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NOW AT LAST! *

The Original Sound Track

of MGMb

THE ELECTRONIC MUSIC SCORE

By Louis and Bebe Barron
"Hrln'm14lLv14is I>'m'rrm'.- rl1'¢'lrrmir .\‘('ur(' for F()Rh'IDDE.\' PLANET
u'(1.<llu'/irsl.<('rn'r of ifs lrinrl in /1'lm.\'. Tho lli.~:fnryo_frirzrn1(i nmsir
will rzrrrr In‘ trmgltl Ivilllozll rt'_fi'rrin_r/ In {hislanrlnmrlr('0n1]msl!ion."
—- Ray Br:\dl)ur_\'
“Hvrw til lasf — in all its ln'llliam'i' — is flu" fnlmlnns .\-numl lllut
r('1'0lulfmti:4'1l nmtlon-pi0lm'¢* nnl.\-1'1‘/‘nrr1'¢'r. ll'lmf u fllrlll if is.
ll.s'lt'm'ny In tl l('_I]l‘)lll('1|I)l(‘ in lifr."
— l1t>bc1't Bloch
“Far an/l alray lltv mos! fltrilling rmrl .~'rill.\'fyitt_4/ n1u.-i|-11! .<<-nrr I0 ll'lI(ll
is p1*rlmp.\' H10 llwsl st'i1'rtt'1‘_Iir‘lt011 nmrir r'|~:'r marlin"
— ll<ll‘2l.(.'0 L. Gold

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~ Stills trom the motion picture reproduced on the album iacket
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PUBLISHER 8: EDITOR by David Bartholomew 4
Frederick S. Clarke production and distribtttion of
including interviews with
CORRESPONDENTS S creenwriter Anthony

David Bartholomew (New York) Giovanni.

.\like Childs (London)
Dart Scapperotti (New York)
Don Shay (Los Angeles)

CONTRIBUTORS
Kyle B. Counts
Jordan R. Fox
Jeffrey Frcntzen
Mick Garris
Hi“- by Peter S. Pcrakos 20
Frank _]2lCkS0n
Alan Jones Bill
Bill Kelley
Lee Rolfe
Peter S hv \liCk
Dave
Roger Dz|\'idBarthulontew G
Robert

tu res.
(.\lil ton
\\':tll Disney
Jib i
Clt\'l~1l-'.4\N'l‘.-\STlQUE is published quar- to stop worrying and avoid the bombs 24
terly at P. 0. Box 270, Oak Park. Illi-
nois 60303. Single Copies when purchas-
ed from the publisher are $4. Subscrip- films we find on the horizon 29
tions: Four Issues $10, Eight Issues $18,
Twelve Issues $25. Foreign subscrip-
tions are no extra charge, but please readers tell us where we went wrong 30
by lntcrnational Postal .\loney
USA funds. .-\d\'ertising rates
on request. For classied by Lee Rolfe 26
rates see 30 \l talent explains his bizarre new film.
can be
remarks by Frederick S. (Ilarkc 27

Lin Carter fantasy.

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by David Bartbolemew
'l'n/1: .-\s Svrgcztnt Huwic (l*l1l\vard Wnutl\\'urd) is
prcpztrvd fnr thc wirker mun hy \\'ill0\\" (Britt
likluntl). Lord Summcrislv (Christopher Lee) and
.\liss Rust‘ (Diamc Cilentu], he turns toward the
tmlnuking villugcrs to protest: “I hclieve in Jesus

_
Christ zuul the lifv ct|:rn:|l." Tn whirh Summcrislc
ruplics. "That is guntl. for hclicving as you tlo. \\'I:
hcstuw upnn you ll rztru gift l|lCSl! d:\ys—:t m.1rtyr‘s
timtlit. \'m| will sit \\*ith thc Saints among the
l'llu:t." Bnllmnz Huwic is picked up cffurtlt-ssly by
Oak (lam Campbell). at mztssivz villagcr. and placctl
insitlc the wicker mun. llowic shnuts. "There is no
Sun God. Then: is no Goddess of the fields. Your
vrups fttilcd hccuusc your strains failed. Fruit is
not tncunt tu g'ru\\' on tltcsu islutuls. Burning mc lu
dcuth \\~un‘| luring hark your apples."
 A1

The story hrhind the production uf.~\ntl10ny Sliziffcfs occult

masterpiece, lhc (Il'l‘lZlii\’ KANE of hurrur films.

To/1: Loni Summcrislc

(Christopher Lee)
lczuls hi5 village in :1

wv~i
musing sung to
cclchrzilv the ruhirih
of their orchards and
lhc beginning uf
sumnu-r. as Scrgcanl
Howie burns lo dcalh
inside lhr: wicker man.
Ilollumz ;\s lhc lnsl of
the wirkcr man is
cunsmncd in flaunts,
the sun scls. casting :1
melancholy gluum un
the pagan islanders.

:1-
THE WICKER .\l/\N An Abraxas Film Cor- I: THE FlLl\l Top: Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward)
poration lT{elease. T0/77(c73). 87(102) min- develops last year's missing harvest festival
utes. In echnico or. .~\ British Lion Pro- tt - , . . thoto a h to discover that Rowan .\lorri-
ductinn. Produced by Peter Snell. Directed The whole ‘hing “Zn about app|cs_ ion. tglieplnissing girl, was festival queen
by Robin Hardy. Screenplay by Anthony that ‘should have he?“ the logo’ during a year nf crop failure. Hollom Ll'f!:
Shaffer. Edited by Eric Boyd-Perkins. G.B. There s nothing more lnnocent than tn,“-it tintls Rqwan lt1r,rri§on'§ unmafkgd
Director of photography, Harry Wax- an apple," grave. on which a rowan trce has been
man. Music composed by Paul Giovanni. _pau| Giovanni planted. When he asks what that is, hanging
.-\rt director, Seamus Flanncry. “Cornrigs" on its branch, gravedigger Aubrey Morris
sung by Paul Giovanni. Music recorded by answers: “Why the poor we lassie's navel
.\lagnet. Associate musical director. Gary The colors are deep-hued, resplendent, string. of course." Bottom Right: Howie
Carpenter. 2nd unit photography, Peter somewhat fevered. We are gliding too low questions Rowan's sister Myrtle (lennifer
Allwork. Costume designer, Sue Yelland. and fast over islands which seem suddenly Martin) who tells him that Rowan is in the
Choreography, Stewart Hopps. Production to emerge from the sea, as if for the first fields, running and playing and having a
manager, Ted Morley. Sound, Robin Greg- time. The islands arc green and brown and lovely time. “Will she be home for tea do
ory, Bobjones. Focus. Mike Drew. Camera richly foliagcd, with gray, rough rocky you think?" asks Howie. “Hares doen't
operator. jimmy Dcvis. Production secre- coasts. The light is asjust before a summer have tea, silly!" chides .\lyrtle.
tary, Beryl Harvey. Continuity, Sue Merry. thunderstorm. The combination of all of
Unit manager, Mike Gowans. Location these elements puts an uncomfortable edge
manager, _]ilda Smith. Assistant director, on the first images ofTHE WlCKl-IRMAN. with the land, which plays an important
Jake Wright. Hairdresser, lan Donnan. That something is going to happen is con- part in their religion. (Later the camera will
Makeup, Billy Partlcton. Wardrobe super- fimled by the stolid appearance of palm pan continuously over their faces. Cutting
trees. outlined against a tlark sky. a species Howie out of the frame, as they glance at
visor, Masada \\'ilmot. Stills. john Brown.
which has no rightful, natural place here. the photograph and decline knowledge of
Publicity, Frank Law. Casting director, the missing girl.)
Maggie Cartier. Assistant editor, Dennis Robin Hardy's film, written by play-
wright Anthony Shaffer. wastes no time. Once onshore, Howie immediately es-
Whitehouse. Sound editor, Vernon Messen-
ger_ ,\|;id¢ entirely on lo¢;itittrt in Scotlrn-tr], \Ve have come to Summerisle, an isolated tablishes himself in a series of roles which
island off the harsh Scottish coast, in a sea- while alien to the villagers are comforting
Sergertnt l-lowir; , ,l-;t1w;rrl\'l'o°dwartl plane piloted by Sgt. Howie (Edward to him, since they represent and translate
the routinized stability of his life on main-
_ _ _ _

Lord Summerisle. . . . . . .Christopher Lee w00d\\'\‘d) Of the West Highland police.

Miss Rose. . . . . . . . . . Diane Cilento W110 hi bet!" SI-\mIn0Cd by in anonymous land Scotland to the unfamiliar surround-
Willow. . . . . . . . . . . . . Britt Ekland letter w invcslil-am the dl$i\PP¢\'3"="i¢ of a ings. Howie is a detective, applying logical
Librarian . . . . . . . . . . . . .lngrid Pitt ""19 8i\'|- investigatory methods, seeking only facts.
Gm"? fllmi 5¢ld0"1 \1§¢ lhv ll\1?I"¢ Of ll"! By his uniform, which he wears throughout
Alder MacGregor. . . . . . . . Lindsey Kemp the film, he affirms himself not so much as
Harbor Master. . . . . . . . . . Russell Waters of religions (or systems of belief) to
I-‘lash
any great purpose beyond surface stares. a single man but'as an agent of the govern-
Old Gardener/Gravcdigger. ..'\ubrey Morris
.\lay Morrison. . . . . . . . . . .lrene Suntcrs Enabling Vlwd-i515. Cavfmtn. WilChB§. ment. of the police, a superior authority.
schoolmaster _. _ ,_ , , , w3][¢f Carr
_ _ _ _ Golems. demons, mummys and vampires to His distaste and impatience with his quest
Oak . . . . . . . . . . . . .lan Campbell run amok among the civilized moderns. on the island is evident almost at once. Be-
Hairdresser. . , , , . . . Leslie Blackater _ quickly reduced to numb terror. l can fore very long, we arc made aware of his
think of only a few meritorious exceptions straiglltlaccd, nearly Calvinist beliefs and
Broome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Roy Boyd that he is properly aanced, quite cbastely.
Musician . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Brewis to the truly massive number of these vapid
Woman with Baby . . . Barbara Ann Brown films: l WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE. to a proper girl, one whom he may not ne-
Villager on Summerisle. . ._]uliette Cadzow NIGHT OI-' THE HUNTER, BURN WITCH ccssarily love ~we learn later that he is ter-
Communicant . . . . . . . . . .Ross Campbell BURN, CURSE OF THE DEMON, GANJA rificd of passion, perhaps because it is so
Gillie . . . . . . . . . . . . Penny Cluer AND HESS. and LORD SHANGO. But in uncertain —but ope with whom he feels
Musician . . . . . . . . . . . . l\lichacl Cole none of these is the clash as fully and intel- very sure he will secure the "good" life he
. . . . .Kevin Collins ligently articulated as in THE WICKER has been taught by his entire upbringing to
Old Fishennan . .
MAN. Summcrisle is a pagan island, a cul- seck. Hardy shrewdly implies Howie's en-
Rowan Morrison . . . . . .Geraldine Cowper
Musician . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ian Cutler ture separated from the rest of the world, tire background and character by closely
T. H. Lennox . . . . . . . Donald l'lccles almost from time, symbolized and led by a studying his behavior and takes excellent
Mrs. Grimmond. . . . . . Myra Forsyth patrician lord (Christopher Lee). Howie, advantage of Woodward's slightly wooden
. . . john Hallam the policeman, is a Christian, an Anglican, presence and stiff posture to characterize
P. C. .\lcTaggart. . . .
Fiancee to Howie . . . . . . Alison Hughes and in a deft, sometimes overwhelming his beliefs and expectations perfectly.
Butcher . . . . . . . . . . . .Charles Kearney way, he is meant to represent a good bit Crucially, we share Howie's viewpoint
Holly . . . . . . . . . . . Fiona Kennedy more. The clash in the larger sense, of ideas throughout the lm, a stranger experienc~
Baker . . . . . . . . ._]ohn MacGregor and beliefs. is embodied by these two men ing ever more strange things. A boisterous
. . .Jimmie Maclienzie on a personal level. pub assaults him with a bawdy song, sun
Briar. . . . . . . . for the innkeeper's daughter (Britt Eklandg
Daisy . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Leslie Mackie Howie comes to the island as an oulsid-
erihc even arrives in a plane, which re- but almost entirely at Howie's expense. He
Myrtle Morrison . . . . . . . _]ennifer Martin ees only to discover a bacchanal in the
Musician , , . _ , . , , Bernard Murray mains. offering the security of escape if
nearby green and graveyard, the nude lov-
_ _ _ _

Villager on Summerisle. . . . Helen Norman things get too rough, bobbing in the chop-
py waters of the l1arbor—:\ntl he remains an ers flung among the headstones. On the
Girl on Grave , , . , , , Lorraine Peters
_ _ _

second night of his stay, in his room, his

Postman . , , , , , , , Tony Ropgf _ _ outsider throughout his stay. Needing a
composure cracking, likland nearly seduces
_ _ _ _

Dr, Ewrm. , , , , , , __]0hri 511;;-P

_ _ _ _ _ boat to get ashorc, Howie must shout
him, her sexuality slicing through the very
_ _

Villager on Sui-|1m¢ri§l¢_ , Elilrtlmth sirtclair through his bullhorn and gesture to make
l\itt§i¢i,1rt , _ , _ , , Artdrcw Tomltirts
_ _ _ _ himself understood to the group of villag- walls of his room, with a strangely erotic,
slapping dance and murmured song and
_

CQmmunic;1|1[_ , _ , _ , _ , _ _ _ _l;m \Vil§gn

_ ers gathered on the wharf a few hundred
Agh Bugl»t;in;m_ _ _ _ Rit-lmrrl wrcrt feet away. This first attempt at communi- music filtering from the pub below.
Howie bravely commutes his discomfort
_ _

Fishmonger . . . . . . . . john Young cation sets the pattern for his mission, for
. . .
even when the physical distance is erased, to professionalism: the gathering of clucs,
Howie is still unable to brcak through to although he is soon frustrated there as well.
the people in any sense whatsoever. In us- colnpounded by the more he observes of
ing the plane, Howie has. in effect, literally the island's paganistic culture. Everyone
David Bartholomew is our correspondent
in New York City. This article is based on dropped from the sky, lending him a easily declines knowledge of the missing
his interviews with Robin Hardy, Paul Gi- (Christian) god-like status. avoiding contact girl, except the young daughter of the post-
with the earth and water. Standing on his mistress, who says she has seen her and
nvanni. Stirling Smith and David Blake, that she has drawn a picture of her, where-
and interviews with Peter Snell and Chris- plane. Howie is photographed in isolating
topher Lce conducted by _]ordan R. Fox, one-shots, which are cut against the multi- upon she proudly points to a watercolor
sllot community of villagers, who arc right that Howie has been helping hcr to paint
and an interview with Anthony Shaffer
from their initial appearance associated (and staining his hands in the process). . .of
conducted by l\iike Childs and Alanjones.

6
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Trip: l.ord Summerisle (Christopher Lee). of them (detective) is also now marginal: intrigniiigly derived by Paul Giovanni from
dressed as the \\'oman/King. leads the .\lay he is a man trapped in a .\|acGul'fin (which mnlitioiial songs and poetry.
Day procession on the last leg of its jour- reminds us of Shaffer's association with Tlll-1 \\'lCKl<'.R .\l.~\N l)l‘|Cfi($ from an
ney to “the appointed place." Sergeant l-'Rl-ZNZY). tearing around in dizzying cir- unerriiig production design and settings by

x_
lloivie. tlisguised as Punch, the Fool. fol- cles trying to "solve" it. never able even to 5L-mu“; |:|u,",c,y' n.murim|,|y piwmgmph.
lows at far left. Ifnllom: Howie sees Row- guess at the true plot beyond it although t-d by llarry \\'axman from the eerie initial
an Morrison (Geraldine Cowper). bound the evidence of it lies all aroiintl him. aerial shots onward. Summerisle is cleverly
and aniioitited at the top of a precipice. as ()ddly enough. the inid-section of the culleil from a number of different villages
Broome (Roy Boyd) sounds the sacrifical film is the slackest. when Summerisle is aiitl locations. while the l.t>rd's manor
horn to the advancing procession. and Lord introduced in his castle and recites the past liottse. inside and out. is also a composite.
Summerisle announces. “.-\nd now for oitr history of the island to llowie. but the pat‘- l-lven the blooming foliage is courtesy of
more dreadful sacrice. to those who com- ing soon picks up. lt is almost as if being Flannery aitd Hardy. in a painstaking task
mand the fruit ofthe earth." i'ii.ri:Ii- the ornate rooms. cut off from_the of dressing the existing plants since this
lautl and veitettititiit so ventral to the film. mm ;,i,.,in Spriltgllytg was $ll()l during litc
ls "'~'5P°“5ll)l"- Unl°""“i“\'lY- “T "ls" 5lm' dying winter months. The vegetation is
a hare in the fields. He locates the girl's ply distrust Summerisle. lt is tiiiavoitlable: r,_-';,| muugll; ilk“ pan Uf ll"; l'ilm‘§ plug is
name. wliich is Rowan. in the ledgers of we must blame it on Christopher l.ee's en- quite U-“L. in [hm ‘in- g“r‘len§ “ml g",,_i,,¢,-y_
the schoolteacher (Diane Cilento). hut he is tire screen persona as villain, established in ;,“_|mi;ng ll“. .,mim,“§ palm in-cg mm luuk
so shocked at the pagan “filth being taught too many cheap. awful pictures that put 5‘, mu .','f vim-.;_ “.5-“it from 3 quirk .,f "3.
here" to the class of young girls that he depth-less characters tliroitgli their paces gum in “-liii-ll [he r».,r;,| “ml \-.,|r-mi‘-..|¢|-ii-.
must leave (“'l'liey're all raving mad.") the projector reduced to meat grinder. We ml Sui] and “L-;“-1,)» Mum Gulf 5"-mm ha‘-¢
llartly cleverly uses the school setting. wonder if Summerisle. as Howie suspects. nqudq llm an-;,_ in \\'c§[gfn 5¢r,|l;|ml_ into 3
blackboard notes. and dialogue to further is not uxiiig these people as pawns—as his l,.,i;mi5i‘5 puimiiul fuiiiasy,
explain the beliefs of the islantliit is as if grandfather did. to a certain extent. in r<'- That a film as well-made as'l‘llE WICK-
we are among the schoolchildren learning introducing “the old gods" to the island to l~1R .\l,-\,\‘_ lmili as ;| ¢i)|\§i§\¢n[|y intelligent
lessons —which is basically an ancient pan- allow him to continue his botanical studies “'tifk of in-i and an effective genre-staple
theistic religion. the sort rediscovered and -for more conventionally criminal pur- horror (or terror) film. thus merging a witle
lionized by the British Romantic poetsi poses. like a pot of gold in the basement. audience spectrum.could he shoveletl from
principally \\'ads\vortli- of the early 19th or for personal selfishness. The feeling hand to hand only to gather dust un vari-
Centttry. utilizing the old gods of the earth. ares into the open when Howie. being mi; §hQ|\'c§, \\*i[ll()u( a theatrical release or
sun and the elements. antl the violent. traii- prepared for sacrifice. warns Summerisle sale to 'l‘\’. says much that is significant a-
scending primacy of nature. that if the crops fail next year. they'll hoiit the mo\'ie business as a world-wide in-
However. it is only when Howie ar- come for Iiim. and there's a cut to l.ce. in dustry.
ranges to meet the Lord of Summerisle closeup. lookingbriefly furtive. 'l'he story of THE \\'lCKER MAN in .-\-
(Cliristtiplier Lee). a titular leader with During the May Day procession (whiclt mcrica (and in linglantl) wtiultl make an
whom llowie. a man who respects organi- llardy does not quite bring off successfu|- cxcellent if brutally pessimistic film in it-
zation and order. is obviously used to deal- ly). l.ee/Summerisle appears ludicrous. 5|,-If, aliliuirgh it, too, might ncvcr sec the
ing. does he attempt to conqtter his gro\v- wearing a frumpy housewifely frock. light ofa projector.
ing fears and rcpugnanee and muster an in- sneakers. and a wig that looks like the '(iOs Thai Sm,-3-'5 rm, l‘M.f¢i¢l"_-rl; pcnplg
tellectual stance. which quickly becomes. Cher. lt's a lapse marring the tightly knit “v()ul(l|]'[ hgligyc ii,
tltroiiglt the rest of the film. a (self) de- mood in a film that for maximum effect
fense. It is also at this point that Tllli should not have any.
\\'|CRF.R .\l.~\N turns most interestingly in- For the greater part. llardy adroitly ll: GENESIS
to a personied clash of faiths and pre» piles detail onto detail. from the carefully
cepts. ’c<:l|dly_rittial]i:/.e‘tl inlto‘dog'ma ipvthe yy‘oyii_ii hare lI‘l't;.:g€l'}: (the l(;:\l:(l“Sl (ll’;ll\\‘lI'tg, “About mu vcars ago we were mm_
case o owie s re igion. )\l very ac I e y c i re on e wine o e . ie cioco- . . '
evolving activities. in the May Day cereino- late figures in the sweegt shop. the dead ‘"8 m the C0rn_“a" arfm‘ and one ?\'
nies and beyond. in the villagers'. The clash hare in the buried coffin) to the overtly "ling “'9 “'c“t_|nt°_Pald5t°w fof dm‘
occurs through an tiltimate test of personal phallicized May Day celebrations (the ner. Now that is a village where these
wills Howie’s and Sitnim_erisle's. No longer stone circle. hlay Pole._ctc.)' to Howie's i- fc§[i\~a]§ arc §(i|| h|;|d_ and quirg by
is it a question of a missing girl. btit a bat- ronic exchanging of his uniform for the accident we stumhkd right on to it
tle for a life and a soul. the girl s. to How- costume and mask of the l'ool character to ‘\y h H lb Vh h . ‘h
ie's vieu-.but in reality his own. join the procession in order to discover _c M“ t C 0) Y one C asmg e
Shaffer. a notorious lover of puzzles and where the "missing" girl is being held for g"‘l5» ('\'£‘l’Yll"l\g. Blll lltC)' had S66!“-
gamcs (e.g. SLEUTH. play and film). has the sacrifice. liarlier. Howie's plight and ed to ptit up a wall of evasion about
fasl_tioned the screenpl_ay as a conundrum. fate are perfectly imaged in_ the school- it“ranger
_.\m| it was \-U-Y unpkasant bcing
in that town on that dav.-~
which astutely Yitllllilll-1551 non-.\Ianicliean rpom‘ sequence. when he discovers the a
stance. Both §l(lCS*Cl\l'tS\l2|l‘llly and pagan- missing girl s vacant desk. In it is a beetle . -

ism ~.u~i'nt to win; however. the former is attached to a pin by a length ofstring; the "R0bm Hardy
represented by a man slowly falling itito insect can only travel in an ever tighter cir-
confusion. Theoretically one of the most cle. round and round the pin. until it is -'\ll fllm Slfl llll‘ 51"" \\'1lY- Will‘ B"
understanding and tolerant of religions. caught up tight to it. Of course. there is the ld1‘Il~
Christianity proves in Howie's practice to wicker man itself. a mock Christ in a reli- “ll l'¢I1lll' l"~'tl"" I" “fl“"° ““"'°“5 Wfllft
he hypocritical. closed. a bit cruel. llowie gion that prefigured llim. a giant concoc- Yfm4'ml)@l'$ -'\r\tl\ony 5lt1lffl‘l‘. ll1¢_ Bflilih
is ultimately trapped by his own stolidity. tioii with separate compartments for tliffer- l)lIll'\\TIRl\l l\"<l §Fl'l‘¢"\'/"1" 1""! “"{\"" "I
his sealed-off mind, his stuffy superiority. ent animals. With the largest in the center l\\‘0 lf-llgilfi "1"" ll"
l\ll'§!¢fY “'l’|"?_l’§ "f
Summerisle even turns his Christianity a- for Howie. -\""~'l’I1‘-1 (fur “5l¢\1ll1" -"Kl l”RE-N7-\l~ “l
gainst him. .-\t the end. as Howie discovers liven apparent mis-steps work (again we "Wt fellow called Peter Snell. _who _was
11

