original production:

EL PANTANO
DE LAS ANIMAS

Cast: Gaston Santos (Gastos), his horse "Rayo de Plata" ("Moonlight"), Pedro D'Aguillon ("Squirrel Eyes"), Manola Saaveir (as "Manola Saaverra") (Julie), Manuel Donde, Sarah Cabrera , Salvador Rodriguez, Lupe Carriles

PLOT OUTLINE:
SYNOPSIS:
On the banks of a river, a group of mourners, dressed in black, await the arrival of a boat. Inside it is a coffin!

The boat arrives at shore. The mourners pay their respects. One of the boatsmen explains that the man, Fabian Mendoza, died in a nearby cabin: "he was killed by the bist!"

The coffin lid is opened. The mourners cross themselves.

A village doctor recommends burying the body quickly, as the heat has begun to decompose the corpse, and there is the danger of disease.

The dead man’s widow, Maria, and his brother, Ignacio Mendoza (nicknamed “Nacho”), accompany the coffin on its trip down river, to the cemetery.

An attractive young woman, Julie, pleads with Maria, who is her aunt, not to go, but Maria wants to be by her husband’s side till the very end.

The boatsmen paddle the funeral boat down river, into the notorious and creepy “Haunted Swamp”, which is decorated with human skulls!

The boat passes without incident, and reaches the riverside.

The mourners disembark. The men remove the coffin.

Soon, the coffin is lowered into the grave. Maria insists on seeing her husband’s face just once more. The coffin lid is opened; everyone winces.

A young man arrives on horseback. It is the dead man’s son, Javier. He runs up to his mother and hugs her. He demands to see his father’s face , and orders the coffin lid open yet again!

When this is done, to everyone’s horror, the coffin is now empty! The corpse has disappeared!

That night, as a fierce storm rages, a ghoulish monster prowls the nearby swamp.

Back at the Mendoza house, Carmella the maid tells Maria she ought to go to bed, but Maria wants to sit up awhile in the light of the candles, and mourn her loss.

As she stands before a large portrait of her husband, Maria picks up a pistol, and appears to be contemplating its use.

Meanwhile, the hideous fish-monster from the swamp approaches the house, as Julie waits outside.

Julie and Carmella argue. Julie detested her uncle, and is glad he's dead. Carmella argues that Julie spent many happy days in this house, and shouldn’t say such things. Julie counters that as a child, she was happy, but not after this new man took over her mother’s life, and fortune!

Julie asks Carmella to tell her what exactly transpired, but the maid cannot tell her anything new. Meanwhile, the monster stalks outside.

In another room, Nacho and other men hold a discussion. They agree that the local villagers should not be told about the disappearing corpse. The village doctor insists that they must find the corpse soon, or that disease may spread through the area.

Nacho and Javier argue after the others leave. Javier thinks there was foul play involved in his father’s death and subsequent disappearance, and vows to engage a detective to solve the mystery. Nacho is upset by this promise; as soon as Javier leaves the room, Nacho removes a telegraph machine from a desk, and relays an urgent message to persons unknown...

Outside the house, the horrible fish-monster attacks a villager, and drags him Back into the swamp, and to his death!

Javier hops on his horse, and rides off to find his friend, Gaston, who is also a detective. An unknown man loads a gun, and follows Javier on horseback.

Meanwhile, in another part of the county, a handsome young rider, Gaston, and his horse “Moonlight”, perform amazing tricks for a gathering of villagers.

Javier enters the scene, but falls off his horse, apparently dead! Gaston rushes to his friend's side, but it is too late.

Meanwhile, back at the Haunted Swamp, a man rows his boat while singing. He is Gaston’s assistant, nicknamed “Squirrel Eyes”. Unbeknownst to him, the fish-monster swims directly beneath him!

The monster grabs “Squirrel Eyes”’ paddle, and rocks the boat. “Squirrel Eyes” falls overboard, and swims frantically for safety. The monster shadows him.

“Squirrel Eyes” gets to shore just as the monster tries to grab his legs.

Gaston approaches with two horses, and greets his good friend “Squirrel Eyes”. “Squirrel Eyes” tells Gaston about his horrible experience with the monster. Gaston doesn’t believe in monsters, however. Suddenly, someone fires a gunshot at the two friends!

Gaston rides off to find the gunman, and soon catches up with him. A fight ensues between the two men.

The gunman escapes Gaston and dives into the river, swimming away before Gaston can catch him.

