SWAMP OF THE LOST MONSTER (1956)
Article #649 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-24-2002
Posting Date: 5-19-2003

When a body mysteriously disappears from a casket during a burial, a cowboy detective and his sidekick are called in to solve the mystery.

If you’ve ever wondered how the Mexicans would fare in making a movie that crossed THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON with a B western, here is the answer in all its awful glory. Our hero’s gimmick is that his horse does a bizarre prancing routine (a talent which proves virtually useless in helping the hero during the length of the film). The monster looks like a lanky frog, and the comic relief sidekick sings (correction: tries to sing) and says lines like “You’re wetter than tomato soup!” Conclusion: the monster is funnier than the comic relief and the comic relief is scarier than the monster. The plot (such as it is) involves a woman fooling people for several months into thinking that she’s not blind. It also asks the cinematic question; how many henchmen can you drop into a hayloft? The story is incredibly muddled. Even by Mexican standards, this is bottom of the barrel, unless you really want to see that prancing pony.