Wind Across the Everglades

Wind Across the Everglades (1958)

Runtime: 93 minutes

Directed by: Nicholas Ray/Budd Schulberg

Starring: Burl Ives, Christopher Plummer, Chana Eden, Emmett Kelly (yes, the famed circus clown, and out of gimmick) Tony Galento (yes, the old boxer who once fought Joe Louis)

From: Warner Bros.

For a movie I first heard about approximately 24 hours before I post this review, this was worth a last minute watch. This was on in the wee hours of the morning on Turner Classic Movies as part of their Earth Day celebration and for a movie directed by Nicolas Ray (at least in part; without knowing details, I understand the production was troubled and he was fired; screenwriter Budd Schulberg finished it. I've heard differing accounts of the percentages concerning how much of the resultant work was from Ray. With a truly bizarre cast, it is rather surprising I had no knowledge of it beforehand.

The setting is early 20th century southern Florida, both Miami and the nearby Everglades. Christopher Plummer-very early in his career-plays a game warden who has to deal with both bird poachers (led by Burl Ives w/ red beard) and a population that is ambivalent towards protecting wildlife and instead are focused on bird feathers in order to complete their quite frankly ugly outfits. Plenty of time is spent with Ives and his crew; holy Cow do they all look appropriate for the roles of “ruffians who drink moonshine & live in squalor in the swamp.” To my surprise, the movie is styled just like a Western and is more mano y mano between the two leads and philosophical than what I expected.

Note the collection of actors here: Besides Ives and Plummer, there is burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee in a small part as-shock of shocks-the girl who runs a house of ill repute, former boxer Tony Galento-a hardscrabble sort who was a tough as nails brawler and yet was successful enough to fight against Joe Louis for the World Heavyweight Title and actually knocked Louis off his feet... before Joe summarily beat the tar out of him-legendary clown/circus performer Emmett Kelly who was out of his hobo Weary Willie makeup and instead played a Native American when he presumably has no Native American heritage at all and in his movie debut, Peter Falk.


It is rather disjointed at times and it would have been ideal if Ray had been allowed to finish Wind Across the Everglades. Be that as it may, this odd movie with an odd cast and odd premise was for certain not dull and had great atmosphere with its location shooting in South Florida. Of course the Technicolor images of the Everglades were a sight to behold and the ecology message was a nice one, along with being ahead of its time. As stated already, this wasn't quite what I was expecting-there isn't much in terms of action scenes-yet had some very good moments and colorful characters; for the focus being on them, thankfully Ives as Cottonmouth (he often carries around that poisonous reptile around) and Plummer as Walt Murdock are both strong in terms of the role and the performance. It is rather hard to track down online for a viewing, making me glad that apparently TCM plays this once in a blue moon.