“Squirrel Eyes” and Gaston discuss how they plan to solve this mystery. “Squirrel Eyes” is horrified by the events which have transpired so far, and insists that Gaston get his gunshot wound looked at immediately. Gaston reluctantly agrees.

Later, the village doctor fixes Gaston's wound. Gaston questions him about the outbreak of plague, which the doctor insisted would happen, and which has not occurred. Gaston asks if he can explain the empty coffin and other mysteries. The doctor has no answers for him, suggesting only that there may be supernatural forces at work.

Gaston balks at this simplistic explanation of events, and vows to solve this mystery using science and logic.

As soon as Gaston leaves, the doctor extracts a telegraph machine from his desk, and sends an urgent message to persons unknown...

We follow the telegraph wires to an old hacienda, where Nacho deciphers the latest message! He goes outside and assembles his gang. They all ride into town.

At a nearby saloon, Gaston and “Squirrel Eyes” drink beer and tell tall fishing tales.

Nacho’s gang arrives at the saloon, and tells Gaston he has ten minutes to get out of town. The bartender grabs his cash and runs off.

“Squirrel Eyes” gets nervous and tries to leave, but the gang blocks the doorway.

The gang leader starts a fight with Gaston. A barroom brawl ensues. The gang tries to shoot Gaston, but Gaston is too quick for them.

Nacho walks into the saloon, and tells the gang to call off their attack. He apologizes to Gaston. The bartender returns.

Later, “Squirrel Eyes” tries to fish at the Mendoza place. Gaston shows Julia and the ranch hands some tricks with “Moonlight”.

Gaston gives “Moonlight” to a ranch hand, and speaks to Julie in private.

Gaston tells Julie what he knows about Javier’s murder, but tells her to keep quiet about the situation for the time being.

Nacho and his gang watch the pair, concerned that Gaston is going to tell Julie about their secret plan...

“Squirrel Eyes” hooks a big fish, and begins to reel it in.

Julie tells Gaston that Carmella says there are ghosts in the swamp, and they Are the ones who stole her uncle’s body. Gaston calls it all nonsense.

Gaston asks Julie who might gain from her uncle’s death. Julie is aware of six insurance policies taken out on her uncles’ life, amounting to a million dollars. The beneficiary: Nacho!

“Squirrel Eyes” pulls in his “fish”, and screams: it’s a dead man!

Carmella and Maria are horrified when they are informed. They are afraid that someone is out to kill them too.

Later, Nacho and the doctor discuss their predicament. They agree that in order to protect their entitlement to the insurance money, they must murder both Gaston and Julie!

Later, Gaston creeps into Maria’s room, looking for clues. Maria hears someone, and gets up with a gun, demanding to know who is there. Gaston finds it odd that Maria doesn’t recognize him, so he walks up to her and waves his hand in front of her face. Maria does not respond. Maria is blind!

Maria calls for Julie, who runs in. Maria asks who else is in the room. Gaston motions to Julie not to tell about his presence, and Julie obeys him.

Maria breaks down and confesses to Julie that she has been blind for many months now. She never told her husband about it, for she feared for her life.

Later, “Squirrel Eyes” rests in bed, but he gets up when he hears something stirring outside. He peeks out the window, and sees the fish-monster staring right at him!

Meanwhile, Julie and Maria discuss Fabian’s sudden disappearance.

Julie puts Maria back to bed, fetches Carmella. Carmella believes that Fabian got out of his coffin by himself, and is now one of the damned in the lost swamp!

Gaston goes to “Squirrel Eyes”’ room, and finds him unconscious. He drags his friend back to bed.

Julie bids her aunt a good night, and Carmella comes in to look after her. Oddly, Carmella creeps silently up on Maria, as Maria calls out to her.

Julie comes into “Squirrel Eyes”’ room, and finds Gaston. Julie is angry at Gaston for keeping information from her.

Gaston is sure, however, that everyone else already knows of Maria’s blindness, and that it figures somehow in the plot against her.

As the couple talk, the fish-monster skulks around in the bushes. Gaston and Julie begin to reminisce about their childhood.

The fish-monster tries to shoot the pair with a spear gun, but “Squirrel Eyes” wakes up screaming just in time for Gaston and Julie to run to him.

“Squirrel Eyes” insists to Gaston that he is not hallucinating, and that he’s seen a horrible fish-monster with his own eyes!

The fish-monster takes its spear gun and returns to the swamp.

For some reason, Carmella holds a gun an Maria. Maria tells the maid that she wants to visit the library tomorrow, in order to look for documents proving Nacho’s guilt in Fabian’s murder, but Carmella thinks that is a bad, possibly dangerous idea.

