An Appointment with The Wicker Man (1973)

(This post is part of The Christopher Lee Blogathon hosted by Cinematic Catharsis and Realweegiemidget Reviews)

Among Sir Christopher Lee's most famous movies is The Wicker Man (1973). Although often described as a cult film, The Wicker Man can be counted as a classic horror movie. The magazine Total Film listed it as the sixth greatest British film of all time in 2004. Empire listed it at no. 485 in its list of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time" in 2008. In its list of the "25 Greatest Horror Films of All Time" from 2010, The Guardian placed it at no. 4. Sir Christopher Lee considered it his best film, while Edward Woodward counted it among his favourite films he had made.

The Wicker Man stars Edward Woodward as Sgt. Neil Howie, a Scottish police officer well known for his Christian piety. Sgt. Howie is sent to Summerisle, an island off the coast of Scotland, to investigate the case of a missing girl. Summerisle is well known for its produce (particularly its apples). What is not so well known is that the island has entirely returned to Celtic paganism. Sgt. Howie then finds his Christian beliefs in conflict with the pagan beliefs of the natives of Summerisle, particularly as embodied by Lord Summerisle himself (Sir Christopher Lee).

The origins of The Wicker Man go back to a meeting in 1971 between screenwriter Anthony Shaffer and Sir Christopher Lee. At the time Sir Christopher Lee was eager to do something different from the Hammer Horrors he was best known for, as well as play more challenging roles. At the time Anthony Shaffer was part of a production company that made commercials and informational films. It had been founded by Mr. Shaffer and Robin Hardy in the late Sixties. Robin Hardy, who would direct The Wicker Man, had made educational programs in the United States, some of which aired on Esso World Theatre on National Educational Television (NET), the forerunner of PBS. It was in the late Sixties that he returned home to Britain, where he formed a production company that made commercials and informational films with Anthony Shaffer.

Like Anthony Shaffer, Robin Hardy also wanted to make a horror movie. Inspiration struck Mr. Hardy when he read the novel Ritual by David Pinner, in which a Christian police officer investigated the murder of a young girl in a Cornish rural village. Messrs. Hardy and Shaffer then paid David Pinner £15,000 for the film rights to the novel. It was while he was initially working on the screenplay that Anthony Shaffer decided a faithful adaptation of Ritual would not play well on the big screen. In the end he developed a plot loosely based on that of the novel, while drawing upon the practices of pagan Celts as portrayed in Julius Caesar's account of his wars in Gaul and other works on Celtic paganism. Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer also decided the Celtic paganism in the film would be portrayed objectively and as accurately as possible. They also decided that it would be a more literate and intellectual horror movie than most, with as little blood and gore as possible.

As mentioned earlier, Sir Christopher Lee was a part of the project from the very beginning, That having been said, the cast could have been slightly different if things had not gone as they had. Producer Peter Snell had wanted Edward Woodward, then best known for the British TV show Callan, for the role of Sgt. Howie from the very beginning. Despite this, the role was first offered to Michael York, who declined it. Robin Hardy then approached David Hemings, known for the movie Blowup (1967), but he also passed on the role. Sir Christopher Lee approached his frequent co-star and long-time friend Peter Cushing about the role, but he was unavailable. It was then that producer Peter Snell and Anthony Shaffer recommended Edward Woodward, who was cast in the part.

Britt Ekland was cast in the important role of the innkeeper's daughter Willow MacGregor. At the time Miss Ekland had already appeared in several movies, including The Night they Raided Minsky's (1968) and Get Carter (1971). Her singing voice was dubbed by Scottish singer Annie Ross, although rumours persist that her speaking voice was as well. Furthermore, her famous nude scene in the movie would be shot using body doubles. At the time Britt Ekland was three months pregnant. Anthony Shaffer had seen Diane Cilento on stage and she was cast in the role of schoolteacher Miss Rose. She had already appeared in several movies, including Tom  Jones (1963).

