Wind Across the Everglades (1958) review

Upon arriving at the still-developing city of Miami, schoolteacher Walt Murdock (Christopher Plummer) is asked to become the warden for the National Audubon Society and put a stop to the poachers who are killing all the birds - so rich ladies can stuff feathers in their hats - which leads him directly to the dangerous Cottonmouth (Burl Ives), the leader of a gang of filthy pirates.  I suppose you can compare it a little bit to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness - Murdock is Marlow, Cottonmouth is Mr. Kurtz - and even Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam-inspired masterpiece, but the similarities end there: this feels rushed through (how does one go from almost being arrested to given a position of power?) and the "love interest" subplot with Naomi (Chana Eden) is just tacked on, the "villains" are your stereotypical hicks (who wrestle in mud) ... plus there's that deeply unsatisfying conclusion after a "battle of wills" in the Florida Everglades.  The concern over ecological health is important, albeit a bit peculiar: sure, we should admire the egrets soaring, but what about the violence taking place on the ground with hungry alligators?