THE SWAMP FOX (1959-1961) LESLIE NIELSEN AS REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERO FRANCIS MARION

THE SWAMP FOX (1959-1961) – With the 4th of July fast approaching, it’s past time for a seasonal post. The Swamp Fox is a piece of Forgotten Television that ran sporadically on Walt Disney’s programs. Eight episodes were produced over two years with Leslie Nielsen in the lead role and each one filled a 1-hour time slot.

For people unfamiliar with this hero of the Revolutionary War, he was a Colonel (later a General) and his real name was Francis Marion. He was a guerilla leader fighting against the British army during their occupation of South Carolina during the war. 

Marion and his men knew the South Carolina swamplands like the proverbial backs of their hands and could strike the British then disappear deep into the swamps, foiling any pursuit. Obviously, as a television production The Swamp Fox featured a very romanticized version of Marion and his escapades.

In the starring role Leslie Nielsen is good but not great and is sometimes so solemn that the supporting cast members overshadow him. Given his later comedy career a viewer can’t help but expect Nielsen to say things like “I am serious. And don’t call me Francis.”

Still, this show makes for fun family viewing around the 4th of July as the Swamp Fox and his troops clash with British forces, especially the blood-soaked Colonel Banastre Tarleton, played by John Sutton. Typical of IMDb, their summary of the first episode of The Swamp Fox awkwardly makes it sound like Francis Marion serves under Tarleton. Plus, there are only two user reviews of the episode as of this writing.

That debut story is titled The Birth of the Swamp Fox and aired October 23rd, 1959. When the British intensified their efforts against America’s southern states, they invaded South Carolina in March of 1780. This episode depicts Colonel Marion escorting the American governor to safety after he and his family evacuate Charleston. (That governor was John Rutledge, future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for a VERY brief period.)

Marion and his guerillas then strike against the Brits whenever and wherever possible. Francis gets nicknamed the Swamp Fox and the show generally presented him wearing a foxtail on his three-cornered hat.

B-movie staple Myron Healey played Marion’s right-hand man Major Peter Horry, Tim Considine was his nephew Gabe Marion, and African American thespians Smoki Whitfield and Louisa Beavers appeared as Oscar and Delia. Slim Pickens was Marion’s man Ewald Plunkett and Patrick MacNee appeared as a Redcoat officer.

The Swamp Fox’s Maid Marianesque girlfriend Mary Videau was portrayed by Joy Page of Casablanca fame. She spies on her British Loyalist family and friends on behalf of Francis Marion and bravely provides him with crucial intelligence from time to time.   

The second episode, Brother Against Brother, premiered October 30th, 1959 and featured the Swamp Fox leading his men against British Loyalists who were raiding and burning the homes of American rebel families.

Mary Eiler took over the role of Mary Videau in the third Swamp Fox episode, titled Tory Vengeance (January 1st, 1960). Francis Marion’s nephew Gabe winds up captured by the British and is tortured in an attempt to get him to reveal the location of the Swamp Fox’s hideout. 

Next came Day of Reckoning (January 8th, 1960). Francis Marion becomes obsessed with vengeance against Colonel Townes and the others responsible for the death of his nephew Gabe in the previous episode.

Episode five was titled Redcoat Strategy and aired January 15th, 1960. Colonel Tarleton and his fellow British officers are under increased pressure to find and execute the Swamp Fox, but naturally he and his followers are too crafty for them.   

A Case of Treason (January 22nd, 1960) was the sixth story. Mary Videau is exposed as a spy and is held prisoner as bait to lure the Swamp Fox into trying a rescue attempt. In a total team effort by Marion and his men, Mary is saved from death at the hands of the Brits.   

Next up was A Woman’s Courage, which did not air until January 8th, 1961. The Swamp Fox and his men lead their British hunters on a merry – and futile – chase. Meanwhile, Mary Videau tries to obtain help for American Prisoners of War suffering in British prison ships in Charleston Harbor.

Horses for Greene (January 15th, 1961) was the eighth and final episode. The Swamp Fox pulls off a monumental theft of horses from the British troops, all so he can give them to American General Nathanael Greene and his men.

Just put your mind on “escapist” mode and enjoy the high-spirited adventures of Francis Marion and his troops in this series. And don’t forget Leslie Nielsen co-sang the Swamp Fox song, which owes a little to the Richard Greene Robin Hood theme: