Swamp Molly

Title screen

Season 1, Episode 6
Original Air Date: 9 March 1979
Directed by: Don McDougall
Written by: Katharyn Powers (as Katharyn Michaelian Powers)
Created by: Gy Waldron

Plot Summary

Neva Patterson as Swamp Molly

This is a story about honor. Back in the fall of 1936, a woman named Swamp Molly helped Jesse Duke escape from the feds. Bo and Luke's probation doesn't matter to her, she wants them to do a job, since she's trading in on the favor, which she's done several times before. Boss and Rosco have been keeping an eye on her and want to catch her.

Commentary

This was the first episode filmed in California and a darn good one, similar to the first five that were filmed in Georgia. The first season dealt a lot more with the Dukes' moonshine heritage. Here we learn some of the old ridgerunner tricks or "works" in getting rid of the law and revenuers... smoke bombs, barrels of oil rigged to create a spill, arrows and dynamite.

The Dukes have Cooter paint a truck for part of the plan. Enos tells his superior officer. "Honest Sheriff, all I seen coming this way was a little ol' ice cream truck with naked babies painted on the side." Rosco replies, "Them ain't naked babies...they're cherubs...cherubs...Dipstick!"

The expressions on Bo, Luke and Rosco's faces are priceless when the truck's back door is opened to reveal the contents. Luke: "Oh Rosco...you gotta believe me...we had no idea..." Rosco: "Would you hush? It wasn’t bad enough you run booze, but now you're running guns to those pinko fascists."

Rosco tells the FBI men he called them because of a hallucination (on Boss' orders because he wanted to sell the guns Rosco confiscated). I'd bet the farm that if you close your eyes, you'd see exactly what he describes.

This is one episode that is a must see for all the classic moments between the Dukes, or Boss and Rosco, or Rosco and Enos. It has a lot of comedic moments yet just enough drama to make you pause for a few moments.

Nearly all the shots in the opening credits come from the first few episodes. This is the episode that contains the infamous scene in which Bo blows the outhouse up. (Thus the mix up of dud dynamite and real dynamite later in the episode when they try to blow the truck up.)

In one of the few references to popular culture of the late 1970s (in this case, Disco), Boss is seen trying to learn how to dance like John Travolta. Well...at least he had the white suit part down.

One of Boss' earliest comments on Rosco's brain (or lack thereof) came with this episode: "Rosco, looks like you took a correspondent course in brains, and actually passed."

Once again, we see Rosco in military fatigues and it wouldn't be the last. Previously he wore them in High Octane. Again, he wears them here complete with military radios and code names for himself (Red Dog) and Enos (Blue Fox).

Trivia

Boss learns disco dancing

• Boss learns to dance by reading The Complete Guide to Disco Dancing by Karen Lustgarten, which is a real book first published in 1978.
• Mary Jo Catlett (Cousin Alice) was a housekeeper on the '80s sitcom Different Strokes, just like Nelda Volz who became Hazzard's beloved postmistress Miz Emma Tisdale.
• The Swamp Molly character was based on a woman that creator Gy Waldron met who lived in the Okefenokee Swamp.
• Sharp-eyed viewers will notice the red pick up truck would be seen again in the episode Deputy Dukes.

Quotes

• After Bo blows up the outhouse:
  Luke: "Bo, you got the IQ of a turnip. A small one."

Regular Cast

• Tom Wopat as Luke Duke
• John Schneider as Bo Duke
• Catherine Bach as Daisy Duke
• Denver Pyle as Uncle Jesse
• James Best as Sheriff Rosco Coltrane
• Sorrell Booke as Boss Hogg
• Ben Jones as Cooter
• Waylon Jennings as The Balladeer (voice)
• Sonny Shroyer as Enos

Guest Cast

• Neva Patterson as Swamp Molly
• Mary Jo Catlett as Alice
• William Cort (as Bill Cort) as Agent Callas
• Bob Shaw as Agent Swan

• 
  Mary Jo Catlett as Alice
• 
  William Cort as Agent Callas
• 
  Bob Shaw as Agent Swan

Crew

• Supervising Producer: Hy Averback
• Co-Produced by: Gy Waldron and Ralph Riskin
• Executive Producer: Paul R. Picard
• Executive Story Consultants: William Raynor and Myles Wilder
• Story Editor: Bruce Howard
• Associate Producers: Skip Ward and Albert J. Salzer
• Director of Photography: Dominic Palmieri (as Dominick R. Palmer, Jr.)
• Art Director: Kirk Axtell
• Title Song Composed and Sung by: Waylon Jennings
• Music Performed by: The Waylors
• Music Produced by: Richie Albright
• Unit Production Manager: Albert J. Salzer
• First Assistant Director: Peter Gries
• Second Assistant Director: Wendy Shear
• Second Unit Director: Paul Baxley
• Second Unit Director of Photography: George Koblasa
• Second Unit First Assistant Director: Steve Barnett
• Film Editor: Albert P. Wilson, A.C.E.
• Music Editor: Abby Marable
• Sound Editing: Angel Editorial, Inc.
• Sound: Andrew Gilmore (as Andy Gilmore)
• Set Decorator: Joanne MacDougall
• Property: Ernie Sawyers
• Special Effects: Michael Wood
• Makeup: Jeff Angell
• Hair Stylist: Monique DeSart (as Monique DeSart Brandt)
• Men's Costume Supervisor: Joseph Roveto
• Women's Costume Supervisor: Darlene Engle (as Darleen Engle)
• Additional Music by: Fred Werner
• Archery Equipment and Program Consideration Furnished by: Martin Archery
• Casting: Vivian McRae
• Location Facilities Provided by: The Burbank Studios
• A Paul R. Picard Production in Association with Warner Bros Television Distribution

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Swamp Molly
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