Wind Across the Everglades - Alchetron, the free social encyclopedia

Clip from wind across the everglades 1958

Wind Across the Everglades is a 1958 film directed by Nicholas Ray. Ray was fired from the film before production was finished, and several scenes were completed by screenwriter Budd Schulberg, who also supervised the editing.

The film stars Burl Ives, features Christopher Plummer in his first lead role (and his second film role overall) and introduces Chana Eden, who plays the leading lady, and Peter Falk, who plays a minor role. Former stripper Gypsy Rose Lee and circus clown Emmett Kelly also are among those in an unusual cast.

It was filmed on location in Everglades National Park in Technicolor.

Plot synopsis

Set in the early 20th century, the film follows a game warden (Christopher Plummer) who arrives in Florida in the hopes of enforcing conservation laws. He soon finds himself pitted against Cottonmouth (Burl Ives), the leader of a fierce group of bird poachers. The film was loosely based upon the life and death of Guy Bradley, an early game warden who in 1905 was shot and killed by plume hunters in the Everglades.

Critical reputation

Due to Ray's having been fired from the production before the film was completed, Wind Across the Everglades holds a contentious place in film scholarship. In a short review of the film, critic Jonathan Rosenbaum described it as "a kind of litmus test for auteurists". After citing the film's editorial history, Rosenbaum goes on to say that "Ray's masterful use of color and mystical sense of equality between the antagonists (also evident in Rebel Without a Cause and Bitter Victory) are made all the more piquant here by his feeling for folklore and outlaw ethics as well as his cadenced mise en scene."

References

Wind Across the Everglades Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

Wind Across the Everglades IMDb Wind Across the Everglades themoviedb.org

Clip from wind across the everglades 1958

Contents

Plot synopsis

Critical reputation

References