that his entire "mission" has been pre-ar- think of Shaffer's game-playing). if tinin- then managing director of British Lion.
ranged and carefully plotted. with the end- tentionally. as part of the overall design. .-\nd another fellow called Christopher LEC-
poiitt that he is to die by fire in the wicker \\'hen llowie finally discovers the "missing" whom we all know of. and we said. ‘Why
man as a sacrice to the fertility of the girl in the cave. her cry to hiin (“l|urry. can't we do a picture together?"'
coining season's crops and harvest. Suri1- please. I don't like it herel") rings false. .~\ book was found and purchased. the
iiierislc offers him inartyrtlom. a chance to Later we discover she is only playing a nzune and writer of whiclt no one now re-
“sit with the saints." the highest Christian part. like the others. to eiitrap him further. members. Paul Giovanni. an American who
death. .-\ntl llowie still rejects the notion The moment of their "escape" is nnderliii- came into the project much later to com-
aiid his fate as “intirder." llis very use of etl with a burst of electronic rock music. as pose the music. recalls that “the novel was
the word at this late point indicates that if signaling a “happy” ending in a conven- had. a 5th-rate piece of work. a hare. un-
llowie is still uncumprelientlingly tietl to tioiial genre movie way; here. it's only a realiled sketch of an itlea that only hinted
his now totally irrelevant concepts and false tease. The passage is also completely at the things that wotild later become THE
roles. 'l'hat he has failed miserably in one alien to the rest of the music in the filni. WlCKl'lR M.-\.\l.“
as
dy was signed on as director. lle had never rcn. ln fact, it is the only island in the area
Tap: .-\liand-held camera (bottom left) to do so. The apple trees there are wild.
captures Sergeant llowie's reaction to donea theatrical feature film before.
As Shaffer puts it, “lt ditln't seem to and there arc stories of fishermen returning
the mounting ames. Bottom Left: .-\s to their mainland homes stopping off on
llowie (Edward Woodward) is pre ared me to be any good reason why we Sfll_|llf!/-
for the sacrifice by amt Ekland (1.-pi and "'1 make it." Siimiiisrislv iii iiirk "iv 1lPPl°§-
“‘The wicker man itself is quite real. The
Ingrid Pitt (right) he shouts to Summer- llriiitls used the striicttire to burn their sac-
i§i¢_ gm v;||,g¢,-5 and -_,|| who can hm“ --|
lll: RESEARCH iifi¢i=ilf\ji1‘!iii_i§-Jlysi-izicullv. 13-; first _ine;i5-
believe in jesus Christ and the Life Eter- ' i tion o it is in ti itis Iaesar's iaru*.r_,in.
n;|,]' and if you kill me now it is I who BC, when he noted that Rotnan prisoners
will be reborn and not your ({a,,me-(1 mp. AND BACKGROURD
of war were ta_k_en by the British tribes and
p|¢5_" ;;,,u,,,,, Rig/,4; Lockcd gnsidc the btiriied as sacrifices. .~\s far as that practice
I wicker man. |.|u“,,,. ,|,o,,,s 3 Cum at the Let s face it, there are strange coni-
munitics in this world." EMF; §1*jii€° i§ 1‘°m"“"] "1 ="¢\'Y P3811"
______{___i__
a
\'illagers, quoted from the Bible. *-iiriiPe- Tliv <-@115 Wm by iiv
_(;|";§mPh¢r LQQ rslirziiiii i_ii
means zhfferent from the Romans or the
Greeks, or the Celtic llriiish, now the
llut it was enough to intrigue Shaffer, \\'elsh. It was a completely universal prac-
who is a devout horror film fan. He was un~ “I had always been interested in com-
able to work it up into a screenplay (die parative religions. One of the first TV jobs tice.
l had was producing religious affairs pro- "Take the scene where the woman puts
process of adapting another work is, to the frog in the child's throat. Well. that's a
him, “a mug's game"). and things came to grammes, so l learned a great deal about
Christianity, the differences in theology be- classic piece of sympathetic magic. Listen
a standstill, which is the nonnal rate of
tween the whole spectrum of Roman Cath- to the poor thing croak, taking all the pain
speed for anything in the movie industry. into itself. Even the beetle on the string is
For many years through the '60s, Shaf- olics to Baptists and Unitarians. l was later
told l was hired for the series because l was not liokey-»$aleni witches were burned for
fer and writer/director Robin llardy had things like that, using an animal as a surro-
worked together as ll8cS Associates in F.ng- an Agnostic, which was, and is, quite true."
A sharply intelligent man, Robin llardy gate for a person in a spell. The beetle
land. packaging and producing films, plays. stands in for the person you want to trap.
and documentaries for British and French began his career with the National Film
Board of Canada where he tlid “rafts of "Burning the fingers of a dead man's
television and occasionally commercials. hand» that‘s called ‘the lland of Glory,‘
liarly in 1972, the two partners spent a documentary films, literally hundreds, over
I the years." In the late '50s he moved to and only one of many ways to spell a per-
long weekend together and according to son to sleep. .-\nother was to take earth
llardy “began discussing the evolution of New York and worked exclusively in televi-
sion, largely for the “Esso World Theatre" from a grave and put it unr: oor directly a-
the horror film away from the old stand- hove the person you want to sleep. .~\gain,
bys, terribly overused, like things based on series, where in 1964 he directed “llaunted
Passage," a study of the lndian theatre that sympathetic magic.
the Devil as the antithesis of Christianity. “.»\ll this sort of transferance of ideas is
We thought finally about doing a film with included a play by Satyajit Ray, and a doc-
umentary/survey ofjapanese theatre called common, like the pregnant women touch-
i an original story that in effect has the cast ing the buds of the apple trees to make the
of a superior horror lm but which goes “The Frozen .\loment," which incidentally
dealt with ritual and ancient dances and apples plentifiil»that connects with the
right back to people who believed in real ‘make the baby king‘ myth. .-\nd the girls
magic, sympathetic magic, people who be- dramas. Work on this anthology series took
I him all over the world, to Sweden, lndia, jumping over the fires to make fIll'Y1l.\'l'fl't‘.\'
lieved that the elements had real power. fruitful, which is actually a Beltane myth.
But we didn't want them all romping a- japan, and France, filming stage produc-
tions for broadcast. Later, back in lingland, One has to remember that pagan people all
round in Early English period costumes or over the world saw no connection between
whatever and thought about doing it in a Hardy directed, Shaffer produced, and
both of them wrote projects under their the sexual act and pregnancy. And all these
contemporary setting. things. as we illustrated in the schoolroom
“During that weekend, we literally ll&~S .-\ssociates haniier.
Now he was a researcher and spent four scenes, were part and parcel of nonnal pa-
worked out the entire plot: that we wanted gan education.
an island setting, to hriiig in microcosmic months in F.ngland studyingpaganism. “To
begin with, we thought of a llebridean is- “Take the use of the hare all the way
aspects; that there would be a character through the film. It is an excellent image
who would be the subject of that island's land that could have been made fruitful by
an agronomist. It had to have the Gulf for the belief in the transmutated soul. I
plot, with the endpoint a sacrice. .~\nd suppose it was because of their speed and
that there would be a lure to get him to Stream phenomenon to fit the story, sim-
ply because paganism was closely effected freedom. .-\ll hares run wild; rabbits live in
come there." warrens. The liaster Iiunny is actually the
Hardy had had a heart attack some time with the crops and sun worship. And l tlis-
covered that such island paradises existed. Faster llare. .-\nd that's tremendously cele-
earlier and thus was severely restricted in hraied all over the world without really
his physical movements, so the pair agreed For instance, the Scilly lsles have a strong
romantic tradition of the sort we ascribed knowing why. Take the phrase, ‘mad as a
that if Hardy would do all the research March hare,‘ well that refers to the new
needed in order to esh out the details of to Summerisle and are fairly ivell-known in
l-lngland. :\s late as I920, Lord Lcverham, season coming in, the activity of Spring.
the culture they would portray, then Shaf- “There are so many Christian holidays
fer would write the screenplay. The time who founded Lever Brothers. bought an
island and turned it into a model farm it's that are celebrated where there was previ-
that Hardy required dovetailed perfectly ously a pagan feast. liaster is one of them.
with Shaffer's pending commitments in the still there. lle did it not just to grow palm
trees for the sake of growing them, but originally it was a hare feast. Christmas has
U.S. been put where the lieltane feast was. .~\t
After several drafts, the screenplay was more like Lord Summerisle's grandfather:
he was an experimental agronomist and Christmas, you set up a Christmas tree be-
finally completed. lt then became a ques- cause that was what the goddess Hera ivor-
tion of securing a production deal, the cru- tried to develop new strains and succeeded.
Those palm trees that we used in the film, shipped, ltlistlt-toe is purely l)ruidic -it re-
cial first step that many, many scripts nev- lates to the Golden Bough. My God, when
er manage. Shaffer proposed it to Peter for instance. are real.
“.-\s to the pagan culture. everything you decorate your home for Christmas you
Snell, to replace his stalled adaptation. At are using nearly every pagan symbol there
the same time, he showed it to Christopher you see in the film is absolutely authentic.
Lee. who had been anxious to play the part The whole series of ceremonies and details is!
that we show have happened at different "The Christian harvest celebration, or
of a jesuit priest in an earlier Shaffer Tlianksgiving, is a continuation ofa far old-
screenplay called ABSOLUTION (which times and places in Britain and Western
liurope. What we tlid was to bring them all er feast, similar to the lnca or I-lgyptian
Shaffer terms “a nasty little goodie") that feasts, also done in liurope, like the ‘skin-
never found a producer. Lee read it and al- together in one particular place and time.
“Summcrisle is a real island, although ning of the goddess.‘ Haven’! you ever
so urged Snell to take it on. “Snell was so woiitlered why all priests, antl not only Ro-
impressed with the story that he presented we did not film there. The island lies far
north of where we filmed, roughly 12-15 man Catholic ones, wear women's clothes?
it to the Board of British Lion who wero-al- “The film's sexuality is completely tia-
so enthusiastic and said, ‘.-\ll right. we'll do miles off the Scottish coast. We discovered
only after the shooting was done that Sum- tural. lt is May Day night. The May Pole is
it. provided that the budget be kept low.‘ an ohvioiis phallic symbol, and we show a
And that was it." recalls Lee. merisle did indeed grow and was known for
its apples. although today it is nearly bar- huy climb to the top and crown it. ln the
Shaffer polished up the screenplay. llar-

10
 ‘Q
V

|(\f
H"

P’

1
_‘I’
‘I
V
T

Oak (lan (Zantphell) drags llowie toward a

martyr's death, as tl\e solemn procession-
ers follow. huintning in unison. llowie is
glimpsing the wicker man for the first time
as they asrentl the top of a hill. and eries
out. finally. in realization “Oh Christ. no
. . .Cl\rist!"

evening the Sunimerisle eharaeter hrings

the saint‘ hoy to the innkeeper's daughter
I for sexual initiation. ()n the green. the wo-
men are sitting on top of the men; the one
4

girl sohhing on the g'ra\'c. mourning a lover.

is in the same position as the other women
who are relehrating at hit more actively
1 with the men.
“The Green .\l;tn. which is our pub
natne. is one of the oldest pagan images:
the tree tome to life. the tree turning itself
into a man. ll is the most common pub
sign all over lingland today.
“\\'hat we hoped would fascinate people
is not that they would think these things
are still going on in Europe. hut that they
would reeogni'/.e an awful lot of these
things as sort of little eehnes from either
out of ehiltlhootl stories and nursery
rhymes or things they do at various times
of the year.
“But they're not dead. The thing ahout
these heliefs is that people do these things
today and not know why they do them.
l
\\'e call them ‘superstitions.’ There are
millions of people who know nothing a-
bout the Golden Bough who will. . /touch
wood.‘ ()r won't walk under ladders. They
all h:|\'e profoundly important anti real ori-
‘ gins in pagan belief.
l‘he procession and ceremonies at the
stone eirrle are hasetl on the .\ioroseo
danee~drama. the oldest in l"'.nglish history.
that's the whole thing with the Fool. the
Betsy or llohhy Horse and the Teaser. .'\
derivation of it. is the .\lorris dance. the
part done hy the swordsmen; it's still per-
fomied today. The Im.n/|u' people in Spain
have elements of it in their vulture, so it's
witlespread.
“listimates vary. hut I understand that
there are probably in excess of two or
three thousand of these kinds of festivals
held every year in Western liurope, all over
Britain, from the Caueasus northward.
.-\nd they're celebrated genuinely. The
most important one in Britain is in Paid-
sto\\‘_ wltieli is the one we stumhletl into.
which experienre is really where the idea
for the film eame from. ln that one, the
girls still jump through the fire. Of rourse.
they're not naked.
“The point is that it is not for nothing
that active paganism is for the most part
gone. For one thing. it keeps people in the
thrall of superstition. Maybe it's not too
big a tonne: tion to make between the final
scene of THF. WICKER MAN and the Nur-
emherg Rallies in Germany. It was no acci-
dent that llitler brought hark all those pa-
gan feasts in his rise to power. lt'S a great.
German thing. really. Wagner after all was
QM
always going ittto the Niebelungen and
Ring eyeles. glorifying all the old German \
gods. The idea that it is necessary to sacri-
fiec people for the good of other people is
never too far from the human eonst‘ious-
ness at any one time. You Can't simply say
that it was something those people did all
those years ago and has nothing to do \vith
us torlay."
That interest runs high in these subjects

. 12
/1 ./t _
I.
Tl

is not surprising. especially in Britain, and will invariably travel all the way across Tap: The .\lay Day procession stops at
town to a little fleapit showing something the stone circle. as each member passes
where up until not too long ago films a-
bout witchcraft were banned outright. As mother." through swords clasped in tlte figure of
That obsession is infectious~their mu- the Sun. wltile the crowd chants. “chop,
Tony Shaffer commented, “Once you get chop. chop." “It's a game of chance." as
some leads. you can trace anything through tual friendship with fellow gamester Steph-
en Sondheim partly inspired Sondheim and Summerisle explains. Bottom !.t'ft: .-\s
the London libraries. But you can also put
an ad query in the paper. and the lunatics .-\ntliony Perkins to write Tllll LAST OF the Hobby Horse leads the procession.
5llEll--‘\~ ~‘\"Il lllc lirullicrs. with each otl\- Ingrid Pitt. Diane Cilento and Britt Ek-
come howling out of the woodwork at
you!" er's connivance. are notorious for pulling land playfully charge at Punch, the Fool,
pranks on others, because they are identi- be“-iltloreti Howig in t|i5gni§¢_ with
But not quite everything in the film is
-_t

authentic. llespitt: the opening title t:x- Cal twins. noiscmakers. liultnni Right: Ingrid Pitt
llardy seemed best able to dene Shaf- passes through the clasped swords. part
pressing thanks to Lord Summerisle for his
l
fer's characteristic style of writing: “Tony hf the ;tnci¢nt_ tnitjitinnnl Mon-is thin“.
cooperation in making the film. the gentle- of .-\nglo-Saxon heritage.
ll man, in fact. does not exist. Both Ilardy has Ll theory that comes into all his work.
and Shaffer only grudgingly admitted it af- lle really doesn't care what other people
ter point-blank questions. The latter began want-Iir wants to turn on the audience lmrfvr film. if
laughing. “Well. it's a trick. l think Peter with surprises. funny delights. intellectual “THE “'lcKl'i-R lll-'\-‘J ii it
~

Snell first thought of it, to lend some out- goodies, all sorts of things. lt's a Chinese °"ll' ll"-1"" ‘ll lli l\0"'lllf 9"1ll"§- Tl1i'l’"
ward ‘reality' to this implausible tale. It's a box theory of entertainment: a box inside ii" “"115 in ‘M5 \\'°l’ld ill“! We llT"55lY "'l5'
a box inside a box and so on. with each “<l'-‘lcflive 510')’-' 'tl\l'ill¢I'-' iltl H
hit glib-l had two minds about using it~ "51"-ll
lllifll ii illvfmr film-' Wllilt is l\0rr0r film?
but the intention was to say to people who box slightly different and more stirprisiiig =1

than the last." Producer Snell adds. “lle's a lt'5 Cllfiitupllr L66 Witll tlwse silly teeth
perhaps are not putting too much attention in. rushing around through pripirr-niat'Ii¢'
on the film. ‘Look. this really happened highly intelligent individual and the kind of
. . .‘ And it did the trick." writer who cannot write an exchange of <'0\'t‘lll0l’$ ¢l\l\§"\E ""l1Il'~' l¢"ll¢5- wlli" 3'11"
l~
dialogue between two characters without $5 110“; Plyiillg ilrllutlll MC tllv same Old

“',.."IE S(-REhNP['AY
<

attempting to get sontothin tic.-"55 of his )nring egen s. Frankenstein and Dracula
.
I

-
t
own point of vit-w or .,h§¢hhti.,h_ You iii various forms. Of course they're not hor-
come away from certain things in his work. rific. because once you've seen the mon-
especially in THI-I WICKER .\l.-\l\'. remem- ster. with each succeeding occasion it ap-
I have always believed that the pearsit loses its effectiveness and becomes
truth Q3“ bg ghown up§ide down_ _" _ lieririg and thinking yery hard about them.
_Amh0“y Shaffer as distinct from writing something off a_s familiar. ln most eases the_monster is also
Il"l'lPOtCI‘llv3ll h_e can do is gibblcabout and
“I d M .f 1." .1 some sort of simple entertainment experi-
occasionally bite someone. l'his quickly
0“ ' 3“) one)“ “Cr wnf '1 ence."
runs out of any form of horror whatsoever.
more remarkable script for at film. Shaffer comments. “I usually take a-
-Cltrigtopltcr Log bout four months to do a script. but this And then another person comes in wearing
one came much quicker, especially once the teeth. but it's no great surprise. And all
the idea was there. about 10% weeks. I he- those IAlt’t.’(l_\l science fiction pictures! You
"It gtfgmqtl tt, mo tn he n §tihj¢¢tstht- find a few, like NlG|lT OF THE LIVING
lieve. lt's this whole business about truth.
‘

Cg|ti¢ ht-lief; and how thq-‘re rcpt-nscntty-ti DE.-\l). but most of them have no imagina-
in thig t-nunn-yctltnt | have nu," i-catty about perceiving it. even upside down, al-
l sehn treated nn,Pt-,1-,», with thc tthhhy though that's sometimes done in plays and tion at all.
tint-Sc, [hg Tscn thn punch or Fun] fig. films _|ust to confuse or mislead, to make a “Plainly there has to be more to the
‘mystery.’ l always believe the thriller form genre than that. I've always found that the
tn-¢_ the ttnngcd _\|nn_ the (;i-an _\tnn_ thc
is grossly underused. lt's stuck in the who- great ones have to be nlmiil something.
Golden Bough or Sacred Oak myths, tht; Take. for example. REPUl.S|0l\'. Now that
for“ that intervenes in hf¢_ sometime; it dunit thing. or violence and police Cars run-
ning about the streets or endless parrying. is a great horror film. This woman should-
demands n 5;,“-ii"n-5, Sn,-netinws it t|t,¢;n't_
All tit‘ it_ thought the,-¢ was Sn n-innh there “l think it really means what it says: a n't be in her apartment-she should be un-
der medical care. The fact that she is left a-
1

in Celtic mythology that no one ha; ever mystery is a mystery, and in order to reveal
a mystery. you've got to It-II it like one. lone to join up. to cohere, to collide with
laid rt glgyg nn' and thought it was nhnnt
1
her fantasies i.r horror. And in this kind of
time §t)|“@u|"|¢ ttid_" Otherwise you'd never be able to see what
Anthony ghnffq mine nut of Cain. you've said. Years ago l read a play on the horror film. you've got to have real human
llichmann business called “The Savage Pa- beings.
bridge with ;i into ticgrcn in 195()_ tit» pi-3;. “But there's a second type of horror
ticed in London for three years. then went r:ide." And I wrote a play about a man be~
ing captured in Argentina. and during his film. where that's not always possible. p_er-
into journalism. writing ads for Pearl and htips because the proposition is too far ad-
Dean. the largest of the movie theatre cir- trial. it turned out that he wasn't the
souglit-after criminal at all. that it was the vanced to fully believe. These films are a-
euit§_ lle also wrote tlgcumgntgtficg and n
man who had captured and brought him bout the imagination. about the quality of
scries of Gothic nt)V¢l5 in collaboration
with his twin brother. Peter. He spent scv- in. Then I kept fastening onto each of the imagintivm A E004 fix"-"‘Pl'~' I1" ll"? Ed‘
rest of the characters in the play as the gar Allan Poe stories which have characters
eral years in television, part of the time in-
culprit. until we wound up with one of the Who as llumns arc it bit difficult to take
corporated with llardy. but also wrote h\1\ Whicli are terrifying pieces of work. It's
plays and a number of unproduced screen- judges. who was then hanged. 'l'heii. a re-
port comes in that Eichmann or whoever llcrtr that l tllinli WC Should put THE
plays, including FORBUSH .~\.\'l) THE WlCKER -\l-'\l\'-
PENGUINS and PLAY WITH .-\ GYPSEY, had been captured somewhere else. with
later known (and mentioned above) as .-\ll- the idea that the whole thing would start “l l'¢illlY !l1i"l<Should b¢ finding MW
W1?

SOLUTION. in 1970, his first major play o\'er. Well. what do we make of that? it is a "B5195 ll)!‘ tlleif lhingit l!¢Cu5¢
‘l'10rr0r' im-
‘savage parade.' and it continues. Plies second-rate bits of crap. Disaster mo-
"Sleuth" was produced in London and \'ics are really horror movies that have
won a Tony award in its New York produc- "What we're saying about Summerisle is
that in a given society. where our ‘normal' l'0\1d tllemselvs u "cw name. There is :i
tion late in the same year. lle also adapted l0l Oi th Gtilllic i" it- And l think "WY
his play for the _]oe .\lankiewicz film. a- mores have been reversed, i.e. it's a good
thing to burn books or infonri on your par- should be set just slightly out of their own
daptetl his brother's 1967 play “Black time, now not that you should use a castle
Comedy" for the screen. wrote FRl~ll\'Z\’ cnts. under these circumstances. then ev-
cryone could have been Eichmann. l'lvcry- or set it in the 17th or l8th century in
for Hitchcock from an Arthur 1,3 Bern nos some sort of ancient torture chamber. One
vel and has had another play, "Murderer." body could have done it. ln a sense. every-
one dill do it. of the things that works so well in THE
produced in London in 1975. although it WICKER .\lAl\' is that we took reasonable
did not match his earlier success and was “lt's a pompous way of putting it, but
you can actually bring a reasonable amount trouble to make it perfectly contemporary;
not brought to Broadway. the people could wear suits and didn't run
Sliaffer's interests are inseparable from of lecturing and moral philosophy into a
dramatic form that is getting too little of around in old cowls or something. which l
his work. .-\s Robin llardy mentions. "Both
it. lf the form is acceptable. if the surface often find takes away from the horror of
Tony and Peter have an absolute fascina- the situation. We've all been there, haven't
tion with games. with people devising clab- level or story is jolly good. well. under-
neath it you can say what you really want we? But you can find just as much honor
orate games at somebody else's expense. on lligh Street with supermarkets and
They also adore fantasy and horror films to say without being boring about it.