The next day, a rodeo comes to town.

Maria opens her safe to see if the insurance papers are safe. But the safe is wired to the old hacienda, where its opening is relayed to: the fish-monster! The beast sends an urgent telegraph to persons unknown, before hopping back into the swamp.

Maria has Carmella read the insurance policies to her: they amount to one million dollars, and the beneficiary is indeed his brother NACHO!

Nacho and the doctor, drinking at the saloon, receive word that the safe has been opened. They rush to the house.

Nacho and the doctor enter the house and confront Maria. They tell her the game is over, and she’d better cooperate, or she'll meet the same fate as her husband!

At the river, Gaston goes diving to find clues, wearing only a knife and little red swimwear, as Julie and “Squirrel Eyes” wait on the riverbank. The fish-monster sees Gaston, and trails him.

Gaston eventually sees the monster. The two fight. Julie and Eyes can't see what's happening below, but fear the worst.

Gaston drives the monster away, and surfaces, to the others' relief. However, for reasons of his own, Gaston tells the two that he found nothing down there!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Nacho ties up Maria and Carmella.

Gaston tells Julie and “Squirrel Eyes” to check on the cabin where Fabian died. If it has been burned, that might verify the doctor’s contamination story. If the cabin still stands, it implicates the doctor in this heinous plot.

The intrepid trio ride off.

As soon as “Squirrel Eyes” and Julie reach the location of the cabin, they are ambushed by Nacho’s men. The two are detained, and “Squirrel Eyes” is knocked around. While the gang is preoccupied, Julie sends her horse off by itself, to find Gaston and bring help. The gang members try to follow the horse, but it is too fast, and it gets away.

Meanwhile, Gaston arrives at the Mendoza ranch, and goes inside. Nacho sees him, and holds Gaston at gunpoint.

Gaston tells Nacho that Javier talked before he died, and that the whole plot will be discovered, even is Gaston is killed.

Gaston also tells Nacho that he believes that Fabian is still alive, and is part of the plot, being the one who has been killing people, as the fish-monster!

Nacho is so shocked at Gaston’s insightful detective work, Gaston is able to overpower him.

Gaston runs outside and sees Julie’s horse. He hops on, and the faithful horse runs back to where Julie is being held.

Nacho lays on the ground, unconscious.

Carmella begins to untie herself, as the doctor stands guard.

The doctor leaves the room for a moment. Carmella frees herself, and creeps up behind the doctor, hitting him on the head with a flower pit and knocking him out. Carmella then unties Maria, who asks what happened.

Gaston arrives at the gang’s headquarters, and sends the gang out after Julie’s horse. While they are preoccupied, Gaston enters the old hacienda and attempts to locate Julie and “Squirrel Eyes”, who are imprisoned inside.

Other gang members play cards while standing guard over their prisoners.

Eventually, Nacho comes to, only to have Carmella bash him on the head with another flower pot.

Gaston gets onto the roof of the old ruins. Gang members spot him. A fight ensues, and Gaston pushes gang member after gang member into a hole leading to the cellar.

Shots are fired, and they alert the card-playing gang members, who join in the fray, leaving the prisoners unguarded.

“Squirrel Eyes” easily breaks down the door. He grabs the men’s’ poker money, and tells Julie to wait while he joins Gaston in the fight outside.

Gaston continues to fight the gang, throwing more of them into the pit.

The monster once again rises out of the swamp. Meanwhile, the fight continues, with “Squirrel Eyes” joining Gaston.

The monster enters the hacienda, and creeps up behind Julie. Julie spots the demon and screams. The monster chases Julie around the place.

The captured gang members try to escape out of the pit, but every time they try, another bad guy falls into the pit!

The monster continues to harass Julie.

Gaston leaves the fight to find Julie and the monster. Gaston attacks the monster, knocking him over with a series of flying kicks.

Finally, Gaston knocks the monster out by bashing his head several times with a plank of wood.

Gaston rips the mask off the “monster”, and reveals it to be Fabian, Julie’s Uncle! He faked his own death in order to get the insurance money away from his Wife, Maria! Julie is stunned.

“Squirrel Eyes” manages to cover the opening of the pit, trapping the gang inside.

Later, Gaston prepares to leave. Julie wants to express her feelings for him, but they are both too shy.

Suddenly, Moonlight pushes Gaston right into Julie's arms, where they embrace and kiss. “Squirrel Eyes”, Maria and Carmella look on approvingly.