Ultimately one other veteran of Hammer Films would play a major role in The Wicker Man. Ingrid Pitt was already well associated with horror films, having appeared in Hammer films' The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Countess Dracula (1971), as well as Amicus's The House That Dripped Blood (1971). She was friends with Sir Christopher Lee and had heard about The Wicker Man only a few days before it was about to shoot. She called Robin Hardy on the phone and asked if he had a part for her in the film. Fortunately, the role of the Librarian was still open.

Even though The Wicker Man was set around May Eve and May Day, the movie was shot from October 9 1972 to November 25 1972. It was largely shot in villages in Dumfries & Galloway in Scotland. Culzean Castle in Maybole, South Ayrshire served as Lord Summerisle's castle. Sgt. Howie's seaplane landed at Plockton, Highland. As to the famous climax, it took place at Burrow Head on the Isle of Whithorn. The fact that the movie took place in spring, but was shot in autumn, did present some problems. Artificial blossoms and leaves had to be glued on trees in many scenes. An overhead shot of orchards wasn't shot in Scotland at all. It was shot in South Africa, where, being south of the equator, it was spring.

As might be expected in Scotland in October and November it was very cold, which presented a problem for the actors, who were dressed as if  it were spring. The day that the climax was filmed on the Isle of Whithorn was particularly cold and windy. According to a story told on the commentary on The Wicker Man: Special Edition Director's Cut DVD, coats were brought out to the three lead actresses to wear in between takes. Britt Ekland eagerly took her coat. Diane Cilento graciously took her coat and said, "Thank you."  Ingrid Pitt, in solidarity with the supporting actors, refused her coat, stating flatly, "If the extras don't have time to put on their coats, then neither do I!"

Unfortunately, the release of The Wicker Man would go even less smoothly than shooting had.  British Lion Films, the production company behind the movie, underwent a change in ownership not long after The Wicker Man had finished shooting. Sir Christopher Lee claimed that Michael Deeley, the new managing director at British Lion, said that The Wicker Man was one of the ten worst movies he had ever seen. Michael Deeley denied that he ever said this, instead saying that while The Wicker Man was fascinating and genuinely ahead of its time, it was also self-indulgent and could be difficult for audiences. Regardless, Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer have both said that the marketing people at British Lion did not know what to make of The Wicker Man.

With a film that British Lion was unsure how to market, a copy of The Wicker Man was sent to low-budget movie legend Roger Corman to get his opinion on the film. Mr. Corman suggested some cuts to the film. The film's editor Eric Boyd-Perkins then cut about 12 minutes from the movie. In the United Kingdom it was released on a double bill with Don't Look Now (1973), a cerebral film that touched upon the occult. Unfortunately, the double bill of The Wicker Man and Don't Look Now did not prove to be successful in Britain.

With regards to the American release of The Wicker Man, National General offered $300,000 to distribute the movie in the United States. Unfortunately, National General took bankruptcy only four days after the deal with British Lion was signed. Warner Bros. then acquired the North American distribution rights to The Wicker Man. Warner Bros. held test viewings of The Wicker Man in drive-in theatres and a college theatre in Atlanta starting in May 1974. Later in the year it would be shown in Southern California. It was in May 1974 that Variety gave The Wicker Man a very positive review. Even given the review in Variety, the distribution of The Wicker Man in the United States would still prove to be somewhat spotty. In 1977 it was shown in Minneapolis, Mississippi, and Louisiana. In 1978 The Wicker Man was shown in Oregon, Connecticut, and Chicago. It was in 1979 that the 96 minute, reconstructed version was released to American theatres (more on that later).

Even as The Wicker Man was popping up in scattered, American theatres in the mid to late Seventies, its reputation in the United States was growing. It was in volume 6, issue 3 of Cinefantastique in 1977 that the magazine published an article on the film, referring to it as "the Citizen Kane of horror movies." It would be the growing interest in the United States that would also revive interest in The Wicker Man in its native Britain.