I4
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chemist shops. in the sunlight, if you have
a really good story.
“I didn't write TllF. WICKER .\l.-\X as
an atheistic picture. lf you look at it in one
way. it is Christianity that is the new boy
it's only been going for 2.000 years. The
stuff in our film has been going on for
thousands and thousands of years. What
they worship in the picture is obviously the
manifestation of a deity. It doesn't matter
what you call it. There's no such thing as
atheism-it's a ridiculous word. You can
sec whatever you call it. the force or power
higher than onc's self. in everything. ln a
leaf. In wood. ln the light of soineone's
eye. Now you can explain the chemical
composition of that leaf and why it's
green. or the reection process by which
you get that light in your eye, but that by
“\\'e don't know if Sumnierisle's sacri-
fice f;til$—ll\t? apples could come tumbling
out of the trees that year. but if they
don't. the people will have to have another
go next year. .-\nd they inust go back to
the community for the victim. and who's
the top banana there? The Summerisle
character. That's why l shoved that line in
there \vlien llowie warns him.
“But if the apples do return. whether it
was because of the sacrice or by a natural
process-it's not unknown for crops to fail
and grow the next year who knows? lt's
not. after all. the continuing story of Sum-
merisle. You have to be left with a certain
doubt. This time we leave the people in a
very happy state: they‘ve burned this man
and they go home as if they've been to a
football match. The kids might get their
as
Top: Filming a closeup of Howie as he suc-
cumhs to the smoke and fire of the buming
wicker man. Ilollom Left: Hardy (with
horn) sets up a shot between Howie (Ed-
ward Woodward) and the Harbor Master
(Russell Waters). seated in boat. Bottom
Right: Woodward and llardy rehearse a
scene, as llowie frantically
Rowan Morrison on .\lay Day.
searches for

ising; that is. it was the script that had the

most appeal that could also be kept within
a low budget figure. Snell claims that Bcm.
ley "insisted" that his "friend" Robin Har-
dy direct (although Hardy. who barely
knew Bentley. discounts this conjecture).
pnssihly ht;-t-misc of thn fut that it was
Hardy's initial feature and therefore. he
no means, not in the Icasl. can really make schoolbooks out. everything, as if they've would not f(]§[ so mu(;h_ ,\nd b¢si¢_|¢s' Sncll
you believe there isn't that higher force. seen nothing. Now that's real horror. llow- liked the screenplay.
“You cannot believe without faith ever. for them. it's not horrible because Suddenly the film was on. Snell. Shaffer
that's the message of every religion. It they believe in it. and Hardy rlecided Paul Giovanni was the
should be an ‘aware' faith—that's the aim “So our intent was to do an unusual man to handle the music. which right from
of the sufis for example. to have an open- picture in the horror vein. one that liope- the start was to be an important part of the
eyed faith rather than a blind one. ()bvi- fully works on the accumulation of details. lm's concept. lle was contacted and hired
ously. when people use blood sacrice in To a certain extent. you are meant to put and immediately set to work composing.
order to appease whatever gods they be- it together for yourself. l feel you mus! since all the music tracks were to be pre-
lieve in,.for us today it is a meaningless leave something for your audience to do. recorded.
gesture. partly because we kill so many you have to. There was never any question. especially
people anyway. The price of human life is “llowever. the problems are apparent. in Hardy's mind, that the film would be
almost irrelevant. If we've learned anything The film business. or what there is left of done entirely on location, strangely e-
at all. we realize that what effects us is pre- it in Engl:tn(l—it scarcely existsiis run by nough, leaving Shepperton empty the en-
cisely what we ourselves are prepared to do people who like to play safe. lf you've tire time. llardy immediately took off and
and not what a third force will do for us. gone on the stage with something that's spent six weeks scouting locations through
We must become aware ourselves that made a fortune for all involved. they say, Scotland. while Snell completed signing the
nothing is going to come from that. You ‘Oh, yes let's do the film. We lozw it.‘ technical crew. mostly chosen from Shep-
can sacrifice an ox. a human being. a peli- Same with a book on the best-seller list. lt perton personnel. and actors.
can. any damn thing you want -nothing's takes no great talent or act of courage to From his trip. knowing his actual pro-
going to happen. select a property. liut you submit an origi- duction time would be limited. Hardy de-
. “The further point is this: if by sacrifice nal. and they'll regard it as. you know. . . signed a "shooting journey" in order to
you come to believe that as a result of it one of IflI).\‘l‘, and put it well down on the best utilize the crew's time and keep logis-
you have to do something. whether it's dig list for production. below one that has tical expenses low. Newton Stewart. on the
the soil or whatever to make the crops guaranteed a success by succeeding in an- Cree River in southwest Scotland. was .1-
grow. then it could fill a certain function. other medium. Originals are difficult to get greed on as production base. Snell's final
We still sort of sacrifice people: look at done. and I think it is the fault of the peo- budget allowed for a 7-week shooting
sports J/4 of the sportsmen of the world go ple who sell the films and advertise them." schedule, although an additional two days
onto the football field or whatever wearing were eventually required.
some sort of emblem or carrying a rabbit's _ Certainly in the sense of time and mon-
foot. You min eradicate Cl belief. That you v- PRODUCTDN ey, THE WICKER MAN was £1 small pic-
are born with it. or inherit it. to some ex- n . _ , ture. .-\nd oddly enough. as with a surpris-
tcnt you can rationalize it. And it could The 5C\'lP‘ “'35 bnlllant and l"lP\’0' ing number of small movies. production.
have a value. so that two and two will not ducible, except with a budget of like while Complicated. wcnt very smoothly-
always make four. $7 mi]|i0"_" The sole problem was this. and it was the
Of course, we have tended to give up _pau| Giovanni only thing everyone complained about. the
uman sacrifice. although maybe those of _, . ,, cold weather. As Tony Shaffer observed.
us who think this government should go. The mm was mad‘? u’ $759~000' "Such was the great wisdom of the British
should actually start now and go down to —R0l)ln llardy film industry" that a film crucially set in
Trafalgar Square and get a few fellows and March was photographed in October and
burn ‘em up, Ruql sacrifice is still here; it's By t\lay of 1972. a businessman named November with the temperature constantly
that you sacrifice yourself, change the pat- John Bentley had wrested control of Brit- dropping and the onset of winds and rain
tern of your life, gin; up something that ish Lion. and he promptly brought in Peter more and more probable. During produc-
means sometlting to you. That's what sac- Snell. an independent producer (his credits tion. it got to the point that more than
ricc is about, nnl something tli.1t“s merely include. in the genre, GOODBYE GEMINI. just llardy the neophyte were working un-
trying to bring in a force that can have no in I970). who had come over to London dcr the gun.
conceivable way of helping you with your from Canada. to run the company as man- Both Hardy and Shaffer were satised
problems. aging director and head of production. At with the casting. although the latter was
“As in the end nf Till-1 Wlcl-{I-1R Al,\_\', the time. Shepperton was the studio arm of more critical. particularly as regards the
the question of belief is based on martyr- British Lion. and Bentley tried to sever the strange mixture of accents supposedly na-
dom. Why do you think this Zeffirelli two and began to enlist buyers for the stu- tive to the film's Scottish island. “Britt lik-
Christ thing was such a big success? It took dio acreage. which was considerable. llow- land was chosen by Peter Snell who be-
a naive and somewhat childish view of the ever. this was a highly unpopular move lieved she had a following in the U.S. She's
matter. Now l don't mean to put Howie in with the British film industry. already in a a quite limited actress, and there's that
the same league with _]esus. But this man depressed state. and the unions began to lovely Scamliiiauimi face and accent. How-
with his eyes open Iind to beamartyr. The exert tremendous pressure. Partly to ap- ever. the point is that she was pretty e-
thing Iiarl to be set up for him. and it was pease them. to convince them that he was- nough for it. Christopher has qualities and
via Judas. Judas himself is the sacrifice. n't out to asset-strip the company. Bentley defects, although the latter mainly stream
When Jesus says. ‘Greater love liaili no man decided he wanted to get something -rmy- from over-exposure in the Dracula canon.
than to give up his life for another,‘ who is I/ll‘Yl_E—lnlO production. He conferred with He's obviously been trying to get away
lle talking about? Not llimself. hutjudasl Snell, and by the Summer of 1972, the from all that. He's absolutely super to
llave you ever looked at it that way? Shaffer property appeared the most prom- work with. He's got presence and brings it

I6
§!
4»;-‘-~— 31'“
~' ~4- .--Q
__ ._p-
 “Ct-Itic bt-lit-f5. I hay‘; |]c\'g§|' t~e3||\,- ly would drop in to watch the shooting. Schoolmistress Rose (Diane Cilcnto) leads
"card pl.opc|.|\._ Thcrc is Sb each time startling the crew hecause_shc the tnembers of her class in a fertility
sum dance: as they lump over the_fire, the God
much ‘hrrc in Celtic ;“vlholog\_ ‘hat bears a marked resemblance to Queen hltz-
, - - abetlt. Her most uncomfortable vtstt, re- of the Flames makes them fruttful.
no otte has ever latd a glove on, and l members llardy. "giving everyone a fright,“
thought tt was ahottt tinte someone came during the filming of the fire-jumping
dance by the young girls, skimpily dressed a small village (also not on most maps) that
did,“ lies at the mouth of the Carran River.
__‘\mhm“. Shaffer in nude body stockings, at the stone circle.
' (The circle Itself was another “clteat:" mo- This village illustrates why llardy had to
tleled on Stonehenge, the stones were made use so many differcnt locations. "In Plock-
of stymfoant.) ton, once you go around the tttain street.
out well. lle's got an amazing voice he's which we show in the film, along the wa-
I an opera singer —lto\\'t-ver. tlte trouble with The film was sltot almost completely
him is that he jttst loves the sound of it! lle nu! of sequence and on real locations, ter, there are simply not enough buildings
I delivers what we pay him for, and that is partly due to llardy's previous documettt- behind it to esh out a town of large e-
very rare. Diane (Iilento was cltosen be- ary experience, partly to the financial nough size. And in all the towns and vil-
"nonsense" of trying to achieve authentici- lages where we shot, wltile all the buildings
cause I thought she is a very good. actress
‘ ty ttt a studio. llartly says, "For reasons of
. you see arc real, frequently if you turned
who needs to tlo more work. Robin chose the camera around, down the road might
Lindsay Kemp [as the innkeeper] , one of taste and economy, I never rcally like using
studios tf I can possibly avoid tt. In some be some dreadfully modern little house
iI the strangest choices, ever. Of course, you which would spoil the whole effort. .\latch-
neetl to cast against ty pe, especially the cases wc would alter the existing location,
put in a false door or something. But hasic- ing up locations, tacking together a homo-
\ .
stereotype innkeeper, usually stout and jol-
ally, it's all real. What art director could genous town out ofdisparatc buildings and
ly. with a Scottislt accent, grunting about even pieces of buildings, all sympathetic ar-
in an apron. Lindsay gives the part a strang- put in all the detail that we were able to
est7lte's one of the frcgtkicst people in the find and make it all believable. .»\nd abso- chitecturally, is tricky but something I find
lutely no one could have produced that ex- quite fun to do. .-\nd you really have to.
industry, l‘rn not sure ha tt-35 the right these days, anywhere in Europe, especially
choice, but ha‘; ngt the \\'rQ|1g nne either, traordinary texture of architecture which is
\\'o0(‘lward, of course. has a big following all over the place." Among the most chang- if you‘re making a period piece or sustain-
ed locations were those in Kirkcudbright, ing a mood, because otherwise you find
by his long-running C,~\l.l,_-\N television yourself accidentally staring at a telegraph
series, and he “qt; r,-Xt~¢llent_" southeast of Newton Stewart, where they
shot the sequences in the ruined church pole or television aerial."
lngt-id Pitt, in 3 §rn;tll rolg 3; tltn liln-;t. The most extensive shooting was done
rian, tt-as the only perfnrtncr if|"|pt)§¢d nn and the sweet shop, where a false staircase
was built for the scenes with llowie, the near Newton Stewart. including the school-
the pt-o(lttt~tiQn_ and tlt-_tt “~35 for rt_~;_t§un5 uf house and inn sequences. Other locations
better gocuring bnnkittg through Rank Ci|1g- post tnistress (Irene Sunters) and her little
girl. used included Stranraer, north of Logan,
' mas (British Lion, a5 ;t production and, ut1- the departure point for a ferry to Northern
def Snell. distribution company, controls The Logan Gardens, tn Scottish Gallo
way, were used for Summerisle's "tour" of Ireland. The final scenes were shot on a
no theatres). lluwe\'t_-t-, that plan misfgtl peninsula called the .\lachars, which is sur-
vi;,t an itttgitlent, quite fnnny hnt, , ,tl¢lie;tt¢_ his land with Howie. .\laintained by the
Scottish Botanical Gardens. Logan is only rounded by beaches, cliffs and sea-swept
that happened on location during a late rocky coasts. The scenes of Howie attempt-
evening liirtltrlny party, that no one intgt-. one of a string of four or five similar gar-
dens along the western coast. 'l'hey are not ing to escape through the caves were shot
vietvetl would give pcniggiun tn rt-v¢;tl, at yet another spot, an historical property
llowever, her chief ittgffetjtittcnggg tn tln; very large, only ten to fifteen acres each,
but the variety of plants and foliage, and called St. Xinian's Cave, near the site where
film lies ntngtly in the intjgttgfuity of ltgr Ninian established the first Christian chapel
strung Crtgrntgtn ;tt<¢t~nt_ those palm trees, are exactly as they appear
in the film. in 397 (a fact somewhat ironic to the film).
\'t,ie¢-5, apart from (<lttnl)ing_ will nut,
llowcver, because of the time of year, The production cotnpany had no trou-
but the endless fascination of film is its po- ble gaining permission to shoot in all these
tential for trickery. The film ‘s tiny island while the plants were still green, they had
no flowers and buds, which lcd to art di- areas, including the National Trust Proper-
of Summerisle is actually a series of 25 dif- ties. Quite to the contrary, laughs Hardy;
ferent locations, most of them on the Scot- rector Seamus Flannery's biggest headache:
dressing each individual plant with blos- despite the film's themes “the authorities
tish mainland, spanning a distance, north were delighted. And I think we did a great
to south, of nearly I90 miles. The differ- sorns. In some of the long shots, this a-
mounted to a ltundred or more plants, es- job, really, for Scottish tourism."
ence in terrain, and of course, weather con- One of the most striking passages in the
ditions made the task of cinematographer pecially in the scenes showing the apple
trees. This was largely accomplished by film, which illustrates the extraordinary
Harry \\'axman to match shots quite ardu- thematic wedding of music and image in
ous. Carrying around a truck full of trees and
plants wired with blossoms which could be 'I‘lII-I WICRER .\l.-\l\', occurs during Sgt.
.'\ prime. nearly perfect example of tltis Howie's second night at the inn: Britt Ek-
sort of fakery was Summerisle's castle, attached to existing trees and plants.
The aerial shots near the beginning of land's nude seductive dance. .-\t that point.
which was “composed” of two different the screenplay only vaguely describes the
castles. about 40 tniles apart. Cttlzean, near the film were shot over islands on the way
lo Skye, a largt‘ island which with Lewis movements, and Ilardy brought in Stewart
.~\yr, on the western coast of Scotland, was
abut the far northwestern Scottish tnain- Hopps, a choreographer who was formerly
used for exteriors; however, the interior director of the Scottish National Ballet. lle
was .-\rlam period, or 18th Century, which land. Some of these islands do benefit from
the attributes of the film's Summerisle, the also helped out on the .\I:ty Day procession
was contrary to the film‘s Storyline which and the May Pole dance, in which the boys
had Summt-risle's grandfather, a classic warm water and soil conditions, although
Inost are not inhabited. .\lany are com- move around like stiff, little wicker men.
Huxley-csque, Darwin-esque figure,comittg lle and llartly and Giovanni, who was on
to the island in the l800‘s. The needed plctely barren because the sheep, which
people have grazed there for generation af- location all the while to supervise the mu-
Victorian interior “qt; lorated in l,or<l sic. worked together laying out l-lkland's
Stair‘s castle, ttear Wigtown. This castle was ler generation, have destroyed every single
tree and shrub. Indeed, as Hardy notes, movements and blocking for the camera.
so massive, with huge rooms, that the crew
"The grazing has been so destructive to the Hardy claims it was not difficult, despite
used only tlte foyer as Suntmerisle‘s draw- the time spent rehearsing. Iikland had had
ing room, the real room was much too lantl that it was necessary after World War
ll for the government to implement ahuge no prior dance experience and was three
large. months pregnant at the time, which gave
The otld landscaping outside the Stair re-foresting program all over Scotland to
save the land.“ a fullness to her gure. llcr lack of dance
castle was put to good use by llardy. Lord training actually worked to her benefit,
Stair himself occupied the land for 50 The real Summerisle. which is not‘ on
most maps. although viewers of the film since llardy wanted everything as naturalis-
years under the llanoverian crown. lle re- tic as possible. “l didn't want ‘balletic'
tired there complete with his two regi- might lta\'e scurried to their atlas to try attd
find it, lies even fttrtlter north, But, as Snell movements. These people were to be local
ments of cavalry and designed the grounds people, doing things that ordinary people
surrounding the castle with mounds and cracked, “The real Summcrisle is probably
today inhabited by two men and a goat." would visualize. F.kland's dance was prob-
small pockets to he used for maneuvers to ably the most carefully worked out se-
keep the men occupied. The present Lady The scenes showing Howie‘s seaplane ar-
ri\'ing in the harbor were shot at Plockton. continued page 3'1
Stair still lives in the castle and occasional-

18
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Ramly 11\'e1' all 1l1;11 Iifr 111i1;I11 .11 least l1'.1n (;11ff .1111l Ilen I{11I1e1‘ls. 'l‘I1e 1w11 are
I-'1'a11ris . . . . . . . . . . . P1111-1-II .1111-.1 .111

l1.1\'e s111111- se111l1I.1111'e11f1111r111;1I1 1".’ 111-rl1a|1s I1es1 k1111wn f111' 1l1ei1' 11111-I; 1111
'l'l11- .1p|1e;1r.1111'e 11f 1111- (111n111‘iI 1l11es .\l.\X.\lX a111l (ZlI.\I(l.lli'S .-\.\(§I-'.l..\'.
'l'I1e f11ll11wi1n; 1|1111n- l‘r11111 I{11l1e|-ls is
l'11 .11-1>i1l I11.-ing l.1l11-le1l ;1s11rej111li1'1-1|. I give 1_-1'e.11er i111|11'l\ls 111 .\'a111I111.111 I'1'.1111'is'
inln-r1'11ll1' m11111n11;|l1i;11'.1I |1111‘sni1 11f I.11qan. I11 1I1e n111s1 re1'e;1Ii111;: “\\'1- 1';1111e 111 .\I(i.\l 1111.1
a1l111il lI1e1'e is 11111l1i11g 11111111;
l.()(l.\N'$ l{l'N inln 11iI111. ;1f|\'r 111eeli11q 1I1e l".l1l1-rs. I-‘1‘.1111'is is 1le\'rI11|11111‘111 1Ie.1l. . .\\'1"1‘1" 11111 s1'ie111'e fie-
willi lr;111sf11r111in1; a
if 1i11n 111-111111-." l111lee1I. |1e1‘I1.1|1s 1I1e seripls
'l‘\'series. I11 fa1'1. 111~11nI11'i1111s;11l\';111l.11;es le1l 111 I1eIie1'e 1I1.11 l1e 11'1'r1- s111‘1‘e§sl'11I i11
and (luff
11111s| l1.1\'eI1een i1n111e1Iia1ely a]1|1;1ren1 111 1'a111111'i1114 l,111;;111. 111' will 1111e 1l.11' l11- .111- seeni 11ri1;i11;|l .1111I i11\'e111i\'e 111
lillle |111i111e1l 1111si1i1111 1I1e (I1111111'il. II111 I{11I11-rls. 'l'l1e s1-1’11111l rpisnile 1ele1'as1
lI1e 111-111I1i1'ers: l'i1-sl. 11r 1111 1'1'e11li\'1< .1 1111

l.111;.1n's 1(;1'1-141111" llarris1111) rr.1s1111 f11r l1e- 1I1-all 11'i1l1 111i111l 111111111] I11‘ aliens in11'n1
eff111'1 is really-111-e1Ie1I l11a1lap1;111 .1l1'ea1I1'
exisiing 1'1n11'1-111 111 lel1'\'isi1111. 1l111s eIi111i— 1"11n1in-4 .1 1'nnne1' is f;11' less 1'11n1'i111'i111;. Ile 11|111n iakinq 11nr l1er11es as s|1e1'i1111‘11s f111'

11111 1111111e1's_]essi1';1 (II1-.11l11*r .\le11/.iesI..1111I 1I1ei1' i1111-1-1;.1I.11'1i1" "/.1111: lI1e 1I1i1'1I wi1I1 .1
naling 1|1e |1r11l1l_e111 11f1le\'i>i11\1 an 11ri1;i11;1I
seieiiee fi1'li1111 f11r111a1. S1.'1‘11111IIy. an 11|1~ all 11f 1l1ir11 se1’1n11ls 1.111-1'. is .1|1|1.11'r111Iy I1i1; 1_1.1111e ln11111'r 111111. Ii1111sI1ei111_; few an1I

1111rl\111i11' (al I1-asi i11 lI1e|1il11lI11111-I1'1111 111'1's11.11|e1Il11sl11|1 l"1'a111'i~ ll{.1111I1- l'11welI) far I1e1111-en, nies 111 lake I.1>1;.111 ;1n1I
;1111|1le s1111'k f11111;n;e 11I11ain;1I1Ie fr11111 1111' 1111e1111s1i1111s ll11' l111nl;i1114 I1i111 1111 1l1e I-'r.1111'is as I1is |11"1-1'. ()lI1er e|1is111I1~s 1Ie.1I
.1 free/.e 1lri1~1l 11s1'1'l111|1a1I1 In-11111;l11
film. IIIUS saving mneI111 I1111 ks. Siill 11 l1e;11lI ;1n1l flee wilI1 _]essi1 a. (I11nl1l i1 l1.11'e 11-i1I1:

lllinl .11lv;111la1,'e m11s1 I1.1\'1‘ .1p|1eal1-1| 111 l1een _]1-ssi1'.1's i111|1.1ssi1111e1I \"|1eeeI1 ("l.11— 111 lifi-:.111 insane .1s1'I11111 rnn I11" 1I1e in-
(IIIS 1-s1-1'111i\‘1-s. a111l lI1al is 'I'lll~l l~'l'(il- q.111.11111'1-1'11111IiI11~1I1e111l11-1's. . .(Ia11111seI sa11e; .1 111a1’I1i11e w|1i1'l1 s]1lIls_]1'§§ll':1 i11111
I'I\‘I'l slyle f11r111a| 11111‘ I11‘r11es I1ei1114 is a lie. ..(I11111ewi1I1 111ea111ll'i111I S:1111'111- l11i11s. 1111e 1;11111l. 1I1e 111l11'r evil; a n1is-
hy |1.nl1Iies .1r1'.")'.' .\'11. X1-e1|I1-ss 111 say, 1l1e s1 ene 1;11i1l1-1| 1i1111- |1'.1\’ele1'. .\111Is11i1 14111-s.
l111111e1I every 11-1-1-k i111enl 1111

1ap111ri111;.1111I/11r1l11in1;1l1e111 I1111lil1' l1;11'111. was n111'11111'i111i1114. even1'i1Ii1'nl1111s1'1111si1l' If 1I11- 11ri1inq is 11111 |1r11111isi111;. 1I1e
Well. fine .1|11I 1411111l; \\'1"\'c 1111\\' 14111 .1 1-ring ll\1‘ fiflli 'I'I1.111l;\14ivi11g play
1;1'.11le Iisl ulwrilers is \\‘illi:1111 I". .\'11IaI1. Il;1rI:1n
1el1'\'isi1111 series 1l1a1 mnsl <‘er1ai11|\' l1a\'e |1erf111'111.1111'es11l'1l1e.11'1111's. l-.lIis11n, l);1\'i1l ($1-1'1-11I1l. _]1>I111 .\lere1IilI1-
i111|1ress1-1|? .\p|11-al 111 I'rrl1.1|1s s11n1e 1111111111111111.1111l'11rl1111;11e I.111";1s. \\'I11‘ lI\1'11 i11feri11r seri|1l11'ri1i111;?
141-1-.11 .1|1pe;1|. N111
wI111111'.’ Y11n'Il 11111i1'e I111w up 111 111111‘ 1-n11n1;l1 111 11.111l1 1I1e p1'e111i1-1' e|1is111Ie 111 \\'I11' is i1 1I1;11 |1n11l111'e1's wI111.w11rki111g1111
.1111‘ s111'11'e1Ii111; sI111ws. 1'x111'1'ie111'e1l ;1 feel~ lheir 1111-11 lnrl. 1.111 1le\'ise 1*X1'elle11l
S i111; 11f lsI1111l1l1-rlllr/'11 l'11'.’ (iI111s(s.(iI111§1s 1|ra1n.1. i111er1‘s1in1; sil11.11i1111s.f\1Il1'1li1ne11-
by PCtCI' . PCl'21l\OS 11111111111 111 1.111;.1.s's 1<1:x.'1"1.1»i11~ 111-114 1111111111111-11|-111$ :1