THE END

GUEST REVIEW:
by Mark J. Price
(reprinted with permission from
Brian Moran's SANTO STREET magazine.)
Some critics would dismiss this 1956 Mexican-made movie a cheap knock-off of THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON.

Well, OK, it is.

But, THE SWAMP OF THE LOST MONSTERS (original Mexican title: PANTANO DEL LAS ANIMAS) stands on its own as a fun little film that mixes the western genre with some low-budget horror and comedy.

The star, Gaston Santos, was a famous bullfighter and expert horseman who appeared in a string of Mexican cowboy movies in the 1950s. Also receiving star billing is Santos' horse, Moonlight (Rayo de Plata, in Spanish), who performs some remarkable dance tricks before the camera.

Santos comes in to investigate a series of deaths in the Haunted Swamp, a murky bog decorated with human skulls. Local legend has it that a monstrous beast lives in the dark waters and is killing local villagers. The heroic cowboy receives support from his comic sidekick Squirrel Eyes (Pedro D'Aguillon) and love interest Julie (Sarah Cabrera). The three discover that there is indeed something lurking in the swamp. The creature is a slimy, scaly humanoid with webbed hands and flippered feet. Other than its Gorgo-like head, it does resemble the Gill-Man from THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, which was filmed just two years earlier.

One sequence in SWAMP mimics the famous scene in CREATURE when the Gill-Man swims below the unsuspecting Julia Adams. This time, though, it's played for laughs as Squirrel Eyes spots the monster and splashes noisily to shore. "It was the ugliest Martian I ever saw!" he explains when Santos arrives. Later, Squirrel Eyes prompts more guffaws by wondering aloud if the monster may be a manatee!?!

Aside from the horror elements, THE SWAMP OF THE LOST MONSTERS follows the western formula faithfully. Director Raphael Baledon packed a lot of Saturday matinee staples into this 72-minute movie, and it won't disappoint old B western fans. Cowboy cliches abound: There are good guys, bad guys, barroom brawls, card games, shootouts, wild chases and even a riderless horse that goes for help.

Although much of the dialogue is of the "Ay, Chihuahua" and "Vamos, muchachos" variety, the English dubbing by K. Gordon Murray is the best I've seen in any of his films, with the dubbed words matching the actors' lips surprisingly well.

Handsome, clean-cut Gaston Santos is a good leading man in the tradition of Roy Rogers or Tom Mix, and SWAMP puts his equestrian talents on display as he showcases the prancing, dancing abilities of Moonlight. You have to wonder, though, how long a cowboy would have lasted in the "Wild West" if he'd worn a crisp buckskin jacket and a bright yellow scarf around his neck!

Santos does, however, earn points for having the self-confidence to strip down to his shorts before jumping into the swamp to battle the monster. I don't remember Roy Rogers ever appearing on film in his skivvies...

The underwater scenes are competently photographed, but appear to have been filmed in a swimming pool: which would explain why they don't match the murky brown water in the above-surface scenes.

The biggest flaw of SWAMP (aside from the title, which promises "monsters" but delivers only one) is the lack of subtlety when it comes to its suspense elements. The villains are revealed far too early, as we learn within the first 10 minutes that a lead character is up to no good. It would have been better if that revelation had been saved for the climax. And if you're surprised by the big plot twist, you've obviously not a loyal fan of Scooby-Doo.

Although it may not have be completely original, SWAMP was a trend-setter of sorts. Yes, it borrows from various sources, but it was also one of the first western-horror films ever produced. And as such, it paved the way for U.S. films like CURSE OF THE UNDEAD, JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER and BILLY THE KID VS. DRACULA.

THE SWAMP OF THE LOST MONSTERS doesn't take itself too seriously. It offers nothing more than charming, campy, nostalgic fun: but what's wrong with that?

GUEST REVIEW:
by Jonathan Yates
Stupid Piece of Trash!
THE MOST IDIOTIC CRUD I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!!! This movie is so bad, it'll make you want to smash it into pieces. On the box, it says it was made in 1970! Yeah right!! Try 1964, in MEXICO! 0 out of 4. Big time loser!! Since it was not rated by the MPAA, I gave it a G for silly violence that's not as bad as Hunchback of Notre Dame, which is the biggest rating violater of all time!!! AVOID AT ALL COSTS.....even if your store only sells it for a penny. - Jonathan Yates (yes, the screenwriter) (who?)

REVIEW:
We love THE SWAMP OF THE LOST MONSTERS. As many have told us, its not an easy film to like. The tedious exposition, goofy demon and overall Western flavor, although disconcerting to narrow-minded horror buffs (see Jonathan Yates' whiny guest review above), is actually quite fun, and makes this a queer but affable Saturday matinee item from another world.

