fox network on cable.
Lure of the Wilderness
CinemaSerf2 April 2023
As ever, the presence of Walter Brennan in a film can be relied upon to liven it up a bit. That said, he needs to pull out all the stops to keep this rather plodding bayou adventure alive. "Ben" (Jeffrey Hunter) is out chasing his dog through the swamp one day when he alights on the camp of two wanted fugitives. Initially tied to a tree, he convinces "Jim" (Brennan) and his daughter "Laurie" (Jean Peters) the he means them no harm. Time soon convinces them that they can trust him, and that he might be able to help them engage a lawyer to prove that they did not commit the crime from which they are hiding. Arriving back in town armed with a great many otter pelts, suspicions are raised and shortly the townsfolk cotton on demanding that he take them to their hideout. Can he manage to keep them safe from the murderous hands of "Longden" (Jack Elam) et al? It also features a rather silly love-triangle between "Ben", long-term girlfriend "Noreen" (Constance Smith) and the far more tomboyish "Laurie" which does rather afford Hunter an opportunity to flail about like a fish out of water, and Elam was always competent as a baddie - but the thrust of the story is all pretty lightweight. The photography is fine, as is the pace, and the ensemble here do just enough to pass ninety minutes amidst a wilderness that at least looked like it was real. No, it's hardly a film you will remember, but it's still quite watchable.
Swamp story
searchanddestroy-116 November 2022
Do not confound this film with LURE OF THE SWAMP, made by Hubert Cornfield five years later. Or even with Joseph Lewis' CRY OF THE HUNTED, made for MGM, starring Barry Sullivan and Vittorio Gassman. This movie from director Jean Negulesco, a pure Twentieth Century Fox film maker, is a pale remake of the original, but agreeable to watch, full of charm and pulled by convincing actors' performances. I did not remind that Walter Brennan played in both, and I don't remember if he has the same character. I am not sure that color helpd much the atmosphere of this kind of story, but the swamp, bayou settings, maybe justified this decision for the producers.
lure of the wilderness
buteercup3 May 2007
excellent movie,wonderful cast,and very enjoyable to watch,so i'm wondering why it was never released to video,I know that there has to be a copy somewhere because it was shown on Disney channel years ago,when satellites first came out,I have a copy from back then,still watchable but would love to own a new copy of it.just can't understand why this version was never released,and swamp water was,Lure of the wilderness is a remake of swamp water,and is a much better movie.,SO if one of these ever becomes available,I would sure love to purchase one.So you guys find me one. Thanks for the chance to express my opinion. Louise
Okefenokee Jean
richardchatten20 September 2020
'Swamp Water' was fairly indifferent Renoir to begin with, and this remake with Walter Brennan recreating his original role compensates by being slightly less studio bound and photographed by ace Technicolor cameraman Edward Cronjager. (Franz Waxman's score is sometimes suitably eerie and sometimes unsuitably twee.)
It's also fun to see a young Jack Elam as one of the local rednecks. In the role originally played by Anne Baxter, Jean Peters looks as if she came straight off the set of 'Anne of the Indies', pausing only to discard her headscarf.
It's also fun to see a young Jack Elam as one of the local rednecks. In the role originally played by Anne Baxter, Jean Peters looks as if she came straight off the set of 'Anne of the Indies', pausing only to discard her headscarf.
Good story...Great adventure!
fluxable30 May 2000
Here is an unusual story about a girl and her father, who take refuge in the Georgia swamps as they try to evade a linching mob. The father (excellently played by Walter Brennan) had been wrongly accused of murder in a small neighboring town. The girl (who turns out to be the beautiful -and quite athletic - Jean Peters)grows up in the swamps, away from civilization, until a man (handsome Jeff Hunter) arrives at their campsite looking for his stray dog. Of course the two young actors eventually fall in love, but even this is believable and interwined into the action and adventure of this highly intersting film. Director Jean Negulesco offers us a well balanced and magnificently edited film that deals with prejudices and lies - which can be abundant in any small town. Very well acted by Peters, Hunter, et all...who award us with quite authentic southern accents, for a change.
Love In A Georgia Swamp !
rjaddou6 June 2019
There is a scene where Jean Peters and Jeffrey Hunter are kissing in the middle of a Georgia swamp ... She has a lovely hair style and professional make-up on, he is clean-shaven and smelling of roses (no BO or bad breath issues here !). The plot is as flimsy and fake as that scene. This was standard Hollywood fare in the 40s, 50's and early 60's when cowboys travelled 30 miles through wilderness to arrive still wearing a clean pressed shirt and gleaming boots ... Don't waste your time watching this garbage UNLESS you watch it on a smart phone in a dentist's waiting room to send you to sleep !
I would like this movie on DVD
diego-242 June 2003
I saw this movie in original release and have always wanted to see it again. It is beautifully acted by the entire cast, especially Walter Brennan. As usual, he was always an asset to any movie. The setting of the swamp gave the movie adventure,suspense and beauty. This is one classic that should be restored to its original state.
Film basis
ol1stshirt19 January 2004
This film was based on the earlier "Swamp Water" - both great films. The earlier film also starred Dana Andrews and John Carradine. I loved all the Walter Brennan movies as well as his character, Grandpa Amos, in the TV series "The Real McCoys", which starred another late and great actor, Richard Crenna, as Luke.
Very Uplifting Story
recluse213 August 2018
excellent cinematography, showcasing Southern Folks love of Florida Swamplands Bijous.
GregP8920 January 2022
Now i see how Jeff Hunter was selected for the lead role in 'King of Kings' 8 yrs later. 1rst, for the quaint prayer he said after thinking Mr. Brennan died due to a Cotton Mouth snake bite on forehead (while drinking swamp stream water). 2nd, for undergoing the beating up suffering he went thru vs the Jack Elam /willWright posse gang. Once, again Ms Peters as Tom Boy Beautiful as ever (just like in 'Broken Arrow'), and the athletic 1rst macho woman iconic role and role model for Scarlett Johanssens Black Widow role decades later, they even Look Alike. Puppy Dog sad eye look.
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