1 20
 <
<

SUSPIRIA
. . .hackncyc(l in concept, but cxpcriinciital in form. . .
SI‘Sl’lI{I.\ .\n lllIL'I'Il;|lll)Illll (lliissirs Rn'- lip In .l l'llI\\llX. .\ri;ciil<> l'lI1!|)S('§ In pl'u~ llin.-i~-iliinclisiuiml l|ii.i|ily. I'iifurl\|li;|ll"|y.
lciisc (20th (Iv|ll||l'y-I*'iix). .\'/T7. In 'l'vi'l\- \'iili- his l>ig\_grsl lhrill iii-.ir |l\l' iipi-iiinlg of his (‘X]l\'l‘lI!\L‘lII in liqlilinig. \\'hilv.~ iiiiblc. is
Illl'l)ll|I'. 9'1 ininiilcs. .\ .\';il\';ilii|'1' .\rgrii|u/ lhv picliirv. \\'hill.* this sri-iic. in \\'l\ll'l\ .l iiiisiirci-ssfiil. Iii iryinl; in sci imIi\'ill\i;il
Si-llii S|>cll;ici>]i S.|i..l. (Rullic) I’miliii'- Inn-ly igirl is llll£I\'l\('(l by “si>iiu-nlic HI’ lnuulls by liqliiinl; lliffcrciil kvy scciics in
liiiii. I'rmliicul by (Iluiiilin .\n.;c|llii. l)i- suiiiulliiiig liim-vii," is filliicil with lic.|i-l— \'.iryi|li; li;ii'sh hiics l|l\l' ninilmus li;ill\\';iy
I"I.'L‘l('ll by l).|i'iu .\i-igi-iiili. Sri'i'c|l|il.l\' by Ill|\|l\\llIl_l1 \'l‘l‘\'\' ;|nil \'i|'liiiis"iiy lhr slim is .i briqhl lriliisnn. fzircs arr lil llllIl' ur
l)iirii> .\l'Qt‘I\lU, I).lri.| Niinliiili. llii-i-rlnr uf llcr f.ii'c bvinil ]>\|ll\'<l .ii;.linsl .ll\ll fi|i.ll— igrccii for fl';l!'l. IlIL' lvrliliiqilv bi-ruincs sii
uf plililni;r.l||l\y. l¢\Ill.|lI|I 'I'u\'uli. .\I'l Ill" ly llimilgli .i wiliilnw is .i ii-iisu .lllll sliin- I-xix-ssi\'c in ils nhscssiiiii \\‘illI llw rnlur
rl-rlui'. (ll\l§l'|l|l(' Biissziii. luilill-ll hi I~'i'.ln~ nini; n.|il-hilrr lhi-rc is imlliini; l\'fI In \\‘l1Cl'l ili;|i I fiiiiinl iii}'xl'lflm>ki|i|_g for lhc
cu I"r;llii'clli. .\Ii|sii' by (Zublin \\'lIl\ lhc ri\'.il il. Ynu iiisl ilnn'l upcli \\ilh ynlir ;iliilnin||m (Il\ris|m;is lrvv §l>II‘H'\\'l\l'I‘l‘.
l'I)ll1lll<IlIll)I\ llf l).irin .\l';_ll.~liln. bcsl li.imI. .\IllIllIl'I' gmnl l(lL';| klllL'Il by n\'l:r-<'xl:r-
l'll¢' .s'lui'y l'l)l\l'L‘I'IIS .l clui'—c§ oil ymini; liuii is llir iisv: nf (inlilili. ;| sun ufpii§\.i-
Susy Iiziliyun . . . . . . . . _]i-s.\i< .l lI;|r|ii~i- pi-oily. ||l;iyi~il willi silffiriviil linici-iiy by fnl 'I'.ini;l-riiic l)rc.i|n. \\'llU pruvillcil lhc
S;ir.i . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Slcl'.ini.| (I.|sini _]i'ssil;i lI.||-pcr ll’Il.\.\"l'().\I ()l-' 'I'IIli film's iiriqilml snirc. (Iublin. \'l‘I\'Y.|IlS uf
.\l1lIliIH1l’ lIl.ink . . . . . . . . ._]i>;in llriiiu-ll l'.\l{.\l)l.\'I-ll. \\'l\lI l'l\I‘l)"$ in .I si-rliillul film. ])I'li\'llll’ l'('|I\‘|lll\‘l' l‘l('l'Il’UlIll' mnlifs,
Timlii-r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\liil;i \';illi (lcrmzin srlmnl fur (llII1l'(' ili \\'lIl(’l! fri~_-lil- ruiii)>li-iiiciilvll by hc.i\'y lIl’l'.|llIlI1L[.
Dziiiivl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . I"|.l\'iu liuiri uning L'\'\'l\I§ .in' Likiliq |ll.Il'(‘. 'l'liu l"ri'i- s'l'l'c;iiiis imil inuiilis \\-hirh. by lhr lime
Psyrliiiilrisl . . . . . . . . . . l'ilu Kicr hiirq 'I':ili/. .\k.iil1'niin' is .in \lIIl!l'llL'\'L|lll\' IliL' llirrrlm‘ l\\'l\u is l'Y('(lll('l| us iissislim;
Scrviiiil . . . . . .(liiisi~p|u' 'I'i‘.iiisui'i hi i;.irisli. hlmiil I'(‘ll .\ll'\I\'l\Ifi' uf in.issi\'i- |n'u- willi llic liiilsir;il rniiilmsiliuii) is lhrnuigh
lmrliiiii. I)il'i-l'lui- .\rqviilii. .l fiirllicr fihn \\'i|l\ il. sniniils likr IlIL' I)i\'ni-y “(Iliillinq
irilir \\lu> i'l.iims I{m;i'r (Iivr|n.iii's Puc 'l'hi-illin\_l Smilnls inf 'I'ln- ll;|i|iiii'il Iliiiisc"
si-|-irs .is .I ni.|iur l\I\l\'III('. iniunils ll\l' ll.lllu\\rcii .|lli\iiii. 'l'lii- film's smlnil is
$1’-§'l'll{l.\, ili'.s'|\ilr ils.il'ly .|\|IlI'.IlllIlI>. liiiilllllig In l.ilu' un ll\l' I4lll‘ uf iiinlislvi‘. \_'i'<'.i|ly \‘l\l\;lIl(\'ll by llic iisr nf s'li'rl'u.
is .l \'i'ry \'HI\\'l'I\lllIlI;|l l;ili~ ulis<'iii'cil bi Ihil \\'llll(' (Iurin.ili's"m.msr iii ll()I'.\'I~.()I* iniil (ii-blin's' lI\ll.\'ll' is i'.i|i.|l>lv. if il bil
iilmillimliis ll'.ippiiii;s. ll is in \\'iilcr—ili— I'SIIl',I{. fur i~x.iiiipli-. is lIIlk‘IIlll'|l .is' Al 4lk'I'l\'.IIl\(‘ lif 'l'.lni;i-rinc I)n:.|m imil .\lii'h-
l'&‘\'ll!l' I).li'iu .\rl;l-||ln's rim-ilii IlI.lI llL' h.is l'rc\|ili.iii .iii.ili»gy. ('l|\l.|llI\Q \hi~ lim|s'v .It'l()l<llil\‘l1l.\ “'l'||bi|l;|r Ill-lls."
;|lll'l!I]llL'll Ill ]l!'H\'lllL‘ .ii-lilii i;il l'\'§|llI‘.IIllHl \\illi .I \\-ii|n.l|i\ lmili, \\'lll\ Rnili-i'i<'k _\'I'.\'I’Il{l.\ is |ii~rpli~xiiii; .lI\ll .ili|iuyiiil;
lo ii sliiry \\'l\ll'll ~_rn'\\' ;| bil luni; in lhv Iishcr bi-ins; \'lIIl.\'\lII1Cil by l|h' $§II\lIlil. In-i.li|~;i~ ii is such .| l'UIIl!'.|(li('ll(II1. ll is
umllilli~r;|lli's:ii;u. hiil ll1L'|'I.‘S\Il|;|IIl |liisli- ,\i-qvliiii ill'.ils' in .\ |l\\Il'lI l\'§\' (\lI11])ll‘\. li.n'kni-yrll in ll)II\'l‘|Il. biil (‘\[)L’l'llI\l‘Ill.|l
l!\;l$lI uf svlf-i|liliil;_l1'iirc iliii-s liillr lu l“lIl'l' si||u~rl'iri.ll fin-in. ()iii' of his iiujur in fiirm. lls fiiiusl iiiulm-nis .ii'u lnily
\\'l1lIlll‘ .m.|y llIl‘l;i§'(‘l'\'lif1'lll'l\\'. slim-in-iiiilii,-s zis bnlh \\I'll\'I' .il\<l ilirci'lm- |l|‘l)|\\l\'lI\L{. hiil llii" rvsl uf llir film hi-~
In ullciiilvliiig ll) work mllsiilu Il\L' livs in lhc f.iii ll\.|I lhc s'lni'\ is llH' lr.|sl l'UII1CSi\|§I lln\\'ni‘ii;h| \fH/Ifl/.
hiiulills of urlliullux ('l)II.\'lT\l(‘llUI\_ .\I'L{('l\' nfhis<'nlisil|i'r.iiiulis. I'hc firsl lnilrilcr srciiv of ilir filln is
In lulmsc filiiis llli'l\lLll' IIIRI) \\'I'I'II 'I'llIi ll is .I sli.imr ili.il lhis film is siirli .l lll.lI'\'l'll)\l\'l\' I'lll)l'k'(IQI'.|Illll‘ll .i|ul i-xi'ilini_'.
' (IR\'.\"I'.\I. I'l.I’.\l;\GI'. ;ilii| I)lil-.I’ RI-'.l)) l.iiliil-c ll" .|ll .\H‘.I.\' csii-pil-iixu1'l'ii'i-Ll».-— ll\l|. qiulil.lniii il. \\'ll\'Il .i igirl bi-rniiics
lIl‘,I]l.\' |IfL‘lL‘I\|l(Il\ iipnn prl-lciilinli. .|ml 1 .llisr .\rqi-illu s'l\i\\\'> .i l'i-\\ fl.islu-s Ill p.ii— lr.lp|ii-ll in lumps uf win’ lull-r in lhv film.
pn>\'iili's ;\IPl(' i-\'illi'm’c .is In \\'h\' Il1('l'(‘ iii ii|.lr l.ll\'l\l .II\ll in\_-i-lniil\'. llis |lI’lIII.lI\' uhcn il is uliviuiis lh.ll slic l'lI\|l\l ilisl slcp
. l'.\' am nrlliullns form: lIL‘(‘1l\l§\' ii \\llI'l\\. In in I lllI'\'lI\l‘l1I is .i l\l'.|l|lI\' ilusv ul sl-Il1i'.v|i— illll l\'H\l <'.in __l lI'.I\ liizllly Iii-.lr llir llil'(‘l'll|T
llis;|\'m\'ili_i; ihv rlllvs iifllu'q.i|m-. lIk‘l1>\k'.\ linl; his nil IIll’l‘\' .II'\' \ll.II'.ll u'ri/.i'il. illlll sliiiiiliiiq. (Zrl yniirsclf in ilwlii-r. hum-y
si'\'i~r;il i>|1|mrl||iiiiius In .I('llll'\'l‘ sliiiik, .\IIlHll\l‘Il‘Il, hs his l|n\ii'lilin-; s"clf»iiiili|l- iIl'l like yuii l’.in'l qvl mill"). ur \\l\l'|l
siispi-iisr, ;|nil .iii¢liciiic lI1\‘Hl\'l'II\\‘I\l. \1('I\(I.‘. .ill nf lhc si lmul iin'li|\.iiils .irr lIl\'ll\l.l\Cll
\\'Iiili- il is i;viu'r.l||y .li'u-plvil lh.ll ynil III" 'l'.iLcn on ils l)\\I\, Il\\' ,\l>s.|1lK'lI\ll' is .I in Il\\' gvili llluv lu Ll liiri-ly (lllIl\'I\\.I\1Q<II
l'lIl'.\'lI‘.Ill' .\‘ll.\'])l'lISl‘. liliilililii; il in l.lyi-rs l'ciii.irk.ibh~. if .iiiiii-\iii~_l_ bil inf .irl (lll'l‘l'- lI\fl'\'I.llll)I\l. .| \'lH’l'l sl-|i;||'.ili|iq >lll(lk‘lIl>
liuii. I-'ruiii ils iglmslly I'l'\l l‘Xll'I'lllI'. ll) ils fiiiln Illa iill\. .inil lhc \\lli-0/iiii; nfiin nlll
iiusznv l'0I'l'lIllII'§ .|lHl ruuiiis sli linillly .l]I' l.i<l\' l)1'l'HIII('\' llic u-iiir.il ,l§])l'(l nf lhis
.\lii'k (i;|n'i.»'
is .i fl-vi’-l.l|ii'c IIIll>"ll' .mil film pl-ilili-il lli.il llu-y si rlunn. ihc .\L.lilv|iiir l<Il\\;. llii'i»\\.i\\.iy \l'l'I\\‘. \\l'll Illl' I-ffvrl is
ii>ur|l.ilisl. .iml lviill \‘iY\‘.lllSl fur IInl'~c- is lH'(I\'lll\'llil lll.II'.|1 Il‘I‘ lh.ll is Il\lIl'l' I.'\'l'k‘l\~ .iii \lllllIIl‘ll\ll'(l l;|i|i;l\.
fl'.il|u'|'s. ;| Ilolly\\'nml-li.isi-il ¢'lIll'Il'l.|II\' Il'll' ih.in s'i|iislrr. IIiii\'i'\’rr, il is lhiriiv .\r- I .iin l|\lll(' .| f.il\ nf i-xpcriiiii'li|.il filin-
i-urk biinll. igi-iilu'.~' sinimlli <liri'i llllI\ inf l.\ll l.lIlii I'ii- m.lkiiii4. bill ils‘ \'\ll'lL'.\.\' n-lics Il\l\'\' on .i
\nli's l'il\l'm.lloqlzipliy wliilli glzilils llll‘ lli|'nlii|"s srlisc inf i|is'<i|ilil|i'. l).il'iu .\r-
4
' _' hilli<l'in-i_ ils
' llll‘. HIhr llinil
i ' i.inii-rzl IIIH \'l‘-
mcnls givr llll‘ |)ll'l\|l'l‘ .III iiiu-rvsliml,
\l'Illll llilllll s pill
_- ' .i m .i.slulfnl
mily kl]!!!klIllilll\'l>l|ll>l\ll.
'

I
l.lll’ il lIc'il

ZI
 Scenes from
RUBY. Curtis
ll;1rringtun's latest
picture. I: Leslie
Claire (_]a11it
< ll.1ldwin). Ruby's
"possessed" little
girl. J: Ruby faces
her pliatttom lo\'er.
.\'icky (Sal
\'eccl1io)..i: Ruby
I
(l’iper Laurie)
reminisces about
""' "‘
the good ultl days
witl1_]akc (l"red
Kohler]. -I: Nicky ¢_.
retttrns from tl1e
dead. and Ruby's
past for revenge.
Q

RUBY
1

I RUBY .~\ l)in1ensiun Release. :'1/77. ln ready assembled project). \\'ith these as credibly complicated. The title character.
(Iolur by Cl-‘l.¢‘l:'i1ni11utes.lixecutivepro- its tnost prominent features. few 111ovie- broadly played by Piper Laurie. is tl1e
t dead gangster's o11e-ti111e gun n1oll. now
ducer. Steve Krantl. Produced by George goers will probably give RUBY :1 moment
F.dwanls. Directed by Curtis Harrington. of serious tl1o11gl1t. Those who do. how- living i|1 seclusion at the old nightclub
Screenplay by l".dwards a11d Barry §chnei- ever. 111ay fit1d tl1e fil|11 revealing o|1 a witl1 their autistic teenage daughter.
der. Story by Steve Krantz. Original 1nu- cottple oflevels. Ruby operates the drive-in (inherited
sic composed. arranged a11d conducted by Harrington's affection for tl1e great from the gangster). \vl1icl1 is suddc11lydu-
l)on lillis. ln cl1arge of postproductio11. stylists in filtn (his favorite directors are i|1g landslide business because of the Fif-
llrice .\lack. l'ldit'ed l1y Bill .\lagee. Direc- Hitchcock and Von Sternberg) is rel'lect- ties l1orror 111o\'ie cycle. The surviving
tor of photog-raphy. \\'illiam .\lendenhall. ed in eacl1 of l1is productions (e.g. members of |l1e old mob. all now working
l’rudnction supervised by Frank lieetson. G.~\.\lES. \\'ll.\T'$ Tllli .\l.-\'l'TER \\'lTll at tl1e drive-in. begi11 to turn up dead—
lllil.EN). usually i11 theirpacing and phy- hung i|1 projection bootl1. wrapped
tl1e
Ruby Claire . . . . . . . . Piper Laurie
. sical look. Nonetheless. he ret1\ai11s origi- arountl tree. impaled to the screen.
a
\'ince Kemper. . . . . Stuart Whitman nal: any weakness for mimicry 1vas prob- \\'l1en the daughter's already odd beba\'ior
Dr. Keller. . . . . . . . . . . . .Rogcr Davis ably played out i11 tl1e experi111e11tal grows stranger still. a parapsyehologist is
Leslie Claire . . . . . . . . . . _]anit Baldwin shorts l1e made in the forties antl fifties. called in. He deduces tl1at the girl is being
l.ila_]une . . . . . . . . . . .Crystin Sinclaire lle is today one of tl1e few .'\merican di- used as a medium through whom the
Louie . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Kent rectors who can create tl1at marvelotts gangster can carry ottt his vengeance.
Barney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Len Lesser \'ist1al artificiality so i11dige|1ous to llolly- That may be the doctor's dramatic func-
.-\verv . . . . . . . . . . . . _]aek Perkins wood stttdios and tltus so beloved by liur- tio|1. but from tl1e viewpoint of the at1di-
_]ess.i. . . . . . . . . . . . l"1dwardDonno opea11 critics a11d filmmakers l:1nd.~\meri- ence. l1e's good to have around for a|1otl1-
Nicky . . . . . . . . . . . .Sal Vecchio can movie buffs). itut s1|cl1 tale11ts are er reason: his running commentary is the
_]ake-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fred Knhler wasted on derivative tripe like RUBY. only tl1i|1g that makes any sense out of
which. if it is to be of a11y ittterest at all. the action (a1\d l'm still trying to figure
Sixteen years ago. Curtis Harrington depends on a rigid adherence to the strip- out whetl1er the gangster or his daughter
directed I\‘lGllT TlDl".. a film that few ped-down. bare essentials coda of exploi- committed the murders).
people saw l1ut wl1ich a handful of critics tation filmmaking. Harrington doesn't Granted. tl1e11. that the movie is a mess
touted as the work of a striking fillnmak- shrink from a vivid depiction of RUB\"s in almost every conceivable area —unfo-
er who might one day follo\v in the foot- considerable violence—l1e just treats the cttsed. illogical. desperate to the point of
steps of Dreyer or Tourneur. Harrington's intervening passages with more care and relying on crude comic relief to enliven
career since then l1as eneompassed such a tl1ut1gl1t than they warrant. or can sup- and pad the narrative. But what it does
ru|\ of l1ad lttck that the best thing most port. demonstrate. in an unanticipated way. is
current critics can say about him is that .-\ll its arty. soft-focus photography what llarrington's true forte is.
l1is films represent a triumph ofstyle o\'er at1d boring talk about parapsychology This is something that interested crit-
content. .~\ftCr seeing RUBY. his newest ca11't disguise the fact that RUBY is just a ics and filmgoers have long tried to get :1
film. they are liable to dismiss him alto- grade-C horror movie with a plot l1ook— handle o11. not just in Harrington's case.
gether. But they would be wrong. §\t])t‘t'tt;|lll!';tl revenge as old and creaky but whenever a director appears who has
.\lake no mistake about it: RUBY is :1 as this sub-genre itself. llarrington l1as lacked creative control over his films —but
terrible movie. lt is wretchedly acted. it is been saddled with uninspired scripts be- whose skills are vibrant enough to rise.
seldom even slightly e.\'citing. and its fore (as it1 Tllli KILLING KIND). llere however intermittently. above the most
screenplay could hardly be sloppier (al- the setting—a backwoods drive-in theatre. pitiful material. l)o11 Siege] and Phil Karl-
though that last fault cannot be blamed :1 rundown nightclub. the surrounding son. for example. when finally given the
on llarrington. who as usual. joined a11 al- swamp -- at first seems promising. but the chance to express themselves to their ow11
story itself. about a murdered gangsters satisfziction. virtually created a new genre.
ghostly return in the late fifties. quickly through the concept of the loner pushed
llill Kelley is a regular contributor. living grows so idiotic that Harrington has all he too far by the corrupt regimen ofsociety.
i|1.\lorris Plains. New jersey. llis career can do to keep the characters halfway be- This aml other themes had o11ly been
interview with director Curtis llarrington. lievable. let alone work on building al- hinted at i|1 their early films. though they
and Retrospect of .\'lCllT TlDl-1. will ap- mosphere. Unfortunately. the character were always unquestionably there. wait-
pear i|1 .1 l'11tun~ issue. relationships are muddled in an extremely ing to be explored. llarrington. however.
peculiar way. and simply don't bear scru- not only l1as yet to be granted similar
I
)>
I
I
KC , tiny.
For a routine potboiler. RUBY is i11-
freedom l.\'lGllT 'l‘ll)l-L is the first a11d
only project he initiated on his own). l1e

22
 C

<
<
[st

Curtis Harrington, saddled again with an uninspired script.

is also less interestetl in personality con» tended effect: instead of unifying tlte l.()(i.~\.\"$ Rl‘.\' by Peter 5. Perakos
flicts than in the backgrounds and periods ow of events. it tnakes the narrati\'e's continued from page '_'tI
against whielt tltey operate. Once satisfied irreparably choppy t|ttalily that much sitmal characters ('l'lllL R()(il'l‘..\') bttt fail
that his characters’credibility is establish- more apparent. The film's one lyrical miserably and create .\t't'-]|' itt l.()G.\.\‘S
ed. llarrington works hardest at stockpil- touch. an underwater shot of Ruby in the l{l'N? Why is it that titne and titne again.
ing tension within the setting. ln his best skeletal embrace of her long-dead lover. a competent producer or writer. having
filtns f\\'ll.\T'S 'l'lll-I .\l.-\'l'l‘liR \\'l'l‘ll is also its single glimmer of pure llarring- the task to convincingly and appealingly
lll'll.liN?. (l.\.\lE$ and of course NIGHT tott. Appropriately. it comes at the end of dratnati1.e science fiction. has discovered
'l‘ll)l".). this tactic helps him to pull the the movie. an ironic remintler of what the goal to be as elusive as finding the
rug out front under the audience at the might hayebeen. Holy Grail?
most surprising moment. by coming from RUBY wottltl be too trivial ;t filtn to The quvstimts. it svelns. are r|1elnrirul-
an unexpected direction. Obviously. it spentl tltis much titne discussing had it Tlwrl‘ "WY "t ll" 1"\5\\'1’t‘s. bttt a tn1l.l‘"'
makes him a bit tougher to read than a di- been tnade by a ntere hack witlt an :tl- Pilfl vl llll‘ Pl‘1>l1lL'"\ §l'¢l"$ I0 llv Pl‘0kl\lC-
rector who can be identified by recurring ready dreary track record. But llarrington W5‘ \'4I"\l"\l1ll l’<‘li1lI\l‘¢‘ 11" “l‘l'l'¢‘fl§" I0
character types. ltas been toiling in the exploitation under- Yi¢‘lll il1lL'l'C§l- l0 l"! ll"-‘ llfi\'i"K fltfff hf-
Significantly. the milieu of the l950s ground for too long. and the flashes of l\l"ll ill" §il"l"i""- l‘-fl1"~'l5 "lll" l" ll"
in RUBY is altogether bogus and tnislead- talent he projects under the tnost adverse "5i"“'i1\l" kind. optieals and the like. but
ing. .~\t best. it is incidental to the film's eircumstanet:s clearly show that he de~ Itv llllt "M. H5 ill ilk‘ 1‘-Til‘ Hf LO-
main purpose: belatedly ripping~nff Tllli serves better. .-\nd his ability to work har- (i-\-"5 RUX- HWY -“'1' ml‘ ll"lY T"i|\iW
l'iX()RClS'l'. Take away some oltl hot mnniously with actors like Dennis llop- of television: (,‘/tun"ll>Y1\li°|15-'“l\‘l5'5l""'
rods. a running sexual gag about a pony- per (i\'lGllT 'l“ll)li). Shelley Winters (who lists. psychosl: (Ia/tlttrr [by tnind control.
l:tiled floozy. and the spectre of .~\llison recommended him for \\'llOl-'.\'l-LR §l.li\\' ray weapons. brute force): I§.\'ertpt' tout-
llayes in .-\'I"l'.~\(IK OF Tlll-L 50 FOOT .-\UN’l“ll{ R00? after being directed by smart. outfight. outtalk). The (ihosts—all
\\'().\l.-\.\' (the dri\'e-in's feature attrac- him in \\'ll.>\'l"'5 Tllli .\l.~\'l"l'l'lR \\'l'l‘ll the invalid. insipid. ttnexeiting. unbeliev-
tion). :tntl the story could take place at\y- lll-ll.Ei\’?) antl especially the unpredict- able aspects of .\'ci-jii. have dominion. leav-
titne. l'l\'idently, llarrington felt he was able Robert Blake (Harrington ltas direet- ing tto opportunity for drama. Drama can
better off avoiding than tryin to embel- ed t\vo B.\Rl~lTT.-\ episodes) affirm that never tleyelop when people-»the human
lish such hopeless material (ghardly the his skills are not restricted to plot twists side of science fictiott —are tnade secon-
tnost inspiring icons of the Fifties). leav~ and set design. Harrington's predicament dary to the mechanisms of the storyline.
ing him with only the tnajor characters to is that he has simply ttot yet directed the People become l>ackg'ronntl. when the
fall hack on—nune of whose relationships box office smash which would bring bet- hackgrottnd should actually be the sci-
make sense. ter assignments his way. ence fiction setting in which they are
llarrington is an imaginative. erudite RUBY. of all things. may change that. foregronnded. Yet no one. not even Gene
director who has. on past occasions. per- lt looks every hit like the tnessy clash of Roddt-nberry. has dared to defy the lloly
formed admirably within the rigid con- styles that it is (the final cut and crude Trinity where science fiction television is
fines of low budget filmmaking. His se\'- tnusic were imposed over Harrington's concerned. and in doing so. go beyond
eral made-for-TV genre movies (a phen- protests, antl represent everything he ab- the restrictions of the conventional T\'
omenon representing the llollytvood as- hors in the horror genre). yet it has been fortnat.
setnbly line at its most hectic) are head making money steadily throughout the Now. .t not so rhetorical question: is
and shoulders above similar fare by other past year. ;\ltltotlglt the movie might ltave l.()G.\N'S RUN entertaining. taken on its
directors (particularly 'l'lll-I C.-\T CRli.-\- been fttn in :t scblocky way ltad llarring- own level? The answer is simple: no. LO-
Tl'RE. transformed by llarrington and ton approached it like campy junk. his (i.\.\"S RUN has no real “level:" it‘s nei-
Robert Bloch into :t rare evocation of the refusal to compromise himself probably tlter an amusing juvenile series like LOST
charm of the l93(ls pulp magazine fatt- makes him the only participant to emerge IX SP.-\Cl'l. ttor a visual effects Iuttr tlr
tasy). So RL'liY's failure is cattsed not so aesthetically uttscathed. That factor. and ,/"HT despite its $Iiti0.llllll per episode
much by its modest bttdget or rushed RL'll\"s financial success. could help to budget. One filial question: will l.O-
scltedule as by its sereenplay‘s inability to finally tnake him a “bankablc" director. G:\-\"$ Rl'\' §Ul'\'i\’k’ lllk‘ Riltitl (lime?
be anything but a glossary of grade~C mo- Since the film industry still regards the -‘\2ili"5l Ruckliokl) l'_ll1l”l-5‘ "ml ABC
vie cliches. held together by a imsy plot» horror movie as a tnere exploitation cum- l"iRll)r\\' \'l(illT <\lO\'ll'1- ll Pml‘I1Il1l}'
line. Under sttch conditions. at least one mndity. it would be both ironic anti fit- Will 1101- N"! 1" \\'<'"§'- -"'1"/1' f-n15- ll§
customarily viable llarrington tratlemark ting for someone of llarrington's refine- Kl\"§\ Will fl‘II\:tin. roantiu.\l ll"? §ll'~'"!'
V the repeated use of the slow dissolve»
achieves precisely the opposite of its in-
ment to break out by means of a lm
that is aesthetically his worst work. I empty corridors of network executives‘
minds. to be reincarnated as. . .2‘ I
23
 !'C£ll'L‘lI\ its l1';1il1-11 prc1licl.1hiliii'. Sii|1p1>s-
rally this is wluil s|;1rl1'1l<ii1i .1s ll;irl11|i lil-
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ii’ \\'11r1iui' llrus ‘J/T7. rulnr. $7 iuin.
l{1"l1';1sc.
film lvv' sccu iu iuzuiy yciirs. zui .1l>niniu _ '4» - '..Y
\\'iil\: (Ilirisiuplicr l.1-1-. Riilwrl \'.1u1;liu.
:1l1li' iu;i1lc. X-i'.1ic1l, ‘|uusi1';1l' purmly 111'
“()rigi|111ll\' ihc pru1li1r1'i's of iliis film
ili<' l'.1iry iulv il1;1i 1lm'sii'i v:\-cii ll.l\'!' l|l'
\\';|llll'£l in 141-i llu‘ jump un (Il.()Sl~'. l~l.\'-

