Swamp Water
With Dana Andrews, Anne Baxter, Walter Huston.
US, 1941, 35mm, black & white, 86 min.
Print source: 20th Century Fox
Set in the backwaters of the Deep South, Renoir’s first American film tells the story of a young man who—while trying to find his dog that has run off into the swamp—is kidnapped by an escaped fugitive. In true Renoirian fashion, the young man becomes allies with his captor after listening to a story of injustice, and the two embark on a mission to set the wrongs right. After beginning his career with self-funded or independent productions and then rising to star status in his native France, Renoir arrived in Los Angeles ill-prepared for the strictures of the studio system. He did convince Fox studio head Darryl Zanuck, who had been mightily impressed by Grand Illusion,to let him do a bit of location shooting in the Okefenokee Swamp. The bigger problem was Renoir’s working method while shooting, which seemed slow and aimless to Fox’s executives. In the end, the film was a success, and Renoir and Zanuck parted ways amicably.
Part of film series
Screenings from this program
The Diary of a Chambermaid
This Land is Mine
The Woman on the Beach
Catherine, or A Life Without Joy
The Southerner
The Little Theatre of Jean Renoir
The Elusive Corporal
The Testament of Dr. Cordelier
Boudu Saved From Drowning
Elena and Her Men
Jean Renoir, the Boss, Part 2: Directing the Actor
