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ANOTHER MAN'S TRASH...MY TREASURE!!!

Richard J. Oravitz | 07/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I thought I was in for another exploitation laugh-fest but this little swamp gem caught me off guard. The lead characters are all interesting and somewhat offbeat, as is the setting, a small Louisiana parish nestled in the bayou, making this one fun to watch. If this film had taken place in some small California town, it would lose much of it's unique low-budget charm.
The Guillot brothers, suppliers of fish, fur and moss (as posted on their shanty) are at each other's throats because the younger, Pierre (Robert Richards) is marrying the pretty girl (Betty Lynn, Thelma Lou of Mayberry) that both he and his brother Jacques (Peter Coe) are in love with. Pierre scrubs down for his big event by jumping into the swamp next to the shanty for a bath and shave. No running water here. When he asks Jacques to please attend the ceremony he receives a solid punch to the jaw. Jacques and the brothers' old helper/employee go moss gathering on their barge/boat instead. Out in the swamp they come across unconscious Minette (Nan Peterson, THE HIDEOUS SUN DEMON's piano playing nightclub singer) who has been found by some old swamp crone, who steals Minette's rings which have been stolen by Minette herself. Anyway, they take Minette back to town just as the wedding service is ending in front of some church about the size of a garage. Most of those in attendance are wearing wrinkled skirts, flannel shirts, ballcaps etc. It's decided that Minette should stay with the newlyweds (no one else offers) until she recovers. The doc, not the police is sent for.
While unknown to Thelma Lou (I'll call her that because I can't recall her name in the film, besides, I swear she wears the same dress that she did on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW!) Minette seduces Pierre, as witnessed by Jacques who is watching through a window. The brothers squabble again, after all Jacques found her first. Minette goes to live with Jacques at the shanty while Pierre who suspects something is afoul stays in Thelma Lou's house. She owned her own house in Mayberry too, but maybe Pierre is helping with the payments.
So Pierre and Jacques gather more moss and fight some more. Jacques throws their FISH, FUR AND MOSS sign into the swamp and dissolves their partnership as Minette has moved-in, dancing, seducing Jacques and bathing in the swamp.
Minette wears the same clothes all week(s?) a momogramed M.L. blouse that arouses both Jacques' (who also wears the same black t-shirt with a slight tear above one shoulder) hormones and Pierre's suspicion. Pierre goes to Doc, not the police, and by going through some old newspapers they discover that Minette is either dead or posing as a dead woman. Pierre and Thelma Lou, not the police, decide to investigate and boat to the mainland. At a cemetery they find the real Minette's grave and her drunken, wealthy, sobbing husband who passes out. They then take the husband (Harry Lauter, once a Republic serial star) to his mansion where they learn the real story of Minette through a flashback!
I'll let you take it from there, not to give away the ending or what happens next. But I will say that Minette does get back her stolen rings.
Hitchcock, with a big budget and Tippi Hedren could have made this film a classic, but instead we get Lee Sholem, Nan Peterson and no budget at all. Still, I found this to be pretty decent example of a super low-budget exploitation/mystery yarn that boasted an interesting setting (you DO get to see how swamp moss is collected!) with a cast of ordinary looking people that fit right in with the locals. Everyone seemed to do a good job and even Peterson was much better than she was in SUN DEMON.
SUPER HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for those who like this kind of stuff (POOR WHITE TRASH,etc.). You're certain to have a fun time on the bayou.

p.s., Peter Coe who played Jacques is also known as the person who took in exploitation director Ed Wood (PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, GLEN OR GLENDA)and his wife Kathy when Wood had no money and nowhere to go. Wood died at Coe's house in 1978."