WI
ivrvsiiiig fv1ii;ilc l'l1'sl1 [U full luck i1\\ in C()L'I\"l'l'.l{$ ()l" 'l'lll. 'l'llll{l) Kl.\'l) hi‘
.1l1snrl1 [ho |1;iii1. l .1iu liurchy l)ll(‘YlllL{ .1
iuuiiiiiig lli1‘ll' 111m'ic .\l.ll-'..\ l-lN(I()l'.\-
S5 l'k‘\\’;|l'(l 111 .1i\yu111' \\'l\(l czui 1i1.ikr: .1
czisc fur any .~\l .-\il;1iu.\'uii liliii us 1'\\-ii up-
'l'lul{. 'l'h1* sii1'1'uss iil .\"l.\l{ \\'.\R.\' l\<I\\'-
|1ru.1rliiiiq ii1uli<11'rii§'. :ii>.1n [rum lluli l..|' \‘\‘('l'. >l‘('ll\\ 11> li;1\'c|u'11i1ipl1-il \l\l' 1'1|1-ruin
ll;1r's lillcs." ImziiilI\'ur1I1ulnm1'i1- llll\'. ()ih1-r $ll\\ll.|!'lllt'\ In 1ii.1j1>r ]>l'0(l\|i—
iiuus .1n- piircli llIll\l'lllCl\llll. l'liis i.ili.~11l'
(il'l{.\'l". ()l~' 'lllli l§l..\(IK \\'ll)()\\' ll)llIl ignml .llHl 1'\'il .1li1-us l1.11ili1i1; nu-r lllL' l'.1lv:
(Iu|'iis| .\ll(I—'l\'_ fl/T7, rulur. lllll mili- nf ihu l'..1rih f1~.iiiirus lllllu .1p, piv |il1\ll'.
\\'iili: .\Hll\l)ll)' l‘r:1iirius.1, l)uiui;1 .\lil|s, .uul i_;.1rl1.1i;c 1'.1u ll(l yiiig s;1ii1'urs, 111$-
l'.uii' llukv .\$llll,‘l\ll\L' .\llys1m. \'i1' .\l11r— liiiiics 1i'miiiis1'1-iii iii" l'rc1|ui-i1'l.'s 1>l'llnl-
mw. “(Iurlis iiipcs .1 iuiic lh.il liy lHI\\' l\l‘ lyivnuil. .1ii1l .1 .\'.ilur1l;1i iiiuruiiig <".1ru>u|1
luimis hy I11-.1ri. .1ii1l l1;1slics up yci .1null1’ l(‘\'L‘l 111' sui>liisli1.1ii1m ll\.|l sli11i1l<lliccii1—
h.1i'r.1ssii1i_;lu L1-1-.1ii<l \'.1u1;hii."
1-r \'l(ill'l' S'l'.\l.Kl'. R xcriis \\'iil1uL1l1'\'cu
. l"rm|Ic _/m‘/\'.m|i
\l‘|(' \'1'r\‘1' nr su.1|i Ill ;1 l).1rr\'u .\li'(i.i\'i|i [U

24
 llul|y\\'<1ml's “Holly 'l'l11~;1trt-" l111.~'t1-cl :1
on thc 1-1'1-|1i111; ul' Sq»
1111i1|1|1' l1;1p|11~11i11g
tvlnliur Tilt with thr 2:'1tl1 Sil\'cr .\11|1i\'c1'-
sziry “R1'~l’1't'111irr" of thc .\l:1rti:1|1 ln\'.1'
sinn r|,1ssi1'_ ll. (i. \\'1'|l§' 'l'lll‘l \\'.\R ()l"
‘l'lll~'. \\‘()Rl1I)S. (lutiiplctc wi1l1 klit-1;
Q1 \__, llqlth. 1'cl1-l1riti1'~'. 11111l |‘;11li11 ;1111l 'l‘\ 1'11\'
L‘l';|11t.‘, the 1;;1l:1 1-11-111 1'clcl1r;1tc1l l';1r;1~
111111111t'>' 11:1tiu11witlc r1--is§111' nl thc film
1111 .1 1lu1|l1lc~l1ill witl1 \\'|ll-LN \\’()l{I.l).\'
(I()l.l.ll)li.
R1-1111itc<l;1t thc 011-111 lnf thc first timc
sincc tln-1‘ w1>|-kcil t11qctl11~r1111 thr l'il111 i11
,..,< tho ratrly l'il'ti1's \\'crc pr111l11<-vr (21-n1'qc
f ‘Y’, Pal. l1';11li111; lznly .\11|1 l{t1l1i11m11\. s11|1|111rt-
i'1':i\i) 1 7:’ I1.-. ing ;11't11r Lus 'l'n'111;1§'11c. .1111l s11111t111;111

{ ;1111l l'11r1111.'r lmxing 1'l1;1111|1i1111 ".\l11sl1y"

(I;1ll;1h;1|1. I501‘ \'ul 3 X11 l l'11|'.11'1>111pl1't1'

1/_ 1.
1_4§|l
'

J
l‘
‘
R1: l ms I 1 mt
Slur
~

4-\1111
1111 thc
Rul1i11.\"u11,
tl11~s1'rcc11;1|11l<'1>11s11l1-rul lust l1y111:111§
-
l1l11
' 1 .1 111l

111111;
..
it\'111;1ki11-.|
M
:1l1sc11t l'n1111
..
ci111'|1l1ilcs ;1111l film l1ist11ri;1|1§. :1ligl1t1'1l
fr<1111hcr rl1;111llcn-tl li11111si11c wry 111111'l1
1 _.
t\ "t ~ “fou111l";1111l ;tt1l1>\\'. still :1striki111; w1>111;111
\ z
11<1w that shc is i11 l1c1'l'11rti1:>. Slic w.1s cw
rurtcil hy l11'r twu s1111s.‘];1i1111- ;1111l lustr-
f:111 B1211-11. Qm-riul why she h;11l nut pur-
suctl hcr )1m|11isi11_11 :t1"ti111; 1';1r1'1.'r. just
tn
1'u111i11g l1lu11|11 witl1 hvr first ln'.11li|11;
rnlc-i11'l'lll-I\\',\R ()F'|'lIl*. \\'()Rl.l)$. tlic
rc1ll11'11¢l .\lis.\" R11l1i11sm11-x]1l;1i|1c1l tl1;1t hvr
1‘ lnzirringv to \l1'xi1';111 |11:1t;11l11r_]:1i111c llr;1-
vn i11 I957 s;1\\‘ l11*r tn1\'clli111; witl1 him.
f11ll11wi11g tl\1" lmllliight 1'ir1'11it tu .\l1'xi<'1>
City. S|1;1i|1 ;111tl South .-\|11crit':1. 1111til
thrir 1li\'11r<"1' it1 l9tiT. Slit" ;1|11l hcr S0113
l1:1\‘1: l1u1~|1 livim; i11 thc lily-si;111 l’;1rk sot»
AIMVERSA RY ti<1|1 of Lns .\11ucl1's. 11l'
tivc. sinrc I963: :1|11l:111111ti11|1 |)i1'lll|'l‘ 1'.1-
wl1i<'l1sl11:is;11111-

zsTCllILEBRATl0N rccr . .isj11s1 t11(>1lifli1'11lt \\'lIL'tl 3-u11;1rc

tryi|1gt<1r;1is1' tw<1<"l1il1ln'11 by y<1111scll."
l'r1>1l\1n-r Gcortgc Pal 1"n11ti|11|r:s tn he
;1cti\'v: i|1 §cic111'L' lirtiun with su\'cr;1| film
prujcrts i|1 \';1rim1$ stages 11f |1l;11111inq ;1111l
prc-|1r<11l111'ti1111: IN THE l).\\'S ()F Tllli
(I().\lli'I', fmtn ;1$("ri|1t I11‘ Ruhcrt l$l<1cl1.
is l11'i11_1g1lu\'1-1111101! ;1s:1six~p;1rt 111i11i-scrics
:11 l’;1r11|n11\1|1t; P;1l rc*1‘1:11tly r¢:11‘1|uir1:1l 1l11' C
tl11-;1tri1';1l rights to Philip \\'ylic's 'l'lll~'.
l)lS;\l’l'E.\R.-\NCl*l, whivh l1c l1;11l ]1r1'~
vinusly ;1ttc111|>t1'1l tn film in tl11'l;1tc ‘(ills
:1111l curl)‘ '7lls; \"()Y.'\(ili (IF 'l'lll". l§l‘lR(i
1l1:;1l.< with tnwinig 1111 i1'1: l11-rt; fmm thu
.-\11t;1r1"ti<' to 4-\ustr.1li;1 for irri_1;;1ti<111|111r-
|111s1's. :1 "l'icti11n;1l 1l11r\1mcnt:1r)'1" Tl.\ll-L
.\lAClllNEll.hisf11ll11w11pt11tl1cpt1p11l:1r
I960 film. has zviicnttctl 11lfcr§;111di11t1-r~
1-st {rum st-1'1-r:1l cun1]1:111ics. lIll‘lll(lllH! T11-
l1<1 ul'>l:1p;111, tl1m111l1 P.1l has $1-ri11u.\' reser-
\'.1ti11ns ;1l111\1t 'l'11l1n's ;1l1ilily i11 tl11':1rv::1 11l
s]11:1"i;1l t.'ll'1'1'ts. zmtl l1;1S mntlc 1111 |1mtl1|1*~ >
ti1111 1l1';1l 11$ ym-t:;1111l111;1111‘11tl1cr\.
I-‘nl|1>wi11g:1 1":1k1: 1'11t1i111;l1y .\liss R11l1~
i11.~'1>11.;1111l :1 1"l1;1|11p;11_'11c toast. cvslvlaritirs
;1|11l thv prvss wvrv .11l|11ittc1l t11 .1 rvsz-n'1'
s1'<'ti11|1 nl tho sultl-ottt s1'rcc11i111;. I
Tu/1: ,\11t\ R11l1i11§m1, (§1'11n_;v l’.1l ;m1l his
will-, Sz11k;1. ;1t thv: 1'l1.1111]1;1q111- cult-l1r.1~
ti1111 fur P.1r;1|111>1111t's rrisstic 11l' 'l'lll".
\\';\R (ll: Tllli \\'()Rl.l).\'. .\lt'1l:I[1': Silt’ ul
thc ltismrir u\'c11t.\\‘c1l11c$1l.1y.S1-]111'111l1v:r
7th. Film 11ri1;i11;1lly |1n*|11icr1-1| in llnlly-
\\'11t1t| 2/21]/:13. llullnmz P;1l, l111l1li11u .1

n:pli1':1 of thc .\l;1rti.1|1 w;1r |11;11'l1i111's ||w1l

i|1 tl11' film. l.1's 'l'rv111.1y|11-, 111111 R11l1i|1§1111.
ll'l111t<1x|1y Rnhcrt \'ill.1nll

by Robert Villard
mi 1 11_i.
25
 She was willing to do a low-budget horror .\'IGII'I" OF TIIE I.ll'I.\'G I)l:'.-ll).
film and the only question was: can she Actually. l think there is a greater sim-
do it? ilarity between Slll\’l~1RS and Tllli lN-
:\ltl1t)tlgl\ tny producers told me using V,-\$l()N ()l~' '|‘|[l~‘, B()l)\’ S_\',\TCllER$
a ttzune would make it easier for them. l
;|ntl R,-\Bll) leans |nr)rt.' ttiwat-tl NIGHT
was tinder no obligation to use her. lint l ()F ’|‘l|F_ L|\'l{\'(; 1)]-1,-\l)_ $]l]\'|-QRS t-tttls
thought she was good and she was great with the ghouls triumphant. if you want
on the set. .-\ complete professional. She ttt put it that way, ln fact, $ll|\'l~1RS|i;ts
kept all the hassles with the hairdresser an inversely happy ending. really. in a
right off the set- She was wilhltg to do sense there is a feeling that there is a kintl
whatever was necessary to make the film of exuberance andjuhilation that certain-
1t- i5 ttttt ;tt tht; (“ti ttf R,\B]l)_ ltttt the
work antl didn't complain about the told
llil lht‘ mull 1"\ll that kiml "f tl‘l"K- Shv similarities hetween my films and others
~' was just a pleasure to work with. The is ttt,thtt,_-tttit,tt;t1_
"\°\"~‘ W)" make '“°\‘l°§- ill“ ‘"0" Y0" .\'lGllT ()F 'l'llE l.l\'lN(i Dl-1.-\l) also
realize. and appreciate, thc need for pro- owes 3 h,t tt, |y\',\5|()X up Ttth |;()t)\'
Syty]-C|||;R5_ '['h,_.rt.'5 tt hody of thttt
'__

fessiunalistn. For the beginner you keep

hearing about unions. temperamental ae- kind M tiwrzlttlrc “.hh.h guts hack to the
tors and other things hut after working twqhttting of rttttorttctt t;m,_._ 5,, | thgtth
with a cast and crew ofprofessionals, you what it i5‘ is that wt.-rt. tapping tht. stunt.
‘i“"'1€"l““'k T" '-\m4"L'\"$' roots. the same source. the idea that you
ll'h.\' ‘Ii’! )"’“ 'I""i'!" 1" l'”"-“' ”"' are tlte only sane person left in a world
bluurl.\"uckt'r in (.'lnmtbt'r.t‘ arm/ii! lltul fut] 0; Zombies “mt Ehmtht is tt t-ummtm
>"""€'\'_;"I"/";"”"","7{ "'-:"”"1l”;"{l? , _ feeling among writers who tend to he
WY" '~‘ 51' \\‘"" 1 Wm Pu‘ "~ "5' ll '5 1' r" id an ' 'a ‘. It's no a conscious at-
5“'Tl"§\' l‘l‘“‘?- hm Y"" "Y mlllklllg "f leiniltiito to L‘t§);t‘)')(lt' lntildlttn these other
-

navld Cnmenbg -1
tn |'ut<t_ the higgest ittucttt-tt of
another place tltat will work and get you |mS_
to passed the censors. _\it(;||'|‘ ()1: 't"|||g 1_|\'[_\‘v(; D]-;_.\|) i; that
Writer-director David Cronenberg is
yhu are t-unst-;t,tt51y trying to ttvottt fol“.
Canada what Roger Cortnan had been. for 'I"vucI|z'. In Imllt $IIIl'Ia'RS mu! R.'l-
years. to the United States: the reigning I411). n ntrllical t‘.\-pr'rintt't1I runs lzzryulirr p;trist,n5_
rt'.\'trIling in new slruittx u_/'z'iru.\' Irving (n'- ||']t,t; _t,tt-ht-t t‘,t R_.| 31]) ,/,,,t '1 tt»,,,-It 1/t,~
3
king of scltloek horror. .-\nd it's a position
that Crunenherg cherishes. No sooner was nlrtl. .-lrr you ntnlting any ltiml ofcmrt» lullv Wm /ta,[ ,',th.,,,h.,]' mm. that _v,,“'t.,.
ntvrtl nu 1I1r'linn'!.t In ntltich nu'tI|'ral .rri- }ltt»/','[,,t tt_ii1It mt umlit-ttt-t-?
SHIVERS lrevietved as TllE\' C.-\hlE
tt,-t-4,,

l*R().\l \\'lTlll.\'. 5131':-'2) milkillg lllcul "'“"' -"h”“M /""'.€"“-‘T-' /fl"! fl» n’ 11'1"/"' interestingly enough. if you had asked
urvnx zultvrr we Item’ rm IIllIi!tt'X.Y? tt-tt- thttt hefttrtt | §a\\I it_ I ptrtthtthly t-ttttltl
history —and muney—than pruduetion be- IvIt'n_qi11
h_1vt» giygn ytttt tt long li§t_ Nttttt I tt-ttttld
gun on R.~\Bll). another horror filtn star- .\‘o, not at all. .-\ctually you'll notice
that tlte whole aspect ahont “there are qty thq» a1| do what tlttp,-‘rt; gttppost-tl to
ring ex-porn queen .\l;trilyn Chambers. ttn_ It‘; hut tt n-t;ttt¢t- of ;tr7t_tg;t|1(|:; it's
:\n(l in keeping with the theme of Slll\'- some things tnan must not know" is al-
most non-existent in either lm. To me wt-y straight ftmt-ttttt tttttt tt pt-ttctit-at Uh.
ERS. R.-\lilD is also about a new strain of I tvtttclttgtl the antlit-nt-e and
disease which takes hold of its victims. its just a premise, it's an entertaining §gg|'\I;|[it)n_
premise which takes the viewer from the they were laughing at things they were
turning them into raving crazies. Also. sttppnggd to laugh at; they were tense
like Slll\’l~lRS. R.~\Bll) reaped the second real world as quickly as possible into a
wnrld ofnightmare reality and dream log- wht-n they were snppusgtl to be tense;
highest sales at the Cannes Film Festival they w¢tt- thtgttstctt wht-h they were sup.
this year. .-\ British sale was made longhe- ic which is where I like to function. The
idea of science gone haywaire is just a pgggd tt, bg t|i5t_tn§t¢d_ I think, though, we
fore that on the basis of a few "rushes." (ht ;t hit tut, much ttttt Qt‘ tht- Qtttltttttttitttt
The filtn is currently in release itt the U.S. link between hard everyday mundane
from New World Pictures. Roger Cor- reality antla nightmare wurld- of why the disease develops the way it
The xpwinl v]]'rc!.r in SIIIVERS arr t|t,c§_ |t “-3; ht the Qt-igh-ta] 5t-t-itttt tt»t- §]\t)[
man’s outfit. naturally. .-\nd Cronenhcrg it hut it \\~u§ tttkct-t ttht |t¢t~;tt_t_t~¢ tht- 5“-ttg
flII|IltIf_\‘ grrt/1/111". llir‘ .rm' 1!|1'[mrn.tiIt's /or

“
has already nearly finished prodttrtion on “,]t,_-rt; that ittformatiult i5 Qivett was pot"-.
his thirtl horror film, THE BROOI). Says [mtg t'1|Ir'rz'n1.t. _\u'1 [hr .t/n'cr'al t'f]'t't'l.\" in
R.-IBID rm‘ murc sub/Im'rI, and we mtly [Y pttct-t]_ |t scemut that thc lm tt-Dttltl
Cronenberg. "l like being Canada's king not suffer if it was ,.€mt,vct1_ | think it
of horror. lt's a role l tlon't mintl playing ratrlt glintp.r1'.t of lltr Iltiiig Iitting in the
urmpil of .\lrtri!_vn (.'!t1mtln'r.t. This was was 3 m;§tak,_._ pm. tht. stthc Qt‘ tut 5“-.
at all."
"l"""’"-fl)’ '-"ll"l"-"'“1h /ml “‘fl)’? onds, and literally ten Seconds. the attdi-
They're just two entirely_ different m0- cm-C “-mtht have tttttt-h ht-tt" ft-chug fut-
ll’/iy rlirl you cm"! .\lar1'1yn CItambt'r.rI/ what is g0htgt,h_ | tttl that people getter-
Actually. l had been thinking, ironical< vies. Slll\'ERS, l think, if ll were to suc-
reed. ltad to do it on some crazy, insane any just dotft get it and it's tut, had htt_
ly enough, of Sissy Spacek but that was cause it was 3 ht“ hwentinm [t pttmllt-1.
lung before CARRIE, before the .\'t‘ws- energy that ran from almost the rst sec-
ond to the end. lt had to work like an eX- ed thc premise of SIHVERS as being u
week cover and before she became associ- kind of absurd‘ hut vagttcly l,t,55th|€_ gt-1.
ated with .-\ltman. l had seen her in B.~\l)- press train. You know an awful lot about
what going on in SlllVl-LRS very quick- cntific achievcmem and to me that umts.
LANDS and thought she was terrific. is
sh," is the higgcst aw in the 1m_
About the same time l was beginning my ly and there's not very much left, saved
ll" 1° C3"i"l“' ""5 °r fur ll" c“d- You nnrr snirl I/la! n qoorl hurmrfflm
'i1lmP?ll.¥l'" "J bfinil --p,,,1,,h,._t ,,]',,,,_ " |t'/“,1 ,1',',/ W,“ ,ttt1,,,,;/
my producers from Cine-pix was making R.-\BlD. nn the other hand. was always
intended to be a more suspenseful film. | mtttk that stntcntent ht tt-§ht,h5t- tt,
overtures to .\larilyn's agent. l had always ct-itgt-;sm_ “ht uttht of gtttyt-jR§_ httt th,_~
been fascinated with the .\larilyn Chant» There's not really what you would call
true suspense in SHl\’l~LRS. except for a |tt,m,,- g¢tt,»t- ht écttt-Ht]? t-ritit-ism tt-h;t~h
hers myth, although l hadn't seen any of scttmett 'tt, $ugg¢§t ttttthittg |tt,"t,t- lms
her movies. When it was suggested she au- couple of scenes whereas R.»\lilD does in-
volve the viewer with a kind oftliscoyery ttutomtttit-ttlly t-xt-lttth-t| 3-t,tt ft-um thg
tlition. l was agreeable. l was curious. .'\l~ field ttf _1tt_ _\];tt;itt_tt ltttrmr |||‘|§ m¢;ttt§ to
so, she wanted to break into movies in a along with the major character who <loes-
legitimate way and she hadn't made a n't untlerstantl what is happening to ltet" many that you are not tnaking art. \\'hat
self. You <lisco\’er things along with her art is, is a totally subjective thing. You
porn tnu\'ie for about four or five years. tt_~|] rnc the tliffert-tttt hettt-t-t~tt attyt,ttg‘s
about what is going on and at the satne
time it is more of an action filtn in the favorite art filt-tt ttntl ggmegtjc glse’s favo-
sense that you have a city under seige and rite hnrror film? There isn’t any differ-
-
in the midst of ehaos. Those two ele- ence. limotions are involved, your sense
l.ee Rolfe is a Staff writer and film re-
tnents combine to give RABID 1| quite of imagery is involved, a sense of yourself
viewer for the ll'[|tn|']n'g 'I‘r|'lnn|t' and a as a human being is involvetl. The mere
contributor to (.‘|'m‘ntu Cmutrln magazine. different tone. even though there are sitn-
ilarities between the films. lt's just a mat- fact that you are working in the genre

by
ter of t tint eption
Ifnllt films‘ .\'l'!:Ill In mlltrrv cln.n'l_v In
dues not exclude you from making an art-
ful film. I
25
 \\'elcume tn the t\\'enty-thirtl issue nf
(Ill\'lil~'.-\X'l‘.-\$'l‘lQUli (sin-eh-fa\\'t\-tnss—
teekl, the Inagazine with a sense of \\'()lI-
tler. tlewutetl tn an examinutiuu of lmrmr.
C
fantasy aml srienee flt‘tlt>|t in the rinema
antl related metlia.
This issue heraltls the fart that 'l'llE
\\'l(IKl-lR .\l.-\N is finally making its way
into U.$. tlistrihutiun. after four unde-

i
servetl years of sitting un the shelf. l)a\'itl
Bartltolumetv traces the stury of the pie-
ture's pmtluetiun untl suhseqtteltt distri-
hution prnhlems in inter\'iews with those
in\'ul\‘etl. iurlutling its prutlucer. Peter
Snell. its rlireetur. Rubin llartly. its \\'rit-
er, .-\nthut\y Shaffer. its star. Christopher
liee. its music rmnpnser. Paul Giovanni.
its new tlistrihutnr. Stirling Smith of
.-\hraxas Films. and Davitl Blake. the man
whn originally suhl the film in tl.e llnitetl

i
States. The tangletl stury that emerges. n|'
how a film gets hurierl by the tleal-makint.(
and executive musieal ("hairs of the film
business. is prnhahly nut an unusual one. <1
though it may seem quite hilarre tn nmst
readers. There are literally humlretls til
€
films that are made. and then never seen.

i
In must <‘a.\'es. their loss is pruhahly a
blessing in disguise. What makes the Story
of Tlll-I \\'l(ZKER .\l;\.\' su rnmpelliug is
that it is a great film. aml fur that reason
euultl nut \'lu_\- hurietl for lung.
’l'lll'. \\'lCKliR .\l.'\.\' is a hurmr film,
hut one uf uttquesthntalale heauly alul in—
telligenee, which tlucs not fit snugly intu
this nr any other gettre. lts surface is a
tlmrnuglily e|tg.u.{itu; mystery. topped-tiff
with a chilling. surprise entling, atul nn
this level alone shoultl satisfy autlienees.
liut writer :\l\!lIt)l1§' Shaffer's story of the C
elash of patgaltistn and Christianity on a
remote Seuttish isle resonates un many
tleeper levels. lt is lnasieally ct warning uf
the tlanger uf unreasuning faith. Shaffer.
\\'hu tlenies heine an athiest. portrays the
evils resnltinu frmn the hlitul faith cr>m—
mnnrletl lay any IIzr|'\m. in the folly uf
Sgt. llmvie and his life-tlenyinr; Christian
superinrity. and itt the fully of the p;1L{£lI\
islatttlers aml their empty gesture of hum-
iruz him ;|li\'e. ln equating the mutivatitms
of lluwie and the islantlers. Shaffer ralls
into question fumlturtental beliefs held by
us all, arul triggers. even if tlnermsriously,
the trnuhletl unease of recognition. as we
watch the pagans gleefully hum u man.
The interviews with the liltnmakcrs ex-
plore 'l'lll'l \\'l(iKl'lR .\l.‘\.\' and all its
tneunines. l thinl-< that you will agree that
this is a film you will want tu see. that rlw
.\'er:':'\ tn he seen. lt is the finest horror
filtn tn enme out of linqlatttl since the
rlassir l)l-l.\l) OF Nl(§ll'l' ll9~l:'>). and a
film wlmse reputatiun ran only grow raver
the years. lt gives lne zt great deal of plea-
sure to he arnntug the first tu ehampiun
the film in the l'nitetl States. fur l think
the test all time will show that 'l’lll;'.

