Swamp Thing (Movie)



Title: Swamp Thing Released: July 30th, 1982 (American release) Studio: MGM Director: Wes Craven Creators: Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson

Principal Cast

 * Dick Durock as the Swamp Thing
 * Louis Jordan as Anton Arcane
 * Adrienne Barbeau as Alice Cable
 * Ray Wise as Alec Holland

Supporting Cast

 * Nannette Brown as Linda Holland
 * Don Knight as Harry Ritter
 * Al Ruben as Charlie
 * David Hess as Ferret
 * Nicholas Worth as Bruno
 * Reggie Batts as Jude
 * Karen Price as Karen

Synopsis
Swamp Thing was a full-length feature film produced by MGM in 1982 and directed by horror aficionado Wes Craven. The film was loosely based on the original Swamp Thing storylines set down by writer Len Wein and illustrator Bernie Wrightson in Swamp Thing (Volume 1). The character of the Swamp Thing is played by two different actors. Ray Wise plays the part of Alec Holland, while stuntman Dick Durock dons the green latex for the Swamp Thing scenes. French stage actor Louis Jordan played the role of the villainous Anton Arcane, an ambitious scientist eager to get his hands on Dr. Holland’s work. Despite its low budget and meager reviews, the film proved popular enough that DC Comics revived the Swamp Thing comic title that same year under the name The Saga of the Swamp Thing. In 1989, director Jim Wynorski helmed a sequel film entitled "The Return of the Swamp Thing". Both Louis Jordan and Dick Durock reprised their rolls as Anton Arcane and the Swamp Thing, but the film failed to meet fan expectations and was critically panned.

While the origin of the Swamp Thing remains fairly loyal to the source material, there are also several deviations from the comic book continuity. The most obvious of the changes is the character of Alice Cable. Alice (played by Adrienne Barbeau) is an adaptation of the longtime Swamp Thing supporting character Abigail Cable (later Abigail Holland). The comic Abby was the Eastern European white-haired niece of Anton Arcane, but in the movie she is an American with no family connection to Arcane at all. Alec Holland himself, although he spends little time on-screen, deviates from the canon Holland as well. Wein and Wrightson's Holland was a blonde-haired stoic scientist who was completely devoted to his wife, Linda. Craven's Holland has dark brown hair, possesses a more jovial wit, and is more than willing to violate his marriage vows.

Trivia

 * Swamp Thing is one of the few movies based upon a comic book to feature female nudity. It is also (to date) the only mainstream DC Comics based film to feature female nudity.


 * One of the fight scenes includes audio stock footage commonly regarded as the Wilhelm scream

Related Articles

 * Swamp Thing (Alec Holland)
 * Swamp Thing (1990 TV Series)
 * Swamp Thing (1991 TV Series)
 * Return of the Swamp Thing (Movie)