There's an extremely spooky opening scene, in which a coffin-bearing funeral boat approaches a group of bank-side mourners. The bulk of the action takes place at a most creepy hacienda, and a swamp which has human skulls laying about like morbid objects d'art.

Gaston Santos (who appears to be playing himself) and his horse "Moonlight" are the real stars of the show, surely. Gaston is a dandy of a cowboy, both here and in the companion feature THE LIVING COFFIN.

Gaston's sidekick, Squirrel Eyes, comes from a long ling of comic sidekicks, part Lou Costello, part Curly. His rapid-fire coward's dialogue is both familiar and awkward, especially in its dubbed incarnation, where much nuance is presumably lost.

Squirrel Eyes provides us with the rarest of treats: a dubbed song in a Murray horror film ("OK, Fishies!"). This ludicrous mini-tune ranks favorably with some of the best/worst of the fairy tale songs.

Some of the dubbed voices this time have unusually strong accents, forgoing the standard, literate Soundlab articulation for a more ethnic (and one might say realistic) regionality.

And then, of course, we have the ridiculous title creature (singular, not plural as the title suggests). It's a wonderful, absurd frog-man thingie, like the Creature from the Black Lagoon remade as a pinata.

Gustav Carrion's score is excellent, both thrilling like a cowboy picture, and spooky like a horror thriller, involving the dynamic use of a small combo, with strings and piano dominating.

The usual sense of anachronism which haunts many of the Mexican horror films is at work here too; but for the unveiling of the monster "suit", and the use of a telegraph machine, this could easily have taken place hundreds of years ago. As it stands, the film appears to take place in some late-1800's "Wild West" limbo-land.

The "revelation" that the "old" woman (who reminds me of Allison Hayes) is blind is botched pretty badly, but one wonders how much of this is due to dubbing gaffes, and not the original concept.

Smack dab in the middle of the picture, we are offered some incredible footage of an authentic Mexican rodeo, an amazing bit of lost cultural ephemera.

There are three things that are too red in this film: Gaston's swim trunks; the goofy light bulbs at the telegraph machine; and the "bist" itself.

The gripping finale takes place in the handsome ruins of an old monastery, and features a cowboy's "Battle Royale" worthy of any John Wayne picture, and includes a comic bit straight out of the Three Stooges short subjects.

The unmasking of "the bist" comes as a surprise only to the very inattentive, yet one still wishes the supernatural elements were genuine. One observer of the film recently commented, "You know, the film is a total rip-off, but its kinda fun to be ripped off!" Like, duh! Welcome to the world of exploitation!

Of course, the bulk of any Mexican horror film is melodrama, namely expositional scenes fueled by abundant dialogue, and here is where most fans will hit the dusty trail. Yet there are those of us who actually relish these quirky hybrids of soap opera and pulp mystery, and what SWAMP lacks in suspense, logic, effects, action, etc., it more than makes up for with everything else that makes a "bad" movie remarkable, unique and beloved.

COMMENTS:
* (updated 02-14-06) Thanks to a terrific new book we just received, "Ghouls, Gimmicks and Gold" by Kevin Heffernan, (2004, Duke University Press), we have been able to update the U.S. television release date for this Murray horror title to 1965. The appendices to this study of the horror film in America, circa 1955-1968, include complete listings of syndication feature film packages from many distributors, including American International Television, who subleased the K. Gordon Murray film catalog under the title THRILLERS FROM ANOTHER WORLD. It seems that 1965 was the watershed year for genre film sold to television, with a veritable flood of titles released by both domestic and foreign distribs.

* (effective 05-01-03) After a very brief window of availability, this long-sought K. Gordon Murray title is once again out of print, due to international copyright issues. Used video tapes of this title may be found on online video dealers and auction sites. Stay tuned for further developments!

* Star Gaston Santos was, in real life, a "Rejoneador" (a horseback bullfighter). He also starred in the excellent, elusive Mexican thriller, MISTERIOS DE ULTRATUMBA (aka THE BLACK PIT OF DR. M) - David Wilt

* Originally released (in Mexico) in 1956, this film was likely an attempt to cash in on Universal's remarkable and successful 1954 horror classic, THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, with which it shares many superficial similarities. * (effective 05-01-03) After a very brief window of availability, this long-sought K. Gordon Murray title is once again out of print, due to international copyright issues. Used video tapes of this title may be found on online video dealers and auction sites. Stay tuned for further developments!

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