It was also the growing interest in the United States that led Robin Hardy to look into restoring The Wicker Man. He discovered that Warner Bros. had sold the American distribution rights to the film to a small firm called Abraxas for only $20,000. Robin Hardy contacted Abraxas and together they tried to find its original footage. Unfortunately, the film's negatives could not be found. It has been alleged that they were stored in a vault at Shepperton Studios in Surrey. After Shepperton Studios changed owners, its new owners asked that everything in the vault be destroyed. Fortunately, Robin Hardy remembered that the film had been sent to Roger Corman, who still had a copy. This 96 minute version was then released in the United States in 1979.

Later Canal+ obtained the rights to The Wicker Man and in 2001 sought to release the complete film. This restoration used a telecine transfer to 1-inch videotape of Roger Corman's copy (which had been lost), which was then combined with material from the earlier versions of the film to create a 99 minute version of The Wicker Man.  While many fans believe this version to be incomplete, it appears that the legendary 102 minute version of The Wicker Man does not exist. According to John Simon of Abraxas, he simply mistimed Roger Corman's copy of the movie. He has said, "I guess I just looked at my watch at the beginning and end of the screening, and I had always assumed that someone else would double-check the timing."

Yet another version of The Wicker Man would be released by StudioCanal. In 2013 StudioCanal sought to find the material still missing from The Wicker Man. This led to the discovery of a 92 minute, 35mm print in the Harvard Film Archive. StudioCanal then released a 91 minute version of The Wicker Man on DVD under the title The Wicker Man: The Final Cut. Longer than the 88 minute version originally released to theatres, it is shorter than the 99 minute version that had been released in 2001.

If anything, since The Wicker Man became a cult film in the United States in the late Seventies, its reputation has only grown. As mentioned earlier, it has made lists of the greatest films ever made. Much of the reason for the reputation of The Wicker Man is that it was unlike any horror movie made before it. The majority of the film is set in broad daylight, with only a few scenes set at night. Furthermore, until the climax, The Wicker Man is not so much horrifying as it is unsettling, as the viewer is forced to confront the paganism of Summerisle much as Sgt. Howie has to. Setting it further apart from previous horror movies is that there is a good deal of music in The Wicker Man, enough that it very nearly qualifies as a musical. The songs in the movie consist of both folk songs (such as "Sumer Is Icumen In) and originals by the film's composer Paul Giovanni (my favourite being the wonderfully bawdy "The Landlord's Daughter").

Out of everything else, what really sets The Wicker Man apart from horror movies before it is that the film really features no heroes or villains. The Wicker Man does not condemn the inhabitants of Summerisle, nor their particular brand of paganism. At the same time, the film presents Sgt. Howie's Christianity (which at times borders on fanaticism) with respect, condemning neither him nor his faith. Neither the inhabitants of Summerisle nor Sgt. Howie are held up to ridicule, In the hands of lesser filmmakers, either Lord Summerisle or Sgt. Howie would have been portrayed simply as villains.

Of course, none of this would have worked without strong leads. Sir Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward were both masters of their craft, and they both give incredible performances in The Wicker Man. Edward Woodward portrays Sgt. Howie as a deeply religious man, so much so that he could even be considered a fanatic. Despite this, he remains a sympathetic figure, a man who truly cares about his fellow human beings. As portrayed by Sir Christopher Lee, Lord Summerisle is easy going and very open minded, yet at the same time he is as devoted to paganism as Sgt. Howie is to Christianity. Indeed, among the great things about The Wicker Man are the exchanges between Sgt. Howie and Lord Summerisle. Both men are allowed to express their beliefs without either one of them coming off badly. As portrayed by Messrs. Lee and Woodward, Lord Summerisle and Sgt. Howie are equals in every way, and it is up to the audience to decide who they think is right or wrong.

It has been nearly fifty years since The Wicker Man was first released. In that time it has gone from a film that was treated poorly by its production company and distributors to a cult film to a film not only widely considered a classic, but one of the greatest films ever made. Sir Christopher Lee considered it his favourite film, and it is easy to see why.