I
\\'l(IKl'IR .\l.‘\.\' is the (Il'l'lY.l§\' K.~\,\'l'. uf
hnrrur films.

'I'u;:: The vatnpire-like unganisnt prnrrml~

iug from .\l;|rilyn (Ih.|ml>ers' armpit. in
R=\llll). .\|1'1ltllt': The east arul ere\\': .\lari-
lyn (.hatnhers tseatetl, mitltlle). tlireetur
l);l\’ltl (ll-unenhere (first at riuht. hehiutl
Clmittluersl. and llynl llnllantl. speeial ef—
feets .unl makeup man iseemul [rum leftl.
lfullmnz _lue Silver is att.|el.e=l from lue—
himl Ivy his infeetetl wilt‘.

t
27
 hook hy Guy N. Smith whieh I'1*eehang- will prohahly l1e ralletl D().\IlNIQUI-l.
etl into aootl movie seript hy Iitlwztrtl hasetl on story ealletl “\\'l111t Ileekoning
§ — 11 11

~ 11n1l\'11lerie.\hr.1l1a1n1'11lle1lKIN(lCR;\II. Gliost." antl it's the nearest thing I've

"“ I tl1i11k tl111t we will tlu th11t with li1'e
erahs interent with puppet 1111i111;1tio11.
found i11 feeling to l)l1-\II()I.lQUI'l$, and
I've heen se11rel1i11_tg for quite time let 111e 11

Iflm _\'n|1r]mr1m'r, I"rm1/1' I)11_qg11r1!

[.1 tell you. The 1n1tlie11ee will he guessing all
Ile co-prutl11eetl11 West F.ntl play. Brief the time. It's yery visual and the artiun is
I.1't-121' witl1 Roy I)11trit'e, and the Raquel enelosetl i11 one house. When I sent the
\\'eleh film. 'I‘llI~l III-1l.()\'l'iD. that was seript to people I pttrpnscly left out tl1e
shot i11 (ireere. Ile 1‘11n1e along at time 11 last fo11r pages antl 11ot one person guess»
wl1en I was tluwn etnotioitally and fi11a11- etl tl1e eml. I know it will l1e :1 _t;rcatn1n-
eially. IIe's i11 real estate antl tl111t was the vie. I ye got several other pussihilities for
pruhlem. I neetl someone who \\'o1tl<l C111111tl11too.h11t11othi11gt‘u|1erete.
louk after tl1e h11si11ess l0[l%. as tl111t sitle IH.()()I) (.'I'I‘I' 11111.1 filtmvl in (.'u11n1l11.
tloes11't interest me at all. I want to he ll'l111l1vu.1 youri1111nI1'1-111r11l II11'n'Z'
free to make pietnres. study scripts. elf. It was one of two seripts I left at .-\mi-
\\'itl1 I-‘rank l)t1gg11n. Swortl and Sorrery ens. tl11e to my tlepartnre. Rosenherg fin-
tlitl notlting. Grantl l’ri"/.e Protluetiotts. 11 11lly paitl me tl1e money I was due o11 it.
t‘oI1Surlitt|11 of three .-\n1erir11n eotnpanies. hut it took a threat from .'\C'I'I‘ (the Brit-
has just ho11gl1t-out l)11gg1111's share of the ish film union) to stop the pieture to get
ru1np;111y. 11ml there's 1111 hartl feelings. him to tlo it. l'm not getting a rretlit on
lle'll qet a per1'ent11ge of the two projeets the film. They finally se11t me the rewrit-
we optionetl together. ten sereenplay, and I thought. "Poor
It’/ml 111111‘ your i111'oI111-1111-111 mi 'I'IIl:' Peter Sastly. It's impossihle to make a
“i|“mS."hO“k\_ l'.\'(.'1I.\'.\'I',_/Ylrltvrl Ctuttnlu?
1'11 gnotl film ont of II11'.\ seript." I.:1ter I
‘ ‘ ' - I was asketl to (lo 1111 anthology hasetl learnctl 1t w11s hr who had cotitrolletl the
on 111y sturies Ilvu1ur1' :1] I/11* (.'uI. We rewrite! The other is ‘I“IIl-L C.~\'I‘I’I-l()PI.I£_
It l111s heen two years sinee .\lilto11 S11» 1'ha11getl the itlea to tl1ree 1111tl 11ot five antl that will tlefinitely end up as :1 law-
hotsky left .-\mi1'11s to form l1is own eomA stories antl tl1e title lieeatne IIRRR. The s11it. It was 111y idea and l'm supposetl to
pany. Swnnl and Sorcery Protlnetions. third story was to he eontetly. ¢\s you 11 get eo-protltteer rretlit. h11t l'm expecting
witl1 assoei;1t1' I"r1111k I311t;g;111. Their first know. I always like to include one of tl1at to he ignored wl1e11 it finally gets
projert. Lin (I11rter's 'l'II()N(i()R IN TIII-I these. Rene l)11pont tnatle :1 deal. I got made. apparently i11 Canada. Why remake
\'1\l1l.l-IY (IF I)I*l.\I()X.\', is to hegin pru- ('0-protltleitig eretlit and editing rights. the Lewton film? .\I1,' srript expantlerl on
thtetion i11 I978. to he tlireetetl hy Ilarley so I went to l\lt1ntrcal to work o11 the 1165 minute fil111 for 90 minute feature.
11

Kokliss. with tIimensio1111l 1111i11111tio11 spe- east. \'ineent Price tnrnetl me tluwn. So Tell 111 ulmul the final /Ifl‘fIl7't‘.T you
eial efferts lvy Ilarry l.eitl1 (see G:2:Il~I). tlitl Peter (I11shi11_1;.11ntl when I got holtl of tt‘t‘!‘l' l'm-nlz-1*1Iz11ilI1 nl 1-Imir11.1.
Cltristoplier I.ee he saitl to me, whieh I I literally hall notlting to tlu witl1 the
ll'I|\' /111.1‘ il !t1I:|~11 you .141 lung In gel think you'll fintl inte1'esti11g. “I know you last tltree .-\mie1|s pictures, what with the
nr/11111,! In 11.1'i1|_q :I[111|-1111'/111:1! n11i11111I1'n11? 111ake good movies, h11t I've now movetl atlvettt of _]ol1n Dark. Ile was hrought i11
.\Iore and ntorl’ I've wantetl to make out of tl1e low h11tl_1;et picture range. Ilm mainly to help me out and 11s yon know.
f1111tasy films for rliiltlren. I 1litln't w:111t hetter off i11 1111 8 million 1l1>ll11r flop than we tli1l11't get on at all.
to tlo it ten years ago —l tlo now. I took in one of your pietures that's hig sne- 11 It‘/ml 1I1'rm'lur.1 ll'I|Ilf(I ynn zenrk tuilli
my kitls to see 'l‘IIl'l (i()l1l)I-IN \'()\',-\GI-I ress." It's true too. you know. .'\ star who ugu1'11 our nfl/11'.'In1ir|1x rm‘l1'r?
(IF SINII.-\l) and they were horetl stiff. moves fro111 :1 hig htttlget status hark to l'1l nse Roy Wartl Baker, l111t sneh is
You hall tn hear with it 1111til the spe("i11l low hutlget films soon fintls they won't tl1e st11te of this intlnstry tl1at l1e isn't
effeets came 11p. 'I'h11t won't happen i11 star I1i111 i11 mo1'iess11rl1 11s .-\lRl’()R'I‘ '77. wt1rkit\_t; at the moment. Fretltlie I"'r11neis
'|'II().\'(}(IR. It's non-stop action all tl1e 'I‘h11t‘s the way they think i11 California is 11 hrilliant t‘a1nera111a11 l111t I1e insists o11
way. It will he CXpettSi\‘L' h11t worth it. antl it makes my jol1 mneh hartler. I 1'e»w|'iting seripts11ntll1e'slo11sy ontloing
Sliootitttg hetgins i11 I973 at lnttlget of 11 mean. who tlo you star? Rohert Quarry? stories. I1'e|1\eml1er whe|1l1ehro11gl1t Rin-
S3,()0(l,()(Hl. Not really! I wish few 111ore 1111111es
11 go Starr 11ntl l\'i|ssu11 tu see '1‘.-\I.|£.§'
I)11 you /1111-1' 11 \"Iur 1'11 miml fur lhv wonltl heeome 11<'eept;1hle tu the pnhlie I-‘R()1\I ‘I'lIIi (IRYPT. lterattse he'll heen
rule! and also to l111ekers of o11r films. asketl to tlireet what eventttally heeame
I 11pproa1'l1etl .\r11oltl St"l1w11rze11e1.;ger. .\11yway. I finally got gootl east tu- 11 SON OF DR.'\CllI..'\. When Ifraneis toltl
hnt it seems Iitl Press1111111 got there first. qt-tl1er. (I11sl1in_t; reli11q11ishetl \\'l1e11 he n1e he'tl asketl for srript re-write. I11

IIe's jttst honght the COX.-\.\' ehararter fonntl out it was one of my pietnres —he knew the lihn woultl never get releasetl
and oh\'iu1tsly wants to make some sort l111tln't re11li1.etl'1111tl tl1e11 came Donaltl properly. 11ml I was rigl1t.lsa1vl,IiGIi.\lI)
of 1le11l with l1i111. IIe'tl prohahly he too l’le11se11ee. Ray .\lill11n(l. Samantlia Iiggar. OF Tllli \\'F1RI-I\VOI.I-‘ and thought it was
expensive for ns anyway. l'm sure I'll Susan Penltaligon. Simon Williams antl terrihle. Now he's formed his own pro-
fintl 1111otl1er tntlseleman. I want someone _]oan (lreeltwontl. The director, l)enis tluetion eumpany. Good I11ck to him. hnt
wl1o will he 'l'II().\'GOR fur the next ten Ileroux. was the hrother of the eo-pro» for tne he'll alwztys he great n11 images
years. The first film will tlemztntl sequels tlueer. and he was terrihle. Ile coveretl and have no stript sense._]0hn .\Ioxey I'tl
antl he'll heeome an itlol of ehiltlren e\'- the filtn i11 master shot. master shot, 111as- work with again. .-'\fter HORROR Il()-
erywhere. .-\t this point i11 time. we are ter shot. Notlting ll‘|2III1'IICtI— we (‘oultl 1111- Tlil. he tlitl a war movie that was appar-
only pI;111nin_1;‘I‘II()NG()R I.\' TIII-I \'.<\I.» ly make one eut! They ha1In‘t etlge-n11m- e11tly very emotional and troublesome
11

l.l'l\' ()I-' l)I~l.\I().\'S. hut I know the eh111'- heretl. I firetl the editor antl hiretl 1\Iieh:1¢-I experietiee, so much so that people asketl
aeter will take off antl he e11on11o11sly (inay, great guy I‘m going to use him
11 how I eoultl have worketl with him. Nnw
pl1]>ul:1r- The whole thing was 1111 appalling
111;;1in. of course he's very s11ecessft1lT\' movie
11

ll’Im[ are _\'u|1r u1I11'r/m1j1‘r1.\'! mess. I worketl on the thirtl story 11ml the tlireetor. Kevin Con11or is too ambitious.
I'\"' Q"! 'l'lII". .\I().\'1\"I'I".R Cl.l'II hy R. framework and f11u11tl later that Ileronx Ilis taste is not that gootl antl it was all
Cltetwyntl-Ilayes. .\Iirl1el Parry is workiltu hatl re~etlitetl it antl was proud of what his taste i11 .-\'I" 'l‘IIl'I Ii.-\R'I'II'S CORI-1.
o11 it .1t the 1no1ne11t. It's goittg to he 11n he'tl tlnne! It was miracle we got a final
11 Yon van make total slutlio film. We tlitl
11

.111tl1ology pietnre. two stories from the print. that with onr Il.~\l1l'1K films. Ile tIitln't at
hook .1111l .111 11tltlitio1111l one. 111.;11i11 l1y timmtlu \r1'n1.\' In /11‘ fllurr 1|‘/tt'ft' u
11 all. l.et's see if 'I‘lII'l PI'l()I’l.Ii 'I'II.-\'I'
Cltetwyiul-Ilayes. talletl ".\Iy Xl<1tl1t'r It/l'.\ /in/1/arrtirtg 111 I/1e ntunwnl. l)u you 'l'I1\II'l I"()RC()'I‘ is any hetter after funr
4\I.1rri1-ll .\ \'111npir1-." really f1111 story.11 fnh-ml zuurlrittg l/11'n- u_qni111' and :1 half weeks of location shooting. .\Iy
I've Q11! ,\'1'_;_1I1I /11' [hr (.‘ml1.\". rotten 11 .\Iost tlefinitely, especially now that own feelings are that yon can't make a
they 11reI111il<li11g_tl1;1t new studio with al1- monster film with men i11 ruhher suits.
I) solntely e\'erytl1111g nntler one roof. It s l_l1ey.(".l1:111getl my s<‘r1pt e11t‘1rely‘o11 that
Y lo<':1te1lj11st ontsttle .\Iontreal. antl when f1ln1. Ihe last refuge of ttretl 11r1ag11111-
11

it'sfi11ishe1l.i11(htoher so I'n1 toltl Ii11

teinl 1.} he the first pieture i11 theie. It
tiun is e\plosiun at the elimax and
1111

tI1ey'\‘e11setl-it twieeso far. I

28
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svn $01 Ihr \:n\'1:r truttntcttt :114;Iin [\’1>IIi .\[)§ . (j[“.\SS|F]E|_) ADS . (ILA
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from lIlt' I'iI1n itsvlI'.] Also. I must 1Ii§- inq Ihc rcl;1Ii\'t'ly I;n*1;1: Iuntiigcl and time \IIINIIlI\ \t1.|1\I..t1-.11I>.1m I\Iir1nr|\ ....- .1.-...~
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I
thc 1-\II‘I'Iin1g h;1ir uI' thv I»;1Iiunn. :1 stcp I 1'c1'11.;11iu' \ III {. . i.~ thc rrsitlr II
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.\Iy 11\\-n p:It'tiv:\Il;1r <'utn|tI;Iint ztliuut sltuultl |1ru1nnII'. This will unly u11nn|1';11;1.- 1.11-1.... .~.1I. /....1t'1'I;' "\t111..1...". |..1.....11,.....~.-..1...
tI11'sI'1'i]|t uI$I.\'I§.-\I) .\\'l) TIIIi Ii\'I<'. OF him to kt-tit turnin! out 11\u1li11u'c wnrk. "‘\“" 'I""“"' ““"“"I
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I1It';1.\* /.v:tmI>|11s Innl Iunt. .\It'I;1nlhIIIs I>IItIguIc1I. I;III‘Iy1I1~rc11t I:1nt;1§y Itltns II II1: II.-lim---1-'\ll>Jl!'"1
primitive lust-1' ;1rt- ||1IrmIIIc1:1I and Ihvn \\‘_;1s Inlling lu unnc 1Iu\\'n :1 Int ;1ntI_ s_II.1n~ “WM hm.h_dH “M ‘Ml “Wm |__m_M"‘m_ “I U‘
;II>;1mIunc1I \\'lII\()\II any IIL'\'L'IIl|)IIIL'|Il. I Ins k|t1>\s'IutIgt"\\'I1I\ .1 I1.-;1|n nf IL'(‘IIIIIt'I.IlI§. 1.-.. ...-1........ \'........ I ||.~, I 17: \.1u.Ig.1I1\rtI\I.I'I1|I.<
1%.. .1Isn h;III ;lIllI('I|lIlI|.‘II :1 Iu>XiIIt_{ 1n;1u"h hc-
Iwcun .\Iinotun;1111I'I'|"11g;n111\'1/111! \_\'11ul1I
Imt hc thinks hu n1IIsI wurk t'ss1'|tti;1IIy ;1-
lnnu 11rI11:'Il Iu§c .1rt_i§tit' intvgrily. Ittxttuitl
'I"Il‘I"-'
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II;1\'t'In't'1\ .1I1n1n1t\;Ig1* In \\ |ll1s () B1-tun. hc I\c1:|1s \\':1§t|n1g Itnnst-If nn I1;11lIy \1'r|t— n.......111 1-... .1. 1.11.|... 5 \1.... tn... (II. II..\ In
IIIII I also ln:Iiv\'c that yuur writers ten. i1If;1ntiI1' rmnic strips \\'I1it‘I1IIu11ntIt» "“"'~" \I'II‘ III‘ ‘~I I I'
IllIIt'lI In .1]1|m.'t'i;1tc that Ihu ('l‘\‘;Il\II‘('§ in inq hut nmkc 1nu1\1'y. 'I'IIc1'1~'s \'nII\|.'II\iI\g .,,,_.,.\._|.,~---..,, .,,_,|» ,__,,,,.__, ,|,_..,|,,,\_M,|_,.,.,. H
1.

Ihc Iilnt 1m: Inurr 1'.1r1'I\|I|y \ItiIizt'II II\1lI‘I nut 1|||itt' stniiight in Ih.1t kitul uf Il)QI\. I I1-11.1.. .....1 \.»t"‘t ""1" ‘I I- TIII II""‘~ I‘I \-' II7
nsuztl. I1II:1_11i|Ie thc ICIIIPIZIIIIIII In 1n;1k1: hunt‘ ht‘ |'c;1Ii1.1's that sunn. Iuufurr hc I"II"‘ '\"""' >‘

Ihc t|'m,-Intlytt". thc \\'ll§|) ;1ntI _\Iinnt<m ;1II cutttplvtcly .Icgr;11I1;§ hintsclf in c\'v1t \.... \...|..I.1¢' I.....1..--1 ~11...-.1 ..1 "t|.. \\... ..| 11..
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Iripc.
.‘ \\'iIh thr._ }.;I1'rt'pt;11u'1' nI “\~'I-I“ \, »"'l\"--I I'\I-"WI "I T"]\|'1LI-Pl-11-' Il"I'II‘:"'*I
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[ht IIIIII. t> night I<1rIIIIn tu
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"mm. ,,mm_(|1.1.-.11.-1..
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unit" .1x .1 first r1.'1.'I t1:;1.~'cr. This trcntl I11» I;1k1.'11num-\\'.|1i1g.;crI'I1.1II1:nq1'. ...... 1. .... "l|..»1.........-~. ..| \t....," ..-.|...-I 1.. .11. |......~.t
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sue of (II.\'I'lI*.\X'I'.\S'l'IQI'I-1. Intt-r\'ic\\'s \\'i|I1 tI\1;tccImi1';1ns .II\lI artists
nsspunsihlv fur thc 1'rt';1Ii11n Ur thc must ;1n1;11.in1g tlispltiy 1>I'spct'i.1I vi
Icrts in tho history nf Iiltn. III\I§II';lIk'II with \‘I\;IIl |1:11.;cs in _/ull .'..[..1'. in-
t‘I\l(II|l§_{ 1n;|ny 1';m' pIIutu1;r;1pIis. nc\'1:|' Iicfuru |1|II)lisI\0tI! I)11n'I he It-It
uut in Ihc 1'uI1I \\'ht'n Ihis s|1cct;1c\1I:1r I$§\It' sells-uttt ;1t ynttr l111";1I lIL'\\'§
sluntll $III1§rriln' tu1.I;1\'.;IIt1I gut ynur copy \\'c<'k.~: in .11I\-.1111";-I

II.|<'I»; issncs uii (ZINEI".\X'I‘.\H'I‘IQl'I'i are §tIII ;I\';1iI.1I>It'. \'vI -I I\'u Ii: 'I 1'1‘-
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.\.\'I) 'I'III". I'.\'Ii ()I" IIIIIII. 'I'I(iI'.I{. I"t'\'c I|.II'I\ I\'§\l1*Iist sctll \\'iIII l\I'kIt'I'.

CINEFANTASTIQUE, I?O. BOX 270. OAK PARK, ILLINOIS 60303

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30
‘ A BOY .~\Nl) HIS DOG
rontinued from page '19
who won the Patsy .-\ward for hest animal
aetor in the feature. is at the top of
_]ones' list for Blood. “But Tiger is nearly
twelve years old now. We're going to try
to use ltim. hut we'll pruliahly have to
hack him up with three or four does lu
do the fights and jumping and stuff that
we don't want him tu take a ehanee with
just save him for the real artim;."
/hm .8‘/my

.-\Nl.\l.»\'l'lil) l'.»\NT.~\SY Fll..\lS 4

Pl-I'l"l'I'§ l)R.\GU.\' (In/1). from \\'alt
l)isney Productions. will he released liy
E
lluena \'ista at Chrislmastime. The musi-
ral fantasy rnnthining live action with an-
imation follows the adventures of Pete
(Sean .\larsltall).'and his sumetintes visihle
dragon Elliott. The film is directed by
one-time Hammer veteran Don (Iltaffey.
SP.'\Cl'l CRl'lSl-ZR \'.-\.\l.-\'l‘U (mi/I1IIt-)
is currently the top-grossing film in _|ap-
an. released by .-\t‘ademy Co. Ltd. Pat-
terned after her hattleship namesake hy
producer Ynshinoliu Nisliizaki and direc-
tor Toshio .\l:tsuda. the space cruiser must
retunt in 363 days from ajourney of ‘.196.
O00 light years. on a mission ofqrave im-
portanre. U.S. rights are owned liy .\ln-
(lcrn Progralns lnt'.. hut no distrihution
plans have yet heen announced.
THE |l()Bl5l'li (/mllnm) will be tele-
cast this Fall on NBC. possibly for the
Tll;||ikSgl\’iitg holiday. Produced hy Rank-
in/Bass Pro<‘luetions in japan. the 90 min-
ute special will he followed liy an animat-
ed version of 'l'olkien's third volume of
The I.un[ nf the Rings trilogy, 'l'In' Riv
Ium uf I/11' King. The rights to the first
two vulumes of the trilogy are owned hy
United .-\rtists. and are currently in pro-
duction as a theatrical feature by animat-
or Ralph Hakslti (5:-1:27).

