STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP (1946) – Halloween Month rolls along here at Balladeer’s Blog with this appealing cult film from 1946. Strangler of the Swamp seems destined to be forever overpraised or overpanned. Personally, I find it an ideal Halloween movie for those people who don’t like blood, gore and graphic violence in their horror films.
NOTE: I review movies from the most blood-soaked to the most mild, so be wary and don’t assume all horror films reviewed at Balladeer’s Blog are comparatively mild.
I’ll throw out some quick trivia to hopefully make this neglected work more appealing to people who normally scorn black & white and/or bloodless horror flicks:
*** THE Blake Edwards, prominent director famed for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Pink Panther, 10 and many other films, plays the male lead.
*** Charles Middleton, who played Ming the Merciless in early Flash Gordon serials, portrays the ghostly ferryman of the title.
*** Rosemary LaPlanche, Miss America of 1941, stars as the female lead.
Strangler of the Swamp was directed and co-written by German-American director Frank Wisbar. He was adapting his 1936 German film Fahrmann Maria to an American setting and amping up the horror angle.
In the 1936 movie the figure of Death personified was the main menace. For Strangler of the Swamp, Wisbar changed nearly the entire story and made a murderous ghost the villain. Wisbar masterfully converted the European flavor to Southern Gothic.
THE STORY: Continue reading
KNOCKING OFF NUMBER ONE – In NCAA Division 2 yesterday, the 2nd ranked GRAND VALLEY STATE LAKERS visited the number 1 FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS. A 7-7 1st Quarter tie turned into a 14-10 Bulldogs edge come Halftime. Ferris State made it a 21-10 game to end the 3rd Quarter but in the 4th the Lakers came storming back for a 22-21 Upset. 
DOWN GOES NUMBER EIGHT – Staying in D2 for now, the HENDERSON STATE REDDIES traveled to face the 8th ranked HARDING UNIVERSITY BISON. The Reddies saw their 3-0 lead in the 1st Quarter become a 7-6 Bison lead by the midpoint. Harding U was on top 14-6 in the 3rd but Henderson State ultimately won the game 15-14.
NUMBER NINE TAKES A FALL – Over in the NAIA the 24th ranked AVILA UNIVERSITY EAGLES (formerly the Avalanche) played host to the number 9 team in the nation – the BETHEL (KS) THRESHERS. The Threshers were on top 7-0 in the opening Quarter and 14-7 at the Half. Avila University took a 21-14 lead in the 3rd Quarter before winning out 28-14 in the 4th. 
For this weekend’s escapist superhero post Balladeer’s Blog will take a look at the way the Marvel Comics writers became so enamored of the alien menace in the first Alien movie that they did their own imitation/ homage of it in the form of an insectoid alien race called the Brood. 
X-MEN Vol 1 143 (March 1981) 
Cut to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, where Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Angel go off on dates with Mariko Yashida, Amanda Sefton and Candy Southern, respectively. Storm, Colossus and Professor X leave in the professor’s Rolls Royce to pursue their plans for the evening and this leaves the newest member of the team – Sprite (Kitty Pryde) – alone for a few hours. 
FOUR QUARTERS WEREN’T ENOUGH – This bizarre game pitted the WEST LIBERTY UNIVERSITY HILLTOPPERS against the home standing FAIRMONT STATE FALCONS. Neither team scored in the entire 1st Half, then the Hilltoppers went on top 21-0 in the 3rd Quarter. The Falcons proceeded to score 21 unanswered points in the 4th to force Overtime. In the Extra Session, Fairmont State notched a Field Goal followed by a Touchdown for West Liberty U in a 27-24 win. 
DOUBLING UP ON THE COMPETITION – The ASSUMPTION UNIVERSITY GREYHOUNDS hosted the FRANKLIN PIERCE UNIVERSITY RAVENS. The Greyhounds kept the Ravens off the scoreboard until the 4th Quarter while putting up 7 points in all 4 stanzas. The final tally was Assumption U. 28 Franklin Pierce U. 14. 
Next we have a series of scenes featuring some of the more sinful citizens of the deep southern town. Adultery, bigotry, covetousness, greed and outright murderous passions lurk behind every corner of this Mayberry-turned-Sodom and Gomorrah. These scenes go on so long even Larry Buchanan would scream “Pick up the pace, dammit!” at the screen.
DEVIL-BUG
THE NIGHTMARE ENDS ON HALLOWEEN (supercut) – Back in 2004 Chris R. Notarile wrote and directed one of the most acclaimed fan films in the horror genre with The Nightmare Ends on Halloween. Following the comparative disappointment of Freddy vs Jason the previous year, Notarile produced a short film pitting Freddy Krueger of Nightmare on Elm Street fame against Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise.
For this weekend’s escapist superhero post Balladeer’s Blog will go with a Halloween theme and examine the Marvel Comics character Gabriel, often called an exorcist and demon or devil hunter. 
HAUNT OF HORROR Vol 2 #2 (July 1974) 
Father Lazar goes to the Empire State Building and pushes the button for the 13th Floor, which does not really exist but IS the way to enter Gabriel’s other-dimensional office. That office is cluttered with occult tomes on exorcism and once Lazar enters, he is greeted by Gabriel’s sultry assistant Desadia. 
GALLOPING TO A WIN – The KENTUCKY STATE THOROBREDS scored 4 rushing Touchdowns on the road against the SAVANNAH STATE TIGERS. A 7-0 1st Quarter lead for the Thorobreds turned into a 21-6 advantage by Halftime. Each team added another TD to their tally in the 3rd Quarter before a scoreless 4th as KSU won out 28-13. 
TIGER ON TIGER VIOLENCE – In this game the EDWARD WATERS UNIVERSITY TIGERS got off the schneid for 2022 against the visiting MOREHOUSE COLLEGE MAROON TIGERS. The Tigers were on top of their Maroon opponents 28-7 by the Half and kept up the pressure from there. The final score was Edward Waters 49 Maroon Tigers 20. 
MR. GRUBBE’S NIGHT WITH MEMNON (1843) – Written by Albert Smith and republished in 1857, this tale centered around one Mister Withers Grubbe, an elderly inhabitant of the western part of London. Grubbe is an enthusiast when it comes to ancient history among other topics and visits a London Museum to see their new exhibit of Egyptian antiquities. 
After spending time marveling at assorted statues of various sizes and a mummy identified as Memnon, Withers finds a quiet corner to sit down for a rest. He falls asleep and when he wakes up, he discovers it is long past closing time and somehow he was overlooked when the museum was locking up. 
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