ST.-\R TREK'S 'l‘\' REVIVAL

R. \\'. Goodwin and Harold Livingston
are producing the new 'l‘\’ series for excr-
utive prudueer Gene Rntldenherry. and
Paramount officials report the new STAR
'l‘Rl".K may he the must expensive televi-
sion series ever aired. Sets have heen un-
der eonstrnction since late August. and
plans are to hegin shouting a two-hour
opener in November. to he followed hy
one-hour weekly segments.
William Shatner will retum in the star-
ring role of Capt. _]ames 'l“. Kirk. Also re-
tuming will he l)el'orest Kelley as Dr.
Leonard “Bones” .\lcCoy._]arnes Doohan
as Chief lingineer Scott. and Niehelle
.\liclmls as Lt. llhura. The only major
hold-out is Leonard Nimoy, who for
years has tried to escape association with
his pointed-ear alter ego. Spock. l\'imoy
has heen well-received on the stage in re-
cent years. and over the Labor Day week-
end told all asseinhlage of ST.-\R TREK
eon\'entiu|teers in .\'ew York tltat he
would not return to the show. Only time
will tell if his derision is firm. or whether
lte is ltolding out for stiffer terms. The
prodtieers will find it hard to replare him.
The new STAR TRICK is scheduled tu
he aired hegiintiitq in :\|)!'ll. It is likely
that tn meet this deadline stock visual ef-
feets from the old series will he used.
I)ur1 Shay

31
 continued from page I8
quence. because we filled the room with all
sorts of symbolic things and pagan objects.
like the phallic corn dollies hanging on the
walls.'that I wanted to be surc and work
into tte images. l would have liked to have
shot her full-length tntyrc than I did, not
for pmrient reasons. but l think we could
have matle it more beautiful and erotic."
f(:iti\i_;}t\ni. \yl;_c; is perhaps more‘ cr_itical
U [III IIHS ICL I I“ ‘ii-\n ZIHYOHC C SC ll'\lCf-
viewed. recalls that it was tremendously
difficult working with likland. “She's very
nice. and cooperative, but lazy. We must
_i
Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) cx-
plains to a still uncomprchentling llowie.
his role as the “perfect sacrice" to insure
the rebirth of their failing crops.

the sun was just ahottt to go. and we saitl.

‘We've lost this one. \\'l"ll ‘l° ii “"“‘"""“"-'
:\nd Lee came over and said. '\\'h)'7 l<°\'>'
do it no\yi' and lsaid.“l3\ét ylott |1aven::vc\ii
cn $Cl'n ll‘ POCIII YC . t U 1C §§ly§.
Y0" E" 5°‘ "P ll"
3
5l‘°\ 1\"1ll¢\ "1" Ni"-‘ ll
look at it.‘ You know. he has this photo-
graphic memory. which is just extraordi-
don."

tr ._
\'|;

‘l“c5“"m|l’lY-
_

"(jln-ig-!uP|“-r
_ ,

ul ffcu" “hm
ht"
LORD sU_\|‘\]ER[S[_E

h 5 Fl“ lustwlmrt
__

_
is 3

he
I ‘C
.
Her had‘ Un-
—Chri5l0pher Lee
much more ‘dent.
v.
S
,
“er allowed to
—Al‘\lh()Ity Shaffer
have spent 45 ltours with her. teaching her nary. .'\nd he camc back a few minutes
that song. llopps eventually became so later and just did it straight off. perfectly. Almost from the beginning. before the
frightened of lter that he asked me to be spoke the poem. and then just walked out screenplay was ftllly written. there was no
there whenever he was cboreographing her. of the garden to get ready for dinner." doubt in anyone‘s mind that Christopher
She's a very. very tough woman. but has a Despite the union requirement. no ex- Lee should play Lord Summerisle.
very limitetl idea of what work is. cspecial- tras were taken on location. although many ".-\ benevolent tyrant. l think, would
ly screen work." Tony Shaffer recalls. “She of the young girls in the schoolroom and d¢§¢ribt_- Lord Summcrisle. if only in sur-
was lonely. She wasn't with her lover and CifCll‘ dance sequences were pupils llopps fact; 1;-|-m§_ |lg"§ um [cadcr of 3 comm“;-|.
bitched all the time. llowever. one has to brought down from his ballet school. ity-_ ;\ total _1um¢r;|t_ but 3 good om», “mil
tlo with these things.“ Wherever needed. people were recruited ho i5 f]’()§§(f(|, '|‘h|;n In; l)¢gQmg§ Vgfy dan-
llardy sketched what he \\'anted for the from the villages for the crowtl scenes. gt-rous as do his people. He has a tremen-
wicker man figure. and Flannery construct- which is exactly the authenticity llardy dons hold on these people. But the only
ed it from those drawings. Three actual g- strove for throughout the lm. These in- way he will maintain that hold is if the
ures tvre made two full-sized. standing cluded the procession marchers as well as crops burgeon every year. lf they do not
about 60 feet tall. one of which \vasburn- the boys dancing at the .\lay Pole all of . . .well. he says to llowic. ‘l have learned

ed for the film. and a larger-sized trunk them were locals. to love Nature and to appease it. if neces-
which was used for close-ups and inserts. .-\nd they loved the filming for the most sary.‘ It's a line l rather threw away on pur-
|"or the burning closeups. Woodward's part. except that the huge crowd gathered pose. lf something goes wrong they look
double was literally hauled in and out on a for the wicker man scenes became ttpset for sacrilices. This is primitive earth wor-
wire. the apparatus rigged by the special ef- because they thought the crcw were ac- ship: it's been going on for thousands of
fects man brought up from Shepperton. tually going to burn the animals. llardy years in countries all over the world. Sum-
The heat from the burning might not all composed a little speech explaining that merisle is a simple pagan if you can call
have been unwelcome. for the weather had there was no question of doing that. that that sitnple. lle is both king and pricst in
caught up with the crew by the time tltey they would be taken down in time the one. liut very dangerous. lle's a man. too,
got to shoot it. Everyone was chilled to the same way as they were -put up. with a of impeccable charm and manners and
hnnc. standing out on the cliffs, pretending cherry picker. “They regarded the film as a good taste. an authority. articulate. in
it was Springtime. and in the scene showing fantasy. but occasionally they would get many ways a very tlelightful person. And
the swaying villagers celebrating the sacri- very involved, because malty of these you can find a bit of that in everyone.
fice. a few look to be gritting their teeth. things were part of their folklore. t'spet'ial- “'l'hc character appealed to me because
Giovanni described the order of the day as ly the songs." it was so well written. .»\nd l know that
‘“Get on with it!"‘ Shaffer remembers that The lm ‘s ending was lengthened con- Tony had me in mind when he wrote it. lle
it was during the second week in November siderably from the screenplay. As (iioyan- knows me and my career. You can say that
and that \\'oodward. who had been strip- ni relates it. "Woodward had some ideas of Summerisle is an atnalgatn of many roles l
ped down to a light shirt. "was freezing to his o\vn—he wanted to sing a hymn while h;|\'t' played onscreen. Figures of power. Of
death and he looks like he is." he was being burned. and they let him tlo mystery. of authority. of presence. There is
llardy also sketched his ideas for the it. .-\nd also Tony put in all that language quitc a lot of my natural delivery in the
costumes. including the procession figures. from the Ifihlu that \\'oodward yells as a way Sununerislc's dialogue was written. .\ly
antl costume designer Sue Yeldon fleshed warning to Summerislc and the people. lt‘s delivery of the lines in the film is exactly
tltem out and coordinated all the Costumes. the hardest thing in the world to deal with how l speak. In fact. the three of us—Tony.
including the villagers‘ and the animal something as huge as the Ifilrlr in a little Robin and |—are apt to talk in similar
masks. The kilt that Lee occasionally wore film like this. lle should have been burned ways. So there's probably a bit of all three
was a dress Morrison tartan. actually be- as quickly as possible. maybe gagged on his of tts in there. l have been called upon to
longing to the clan of llardy‘s grandmoth- way to the top!" play acceptably straight characters~agree-
er. who was born in Lewis. Snell. who all during the filming came able. courteous. amusing—add to that the
Another striking sequence occured dur- under no pressure from his Board of l)irec- suggestion that the character is not quite
ing Howie's rst night. involving Christo- tors in London, believes the production what he seems. and l have played lhcm
pher Lee. a pair of snails and a lovely song had incredibly good luck. usually gaining many times. .-\lso in the changes of mood.
by Giovanni. lt was all invented on the the sun when they ueededit the most. The The fact that Summerisle is dangerous
spot by llardy and Shaffer with the crew's crew worked admirably. considering they when crossed perfectly applies to me:
second unit. ln context. the sequence pre- were probably asked to do a bit more than (Ihristnpher Lee does rm! forget a wrong
sents the pagan philosophy in poetic terms. normal by the fact that it was llardy's first done to him. so l'm dangerous when cross-
just as. in Howie's church scenes. the quot- feature. By the same token. llardy cites ed. too. That's not a very Christian atti-
ed passages from the Bible do for Christian- Snell as an "ideal" producer. \\'ho trusted tude. perhaps. but it's a yery human one.
ity. The text was a paraphrase of a Walt everyone completely, was quite supportive "Summerisle believes in the forces of
Whitman poem which to this day neither and strictly nun-interfering on the creative nature. which l do too. to a certain extent.
llardy nor Shaffer can locate in any an- side of the filming. So Summcrisle was motlcled externally on
thologies. Shaffer describes what happen- Scotland has no labs. so the dailies were me in many ways. but all the rest of it they
ed: “Well. we had those snails eopulating, a flown to Glasgow and down to l.ondon for gave to the professional actor as a ficticious
strange thing. they sort of lined up and processing then back for viewing. Doing al- character to play. It's a complex role.
shot pellets at each other. And Lee was to most as much traveling. Snell. who was “While being genuine. the character had
examine this and recite the Whitman poem, needed constantly hack in London to run to carry the sense that something was not
which was about the lack of shame in ani- British Lion. spent L’/3 of the time on loca- quite right in that village. and you can't
mals. how they avoid this fearful mismash lion. Others of the crew might remember quitc put your finger on it. Something is
of psychological problems and possessive- the bitter cold and lively winds. What Snell going to happen. but it was so cleverly
ness that humans do. because in animals. remembers most vividly about the picture written. that everyone was charming and
was “spending many. many weeks riding . . .nnrmuI. even Summerisle. although he's
sex is done and that's it. that's how life is
for them. We were about to shoot it. and the bloody sleeper up and down from l.on- really quite bizarre. lt‘s the abnormal that

32
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 original because the songs were part of a Tnp: Readying the wicker man for bum-
lurks behind the normal which makes a ing. various animals. secondary sacrifices.
film like this work so successfully. lt's vast oral tradition going liackliuntlreds and
thousands of years and were never written are placed inside using a cherry picker.
what you don't sec rather than what you and were saved from the actual ames by
do. what is suggested rather titan shown in down. .\lany of the songs used in the film
were more indigenous to Eiigliiiitl than to the same device. Ifnllvm Lrfl: Sergeant
tlctail. Howic: (I-ltltvartl \\'oodwartl). newly arriv-
"The power of the unseen. . .there are Scotland. although their transposition does
not really betray their nearly cotnmon her- ed in Summerisle. in a scene not in either
communities today that are not what they version. Ifnlluni I.rf!: Filming another
seem. Look at Freemasonry, although l'm itage.
scene not used in either version. llowie
neither condemning it nor comparing it to \\'hile writing the screenplay. Shaffer
indicated in which scenes songs were to be arrives by bycycle on the outskirts of the
a pagan religion, but it's a secret society, in
used and in some cases jotted down verses village tu check on a girl who recently
a benevolent sense. with a highly organized
from various anthologies oflyrics appropri- stayed with the postinistrcss. whose little
set of beliefs and practices, and it has con- girl is missing. Director of photography
siderable power. at least to its members. ate to the Spring pagan festivals to serve as
samples of what was needed. No one.liow- Harry Waxman is the grey-haired figure
THE \\'lCl(i-IR .\l1\N is not an attack on with glasses. center. and four figures to the
contemporary religion but a comment on ever. quite realized how important the mu-
sic was to become to the film or how large right is director Ruhin lhti-dy (hand to
it. its strengths as well as its weaknesses’. its mouth). Note oral dressing on steps and
a part it would play in it.
fallability, that it can be puritanical and
won't always come out on top. Even the
Christian religion is based on the execu-
tion and §;|t"i'ifitjg of om; man, in that r¢-
The composer who was chosen was Paul
Giovanni. whom Tony 5l\aff'-‘rmct through
his brother Peter. Tony had seen a produc-
__i_€ii.___i-
prop, blossoming cherry tree far left.

lion Of “l‘3lh Night" ht \\'I1§hi"i!t0"- D-(1 and what is now the nursery rhyme "Ring-
spect. there's no difference at all. Christ a-ring a Pusey." both of wliicli date from
was sacrificed to appease the organized l-ls- that GiO\'1ll\"i had \\'m‘l<¢t-l <1" llll PBYfufm-
rd ilk which \1§(‘<l all <‘XP¢rlln¢t\t=1l lvllv the plague times in London, “where all the
tablislunent and was condemned as a crimi- church bells rang against the bubonic
nal. which is not the case with Howie. If ruck score. Giovanni was sounded out
then. §h°“'" lh script. which he liked. and plague. Of course. the first symptom of it
anything. it was the Establishment that is that you gt-t ;t st,-mtg 5|-nett of ,05¢5 |
Shaffer attacked in his script. Summerisle promised that if the film ever came to pro-
duction. he'd be the man to write the mu- don't know why. And you also get a horri-
embodies the pagan l)Cli€fS—lIC is responsi- ble round scar on your body. i.c. rfugx.
ble. the third generation of the founding of sic.
Now the tunes of tltose come from old pag-
it. for its being on the island. Part of the Giovanni is multi-talented; he's a play-
wright. actor. director. singer and musician. an songs several centuries before lIio.n'
mysterious effect of the film is hound up times."
with this fact and in the various scenes and lle was horn in .-\tlat\tiC City. which in
some cases could be a detriment. but he be- “In my research." says Giovanni. “l dis-
descriptions of pagan ritual that actually covered that as far back as the 10th cen-
take place in the film." gan to work acting and directing in regional
to tury. people in l-Ingland were importing
llardy conceived the role as a romantic and summer stock theatre and came things from all over the world. And not
figure and felt that Lee's fans would ex- New \'ork to join the cast of“Thc
l"antas~
an offer from just from the lloly Roman Empire. There's
pect all sorts of things to happen and be ticks" in 1962. lle left for very little written about that. They had
attempl- Chaikin and his Open Theatre and per-
surprised when they didn't. They _]oe
dnims and instruments from A/rica. some
ed a kind of ambivalence as to the actual formed in that group's most prominent
of which we used in the film. They were
content of villainy in Summerisle. Lee's fa- political theatre piece “Viet Rock."
When
persona bursts through more the collective began to fall apart. Giovanni probably brought in by a few progressive
miliar screen people who weren't afraid to sail in every
than once during the course of the film. began singing and composing and
formed a
folk-rock group called Sideshow. which direction. You think that trade began with
llow villainous was he supposed to bc? the Renaissance. but when you go back to
Hardy begs the question. “A similar toured and recorded for Atlantic. lt lasted Celtic times you find engravings. metal-
to get inter-
question might be asked. was Hitler really four years. (“just as we began Too many work. jewelry~it's all in their own style
anti-Semitic or did he simply use it?" But esting. the group fell apart.
the discipline of but the tools used had to have come from
the analogy seems wildly out of place. The dnigs and hysterics. plus concerts. othor countries, Now, take ri songlike ‘Sil-
character. whether he's playing a game rehearsing every night and doing democracy: it ver Dagger,‘ which Joan Baez recorded in
(and if so. why?) or is gen- It was my final lesson in
with the people Apptilacliia, very American, but you'll find
uine. as the screenplay implies. is simply doesn't work.")
Giovanni then went back to the theatre. the same thing in England in I650, with a
what each viewer will make of it. And if diffet-cm gct of im3gg§, so whqgvcr settled
so. will it depend. like a Kuleshovian ex- alternating acting and directing. of which
of each viewer's he prefers thelatter. in thosg mountains took the song, which
periment. on the degree they remembered. but changed it over the
familiarity with l.ee's screen career? “lt was one of those things when-‘ l3tit-a 3-mt-5 until it CQm,¢y¢daComp|et¢ty Am".
While it seems a remarkably practical ish Lion fiddled
with the screenplay for
of this pagan soul time. couldn't make up their minds. then— inn tam The mots at those songs in Eng.
move on the part land come from Celtic lyrics which you can
(“. . .but not an unenli htened one. l l1|\§!*'l"YY'"‘ l'=i\dY 1° 3° l" “*0 ‘W-‘°k5 c
scene. Suddenly. l had about it-3“ through tho ();¢fo,-,1 Aiiiliology of
hope," as he tells Howie. no one inter- typical movie research. Eriglisli Poetry back to the llth or 12th
viewed professed to know just why Chris- six weeks to Pl‘¢Pi\l’¢- ¢°"'P"5°
which all had centuries and some all the way back to the
to wear his favorite and record the soundtrack,
toplier l.ee chose before the first day's shooting." 7th_
sneakers for the May Day procession. to be done
“l-;ngl,-ind has ;t moon stronger folk pop-
. .
Throughout his career. Giovanni has al-
ways loved folk music and was fully aware nhtrity than W; do_ They have sii crb mo-
that the roots of American folk music. as dcm gruupg likt; I-‘;tit-pot-t Cot-tveniiion and
vn' THE MUSIC sung by no-frills people like l_’L'tc §v¢gCY. Pentangle that sing straight folk songs. On
an aygfage wcckgnd, folk groups like the
“It s haunting, and an unorthodox lay in English and Scottish muSlC.wltl1l);t§-
ically the same songs rc-appcaringin differ Corry Brothers, who are very popular. all
way to do it, but the music is prob- ent centuries and countries with a different over hngland and more so in Scotland» and
ab“, ant“ ‘O anything you hay: CV“ Scotland ml! does nut have a real rock
h d H before ,. set of images to reflect the differing cul-
‘m ' tures andlocales. sound gather to sing straight folk music.
em on songs about the Battle of Culloden. things
-P519!‘ Sm?" liccause most of the music is in the oral
tradition. scholars have found songs in iso- like that."
lated .'\pal;\t'ltian i\lountain regions. in the Once hired injuly. 1972. Giovanni took
The sense of the songs. and how they a long look at the final screenplay and de-
should be used in the lm. came in part castem U.S.. that are inure urigiiinl than
versions that appeared in l-lngland a few cided to throw outmost of Shaffcr's “sam-
from llardy's original research. basically ple" lyrics, because he felt they were im-
from the work of a man named Sharpe. centuries In-fun’. By the same token. ling-
uistic experts have found in the same areas possible to “set” effectively. lle knew‘that
who was. as llardy notes. again “very much if Shaffer's ideas were not trea_t‘ed serious-
like the character described as Summer- surviving speech patterns that date to l-lliza-
hcthan lingland. ly. or if the music was “‘wrong. the whole
islc's grandfather- one of those cager-beav- film would become ludicrous. Ht‘ also real-
er Victorians." During the mid-19th cen- llardy cites an example ofhow deep thc
heritage runs in the song “Oranges and ized what they all feared collectively. that
tury. he attempted to research and codify if they put in too much singing anti danc-
all of the songs in l-lngland. His work was Lemons (Say The Bells of St. Clemons)"

34
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than they should be singing a ham)‘. nically~tliat
song while Howit is dying
Cd the Dbl:
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-

mg ‘gummgf ich iclmin in‘ [W-ic so

thin the instruments and voices
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th t I.“ t .
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Proccsslon tulw In
fit It in harmonically with

—P£t\|l GIOVEIIIIII

mg. despite carrying through the fact that a

pagan society was full of music. the film
_
Sound was so had—tech-
“T0 giyc the film 3 hilm-|-Q gn(|ing_ think. . . Butwetheeventually had to re-record
“_ork'_ some of it at l)i:l,ane Lea. Actually. the
worked to our favor.
bad recortling process
because that music sounded Ill!) good for
the band that was supposed to be playing it
onscreen. I'm not a classical musician. but
the conducting student helped me bone up
on scoring for bi‘ass—what instruments
could htt what range. We especially wanted
to get pirrriiig kind of sounds and spent a
lot of time on it.
“We were. by agreement. committed to
a non-electronic score. everything aecous-
Tvp: l.ord Summerisle (Christopher Lee).
dances at tho head of the .\lay Day pro-
cession. dressed as the \\oman/lung; he
is followed by tlte llohby llorse. worn by
Oak (Ian Campbell). and by Punch. the
Fool, actually Sergeant llinvic (Edward
Woodward). taking the place of innkeeper
Alder _.\I_acGregor._ Ifnllmn: .~\s _llowic
burns inside the wicker man. the villagers.
led by the lihrariaii (Ingrid Pitt). schuol>
mistress Rose (Diane Cilento) and l.ortl
Suminerisle. sing a joyous song to celebrate
the bt-‘ginning of summer and tlte rebirth of
t|“-irorr~]1;_ml;_
would turn into a musical. “l felt right tie. But we wound up with one piece of
from the beginning that what I was doing straight rock. used over the chase through
the caves. l think it was ii mistake; it girl l found in London who deliberately
was not stylistically in keeping with the
sounds bad and is not in keeping witlt the tried to intone it and accent it to sound
screenplay. But everyone seemed to like it
rest of it. I'd like to take it out. There's a like Britt."
so much that I stuck lo it and decided to The procession march is wholly original.
develop the songs more fully than the four little bit of an electric guitar in the se-
quence where the villagers all play tricks on “\\'hat I did was to take a vcry old song» in
or fivc lines accorded to each in the screen- this case it was '\\'illy of \\'insb\iry.' I-lth
play. You can't develop a song or an at- llowie. and the hide-and-seek with the
Ilobby Horse, but we play a lot of Scottish century take the melody and form it into
mospherc in that short a time." a piece for a brass baiitl. I wanted 1i waltz.
,<\part from the time clement, Giovanni jigs against it. and it works a lot better."
The opening musical sounds. hefore the in three. so that it could be slower antl
had another problem: he hadn't the sliglit- stranger antl that the whole procession
est idea ltow to go about scoringa film. “l first song “Cornrigs and llarlcyrigs." is a
piece of Gaelic mouth music. very similar coitld stirt of sway. Just after that. the
couldn't get anyone to tell me how. |call- 'buming' music. also used over the aimoint-
ed around and talked to a couple of people to scat singing. “Cornrigs." sung by Gio-
vanni over the credits. sounds the closest to ing scenes. prominently uses the Celtic
and finally arranged a session with Marc harp»thc guy standing on a rock is playiitg
Wilkinson, who I sort of knew. lle worked a conventional popular song. “The entire
lyric is hy Robert Burns. one ofhis ‘Songs.’ it. It looks like a lyre. a at wood triangle.
at the National Theatre and has scored a and it only ltas about seven notes. but it's a
number of films. a few of them horror. you and the sound was deliberate in that l was
trying to make a sound to show that thc most extraordinary sound. We re-recorded
may remember Pier Ila ard's BLOOD ON that at l)cl.anc Lea —we could ne\'er have
SAT.-\N'S CL.-\W. And lltge told me to work community ttvi.\' coiiteinporary. iii the
1970's. apart from their religious practices. duplicated that sound at Shepperton."
it all out the way I wanted in a studio.just The l\Iay Pole song. which is a cycle of
to make sure it would fit in with the shoot- I've set a lot of Shakespeare to music. and I
always try to sct it just the way it was writ- life rhyinc. is also very old. ".-\ctually. we
ing script. because everything would be recorded that in the studio with girls al-
pre-recorded and nothing should be chang- ten. .-\ lot of the old poets are wonderful in
that respect; their work Iias hooks in them though onscreen we have the boys ‘singing'
ed after that. Then during shooting we it. I hadn't wanted to bring in a bunch of
would play the tracks on a Wolleiisack. and and repeats. almost a real rock layout."
“The Landlord's Daughter" is the most boy sopranos for an aftenioon. it's too ex-
the actors would learn to lip-sync what was pcnsivc. so the girls tltat we had for the
there." manufactured song in the film. It intro-
In the songs and lyrics. whenever possi- duces most explicitly the kind of sexual other work over-dubbed a couple of tracks.
imagery that is at the root of all the music and it worked."
blc and if not too obscure. Giovanni used The only sting in Shaffcr's screenplay
original phrrisings and wrote the music as in the film and corresponds to the fertility
rites and beliefs of the island's religion. It is that was retained was "The Rain of Derby"
pieces that. so it would not be unnatural. a
a pub song that reveals all the attributes which Cilento and Lee actually sing. “The
small village band could have orchestrated song was iiitich longer and was to be three
Vii! trllltin fl)!’ thm5el\‘B5 and ilt'(‘0i'lllI\g- and illusions of the girl who served as the
community's initiator. who in Roman verses. with the whole scene to he built a-
Iy. be able to play. There was an attempt rottntl it. but it was towards the end of
nu! to write traditional mood music. that times was called the ‘Public lIarlot.' I
wrote that based on an I8th century'song shooting. and when it came to do ii. we
the music would not create artificial ten- thought it was too long. .-\nd whole chunks
sion apart from the images or telegraph up- which was a bit weirder. Our song is a little
bit more incisive in its specific lritirl of filth were thrown out at beginning and end. lt
coming action. as most film scores do. doesn't make too much sense in the film»
“\\'ith a conducting student from the . . ." it's too elaborate: and unsubtle a gag. all
Royal Academy. I auditioned about five or llere is where the fact that Giovanni had
only people who chosen performing musicians/singers paid sexual imagery. .'\nd to make it work
six musicians. I picked would have required more time. If I had
all carried on location to
were very musical. who could sing as well off. for they were known it would work out that way.
perform in the actual filming. so that if the
I
as play instruments. I didn't want anyone would have written something smaller.“
them. it would look as
to sound ‘trained,’ although most of them camera passed over playing and singing. In The final song almost everyone relates
were music students from the London Con- if they were really
were. and the number as to Chaucer. but it is not. “It comes way be-
servatory. \\’e also picked the instrumenta- this case they was recorded live fore him. It's the oldest song in the linglish
authentic possible. There heard on the soundtrack
tion to be as as
language. probably goes back to the 9th or
are a lot of old instruments in there. like a in the pub.
“Cently_]ohnny" is the best song in the I0tli century. The thing is .ro scared »it
Celtic harp which l found in a museum female vocal and goes right back to the worsltip of the sun.
which lent it to us. But basically it was a film and along with the nude dance, Peter Shaffer wrote :in adaptation ofit. the
sound that a town band could come up music used under l'lkland's original is Old I-lnglish. translated from the
with. best represents the function of the songs
of course. at with the images and thcmes~a complete ().vf0r:I .~ln1Iiu!o_qy it's the first thing in it.
“We initially recorded. To give the film a bi‘/.arrc ending. that they
works to
Shepperton, but the studio seemed to be fusion-that in these two cases. effect. should be singing a happy song while llow-
dying. and they weren't too interested. I a strange. masterfully hypnotic ie is dying. we worked the .\Iay Day primes»
studio people liked us too “‘Gently johnny‘ uses three old lyrics com-
don't think the edited. There sion tune in brass and fit it in harmoically
much—we were all young and punk-y look~ hincd into one and slightly with the ‘summer ich iccumin in‘ lyric so
ballads that use the
ing. and I was an American~and they are about seven old that the instruments and voices blend on
we were do- idea of gigolo. or ‘jingolo' as it was Called
thought we didn't know what a
the two different pieces. It worked very
Richard Rodney then. The idea for the other song was com-
ing. They were used to well. and it's too bad that we couldn't
Bennett and all those kind ofpeople. pletely original with mcitliere is no indi-
it was to be in the script ex- work on that high a calibre all the way
“I arranged for the brass section of the cation of what lines of absolute fillli. The through."
London Symphony to come in and record cept a couple
the burning main thing is in the rhythm, and we used THE WICKER l\lAN was Giovanni's
the .\Iay Day procession and in there. first. and although he has not actively pur-
music~all brass pieces. When they showed all of the old twangy instruments sued others. only film.
up. the studio people didn't know what to That is not Britt singing
but a little Iinglish

36
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 \.']][; ‘.\FT|-jR‘\[A']"}{ nearly the same time as the giant Gaumont Top: The landlord. .-\lder Macregor (Lind-
brtttsh. The key man involved and first sey Kemp). and the landlord's daughter.
-‘An unnished lm is in a n,a“§i_ headlwas lzdgar \\l'allat'le. the r3):stelry|writ- ?\l'illow (Britt Elrland). If/Jllnm Left: .\s
. . . cr. W10 set ll up arge y as a l'l\ISl ttstri- owie frenetica y searches the villa_ e for
"Gila! stat“ and ‘luring ll‘ crl bod) htttion entity. for a while specializing in the missing girl. he barges in on the liiJrari-
who worked on it wants to control Republic product. In the ‘~l0s it came un- an (Ingrid Pitt). who seems ttnconcerlted.
it_ And you gt-1; thy; |1]()§[ itliotig pow. dcr the aegis of Alexander Korda and his as she readies herself for the May l):ty cele-
cr pklys‘ on a Sma" scale‘ that y0u".L. l.ondon ltlins. ln l9:'i~l. it was liquidated brations. ffullunt Rieltlz 'l'. ll. Lennox
And nobody Sccmcd to lntt nnmed_tat_ely rcctrgantacd with funds (Donald l-.ccles). photographer of each
‘ - “ front tlte Xational Film lrmance (.orpora- year's harvest festival. and the town's
5l~4"( “P ‘ind lull“? ¢l14tgtl- tton. But by the early '60s the studio was cltetnist. in his shop not vottr regular
—l’at|l Gt0\'ilnnl again in trottble. and in I964 the t\'l"l-‘C drugstore. i i
auctioned it off. witlt the highest bid. itt I

'l'hc shooting was completed. and the the neighborhood of $4.8 million. put for-
actors and crew dismissed. and tlte project ward by a group of ittdependents that in- i“‘lil‘ l)"‘~'l9Y "Pcrillllitlui "l l-"5 -‘\"€'~‘l'l5l
moved hack to Shepperton for editing. Pre- cludcd \\'altet' Reade. the Boulting Broth- til ll": "UV l'il\ll Fll""|5- l" L'll¢"i- lmm lllill
sent. for a time at least. were llartly. Snell. ers. i\lichacl Balcon. Tony Richardson. ll3|"~‘- llfilisli l-ll!" iii“ l"~‘=\5cll ll! l‘Xi§l-
Peter Shaffer. sitting in for his brother who ‘]ohn Osborne. Joseph _]anni. and John l" ll" Sl"i“B ‘ll 1973' ii" While lmll‘
*1

left to attend to another commitment. ed- Schlesinger. with the ltoultings. Sidney Gil- Snell and Deeley/Spikings were together at
itor lirir Boyd Perkins. and Giovanni. \vho lialt antl l"rank Latmder taking the princi~ British Lion; SI"-‘lb \\'l\05l‘ ftinlritt-‘t I‘-111 U"-
was asketl to stay on because of the com- pal Board seats. In November. l97l. Star til June urjtllyi 011 hi5 Wit)’ Out. but with
plicated natttre of the music. llowever. the Associatetl. a conglomerate that owned properties to protect. antl Deeley/Spikings
office polities at British Lion had begun to some theatres. bingo balls and discos. ac- on tlteir way in. The dating of the events
get hot. .\ccording to Giovanni. "When the quired it. with the new owners Derek and that followed is fuzzy. l-lveryone interview-
film was finished. l was supposed to be Rodney Eckart retainingylohn Boulting as ed came up with slightly different versions.
(lune, with my fee about $2000 for wltal managing director. and there is simply no authoritative source
turned out to he K or 9 months‘ work. This led into one of the worst periods in to clteck. Unfortunately. the man who
Then they asked tne to stay on for the etlit- the British industry. .~\s llardy put it. “ll could have helped. ;\lichacl Deeley. who
ing and mixing of the §otttttl_ it-lticlt was an was a titne literally of robber land barons. comes out of this tale as a villain. skirted
additional three months. .-\n unfinisltt-tl men involved principally in real estate. who ottr attempts to talk with him, whether he-
film is in a transitional state.antl during it. fame into the studios and asset-stripped cause he was too busy- he is overseeing
everybody who worked on it wants to cott- them for the property." Through the finan- three l'l.\ll films now shooting in the U.S.
trol it, .\t1tt you see the mtygt itlitttic ptywer cial power of Jim Slater. who has since ('l'Hl'1 l)Rl\’l~1R. (I()l\'\'0\', Tllli l)l-ll-IR
plays. on a small scale. that you've ever been extradicted to Singapore for fraud. llUl\"l'liR) or unwilling to go on record
seen. .-\nd nobody seemed to stand up and _]ohn Bentley. nicknamed "Pretty Boy.“ about 'l'HF. WICKER l\l.»\N. is unknown.
say. ‘No, it's going to he like this." l think who had made a fortune in Australia and What is known is that Deeley thorough-
the editor really undermined it a lot. even had retired at age 22. took over British ly hated tlte film. probably did not under-
at this stage. llc seemed to keep losing Lion in .-\pril. I972. via his outfit. Barclay stand it. tlltltlgbt it had no market value
things. saying they hadn'd been shot. but Securities. a holding company that includ- whatsoever. -1"‘! rcfuscd ll. E\'¢I\
lo release
we knew that they damn well Inn/. 'l'here ed between I50 and '.’(lO companies with a in ilr\gl1u\d-
were things in there that Perkins ltulml l total annual tttrnover in l972 of $84 mil- Wllill‘ 5719“ li"llt‘l’I-‘ll till ill ll" >'\\1di0-
ill-‘
mean. he used to get red in the face and lion. The purchase price was S13 million altenlpted to promote Tllli WICKER l\l.-\N
say. ‘That's IIi.\'_t_m.rIing!' This. in 1973! lle on a two-for-seven stock swap. Bentley as much as possible, to try and get Deeley
was a real David Lean-type. mooning over brought in Peter Snell to run the §ttt¢lit;_ interested in it. lle subtnitted the film to
DR. Zlll\'.-\GO. 'l'hat's the kind of movie .\'ow in the Spring of I973. witlt Tilt; the British selerliuli hoard ir the Czuuws
he wanted to make. Till-1 \t'I(IKl-LR .\l.-\N \\'ICKt;R .\l.-\l\' it finished film of 102 tnin- Film Festival. but when it was not elwsen
was an original and he never understood utes. Bentley and Lord Goodman. the I0 represent Britain in official competition.
what it was about or how it should work. (Ihainnan of the Board of British Lion. ht’ Inuit ll ill!" ilk‘ mitrlsl $t‘l'li0t1 nll
as an accumulation of details. llc was a real were bought out by a fringe banker l)y the <‘tl"‘lt' UP Will! it t‘l1l55l1‘ 5i\|nl- (ll! it lll l-"Ill
jerk-off. a very dull man." mune of \’a\*asseur. \vhu threw in with an- lrllfh. \l1€Y lllllttetl tl0\\‘n lll "I16 Tvlllilliltg
Somehow. a version of the film was other large stockholder. .\licltael Deeley. wicker man from the filming. and accord-
completcd with a running time of l(l'l tnin- and the studio changed hands again. (ll is ing to Hardy. “set it up right in front of
utes. Both llardy and Snell were satisfied. estimated that Bentley made close to S6 the Carlton llotel. And everyone saw it.
although Christopher Lee was not and million on the deal.) Snell was pushed out, you cottltl not help but see it. from any-
complained that even at this length. much and lleeley and a businessman natned Bar- where in Cannes. since it was almost as tall
of what bad been shot \vas not there. "I ry Spikings came in as managing directors. as the hotel. lt was a terrific promotion."
thought that so tnttch magnificent dialogue l)eeley. at least. had been involved in lirom its screenings at Cannes. the film was
and meaningful story elements hatl been re- the film industry. His mother was a cutter. sold to a number of foreign territories.
moved. I think probably 20 to 25 minutes and he trained as one. too. before becom- llowever. at this point. it was not the same
had gone even at that point. We had shot ing an independent producer in I958. film that llardy and Snell had completed.
the entire screenplay. word for word. scene Since then. in addition to doing lo\v budget From l)eeley'5 point of view. it was a
for scene. and Hm! should have been the films. he has joined with Peter Yates at matter of commercial realities. ln his view.
film. apart from the inevitable tninor etlit- \\'oodfall (ROBBICRY) and with Stanley the question was, says Snell. "\\'as this a
ing. the tightening. that happens to all pic- Baker at Oakhurst (Tlll-I |'l‘.\l.l.-\N JOB. picture that should have been made by vir-
turcs. that went out to the theatres. l may among others). lle also presided over the fi- tttq of its ;t|,p¢;t] to the _-\merit'att market,
not be realistic about it. as an artist per- nancial disaster of .\lURPH\"S WAR. one and that answer was no." \\'hat he did was
furfning in it. but that was not anywhere of the biggest in British film history. to send a copy of the film in its original
near the film that should have been shown. Somewhere along the line since their 102-mittutt; form to Roger Cttnmttt in lini-
lt actually changed the potential of it. the taking over British Lion, a deal tnust have lytvootl for hi; Qpittiott ti; to what §|\t)\_|l(|
intelligibility of it." been matte with Nat Cohen. of E.\ll, who or cuultt he tltmc to make it play f.,,- Am".
But much worse would happen. for in since l975 had been slowly fazing out op- ietttt ;ttttti¢_-ti“-§_ wltieh wag ;t 511;;-wt] move,
the Spring of 1973, in a move that caught eration of their studio Elstree (in February. since if Ctlfllillll liked it. and worked on it.
everyone by Surprise. British l.ion was once they cut the resident staff from 261 to 48) he would likely pick up .-\merican/Canadi-
again sold. and Hardy. Snell. everyone eon» atttl converting it to a for-rent. or four-wall. an rights.
nected with the film's production, were situation. like Shepperton. (One of the last Following Corman's subsequent report
locked out frotn the studio. .-\t\d the film. in-house productions filmed there was 'l'O and catalogue of cttts. Deeley cut attd re-
Tu better understand what happened. 'l‘llli l)li\'ll. .~\ I).-\UGll'l‘liR.) Since July mixed the filtn to a length of about 87
and what would happen next. it is useful to of l97G. l-I.\ll acquired and ran British Lion minutes. F.litninated were all of the Scot-
glance at the past. always financially shaky as a Sl.'2 million tax loss. and as of_]uly of tish mainland scenes establishing llowie as
history of British Lion. i977. l‘lt\ll totally absorbed it. with Deeley a “card-carrying" Christian. .\lost harmful
The company was founded in 1927 at and Spikings retained as managing directors of all. “Gently johnny" was dropped.

38
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“British Lit)“ ilp|)l‘0;lCl'lC(l it by S:ty- tl\e film. TltnI'.r what it's about!" \\'illow (Britt l-lkland). the embodiment of
mg‘ ~Oh_ goodih if,» about human The idea of not releasing it was absu_rd .-\_phrodite. _taunts Sergeant‘ llowie'by rub-
sau-icc.. And they sudden“, shoved to Lu’. \t)l|.lI1J'l\Cd‘fll1‘l1_]l:|Sl:lS}Ul.l write hing. slapping and pounding against the
. . .- '. . .t book or paint a puturc. anything where wall to lus (ljOlI‘l|ng room. as she sings a
lt ml! 9“ ‘he c"'c‘-“t5- If if)“ |“c- _l'l\e the act of it is creative and commercial. sgtlttctivc, suggestive song to him, cuttntcp
|they do] . on at stcady diet of things llow could any company explain to its pointed by mttgie ltering up from the pub
“krON
'[‘[-[ER]-1's _.\ GIRL IN
THE BUSSES
MY SOUP stockholders‘ that it spent lltvir money to tlo“-tt§t;tit-5. '|‘hg §gqugy‘|(j¢ i5 frum lgft to
CARRY ON make _tl;c rftlm but have tlet*ttletl not to right. top to bottom.
F'\R.l.lNG whatever those lings show it. fherefore it hasyno tltattteao
‘ make back one red cent. lt s like building
31"-' 4-'llllL‘(l. l"1'\‘ll3hl)’. )'0ll €ilIll\0t 50¢ an apartment block then deciding not to they would go and see this film. as a favor
fttltcf than that after 3 tim¢," rent it and keep it empty. The film needs to me. I told them that if necessary I will
_A|“hon\. Shaffer careful promotion. gratttetl. to prepare peo- pay fo_r their seats. but please go. hven if
' ple for what they're going to see. I think a they did not like it. they could say so. but
majority of people who see it will find it at least see it. The published opinion of
i'l""R “'ll|‘ l-"'5 l""~“ll' "‘°"°l°E"'~‘ 0'" fascinating. l’;trticu|arly the young. who are 85-90% of them was that it was the most
ll‘? 5"?!“ l1wl~1t:\'- llllll by rullintz 50"“ min" always interested in the unknown. the original antl remarkable British film to have
or scenes and shortening others. ll0Wi¢'5 strange. the bizarre. The film could take been made in years. .-\nd it was an immedi-
two-night stay on the island was converted p|;t¢¢- ;tny\t'l\t'rt~; it /|1t])[)t'!l.\‘ to take place in ate §ucce§§,"
into one. Scotland. But it's an international story. Patti Giovanni: “It was treated like a
-'\5 ll-1"ll' “‘°"|d la!" Pl" il- "Til"? W115 The fact that it can be talked about. argued jerk-off. Wltatever you think of the long
"U F0"~“|l\i"i"" Wm‘ ll"? "f "§- Thi5 W85 about. thought about. well. that's gvmll .-\ w_-t-gig", tltu short one is lattgltaltle, very
the way the filtn was going to be. and bit of controversy. There's nothing worse. nearly silly. ll was treated like a vaudeville
tough titty! —that was it." or more boring. than l00% agreement on §hm\- in tltt- t~h;tnging umttml of st-qttences.
During protluction and initial editing. anything." lt is t-specially ludicrous. grotesque, even.
the filtntnakers had never specifically tail- The entire area of acceptability to .'\- to httvu l-1kl.nttlԤ dance cotne in so soon fit
oretl the film for the witlcst possible com- mcriean audiences as the be-all and end-all mule;-§ no st-ttst-_ _\|;tyh¢ hergtusc l worketl
mert'ial appeal. The thought probably (lid of filtn production is problemmalical. The on the original mix. the sound levels were
not t‘\'n'l1 0|-T\lt to them. L'§p'ii\ll)' Sitlft‘ film was also completed well before Tllli now way off.“
the screenplay had hcen approved as writ- l'lXORClS'l' smash. and the rash of ;\nti- Tony Shaffer especially was shocked.
ten by liritish Lion. lioth Hardy and Shaf- Christ movies which have ridden in on its lle. loo. called a “few mates" to go and
fer always believed that there would he no coattails. all mostly successfully. from see it. “There's a difference between try-
problem with British audiences taking to whiclt angle THE \\'lCKl-IR .\l.-\l\' cottld ing to cut for plot and trying to make a
the film. that they woultl believe. or st-15> have been exploited (if crassly). indeed. to journey worthwhile. We're not allowed at
pend disbelieving. \h€l"'~‘ml5l‘~ “"51 “'"\1l'~l his benefit. l)eelcy took on the prodttction any time to look out of the wimlow and
l<l1u\\' Of lh I-‘Xl$l¢IIC€‘ Of 5'-'0lli§h llilleni of Tltlli l\l.'\\' \\'ll() Fl~'.l.l. TO l'1.'\R'l'll. see what the society is all abottt. lf you de-
like Logan and that it was possible to grow \\*hi(‘h lm must apppar even more strange sign a film. as we did. so that the benefits
such things in that area. llo\vever.\h¢lll¢1-\ to .-\merican eyes (despite its beittg filmed and joys of a pagan society are explained.
of a t'IHll[)I1'lt‘/)‘ fertile island might seem here). and indeed. the picture had many \\'l\il¢ il5 llilrliflllf Ti"-‘S may IN" hi‘ 100
extraordinztry. since it would require a problems being sold ma U_S_tli§tyiltutnr, pleasant, you've gul In lulu‘ lime. You
great act of will on somebody's part to One film that l)eeley tlid gelhehind was need to make people believe in it; you
make it work. DON'T‘ LOOK NOW (also a Nick Roeg can't just bound through it as if it were a
Shaffer ft-It that perhaps \\'t)odtv1tt't.l was film). a liritislt/Italian joint effort protlu<‘- 60-minute tclcvisimt play. You simply
too old to be believed a virgin. “\\'t‘ll. if ed by Peter Katz. which Snell had bought don't gct the flavor of it; yott no longer
you get some titters in the audience about for British release through the tlumestic use your imagination. When you take out
that. maybe ifyou don't imagine the world distribution system he had set up at British all these things. you tll\'l mt'I't-'1)’ mill“ J
is in a very had state. then Illo. The people Lion. lt became. on its British run. begun slimmer picture but a less interesting one.
who moan abottt the quality of life now late in October. 1973. the company's big- British l.ion approached it by saying. ‘Oh.
compared to how it used to he have only gest hit. perhaps its only financial success. gvmllir. it's about human sacrifice.' .-\nd
themselves to blame. If you tear down a Later, Deelcy would claim that hr had ar- they suddenly shoved it out on the cir-
nice old building and put up some shitty ranged the film‘s purchase for British Lion, cuits."
supermarket. you cannot then complain taking all the credit from Snell. Shaffer also relates it to the current
that shoppingis no longer any fun and that Then. unexpectedly, late in December. state of the British industry and its pecul-
yottr town now looks worse than it did. It's i973. Tllli \\'lCKl'§R .\l.~\N appeared on iarities. “l realize that when managing di-
the same with sex. I'm not advocating that the lower half of a double bill with DON'T rectors change seats. the incoming one is
everyone go around married. but there is LOOK NOW, on the latter's sub-runs. not wholly devoted to the product of his
too much sex about. \\'hy do so many peo- There was no announcement. no publicity. predecessor. You find yourself with a total
ple lta\'e hang-ups about it. \\'ell. precisely no screenings for the critics. change of policy. Whether it was inspired
this: once it had its own mystery. but now The reaction was immediate on the part by jealousy or because they wanted to do
it's opened up. like a barnyard. so that of the lmmakers. all of whom suddenly something else. I don't know. Sometimes
within a generation or so. the act has be- saw the shortened version of the film for it is easier to lose money rather than make
come meaningless. And people wonder the first time. it. lt is disappointing especially in light of
what happened to virility. . . Woodtvartl is Christopher l.ceI “Well. the film was how little is produced in this country. Es-
a popular TV star. and he's a very up-form just butchered. it was just outrageous. ll pecially when you show it to people anti it
fellow. \\'hat would the film have be‘en like was in a form that some of it didn't make gets good notices antl they still want to
if we'd flown in some American star to sense. The continuity of it was lostzscencs bury it, llt-ll, | tlnn‘t untlerslttntl that, lis-
trudge about? lf\\'ondward had been. say. that were in sequence in the story were pt-ci;t|ly wltcn you st-e some of the crap
‘Z5. it would have been better, but rcmem- moved around so that it became difficult getting first-rttyt rt-It-;i5t-5 ht-rt-_ ll" you live,
ber. he also has to embody authority. to understand. particularly for audiences like (ht; poor fellows at Bi-itislt Lion, on a
"The fttnny thing about Deeley not coming into it cold. who were .\"1t'!l cnthrall- steady diet of things like Tlll-lRl-l‘S .'\
thinking it would do business is the terrible ed. If you consider the script A to Z. in GIRL lN MY SOUP or 0l\' 'l‘lll'l BUSSES
salesmen who came to see it [at Cannes|.l this version the letters .\l-l\'-O suddenly or C.-\RR\' ()l\' F.-\RTll\'G or whatever
didn't sec anyone under the agc of 60 popped in before I)-l-I-F. antl so on. I'm those things are called. inevitably. you
there. They hated it. because obviously the sure the public was confttsed by il. because cannot see further than that after a time.
cavalry didn't come at the end. They had the slur-_v of a filtn like this. that works on lt's a vicious circle."
little idea what it was about. But at the end so many levels. mus! be simple so that you Possibly the film had only been released
of it. one of them turned to me and said. ran follow what's going on. to qualify as a British quota film and tltus
‘You never know with these things. ldon't "I did one thing that l'vc never done be- become eligible for llady subsidy money.
understand a word ofit. but l hope it goes. fore in my entire life and will never prc- But the press sought the film out: a few
Tottclt tvuml!‘ You see. that's one of the sume to do again: l rang up all the film ventured in print to wonder why it hatl
superstitions that we're talking about in critics whom l knew and asked them if been given such treatment. and it eventual-

40
 _i
‘|'_’_‘

‘T
I
VI’
J2
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r‘_i
 “War|1¢|~ Bros took ovgf [THE W]CK_ shut down Cinema Center Films, the Na- Top: On .\lay Day. l.ord Summerisle (Chris-
ER “AN
and Naonaj Gcncrafs] en_ tional General product source dried tip. .~\l- topher Lee) offers casks of ale as a libation
re catalo mail“ bccause the so. National General was ownetl by .-\meri- to the God of the Sea. Bnltnm Left: Chris-
gu _i _ i can Financial. and they didn't really want toplier Lee discusses the lm with its new
U.S. distributor. Stirling Smith of Abraxas
Yer)’ badly Wanted F"'5l -‘\rt|§\5- Th'~'Y to be in the film business at all. so that was
l00l£C(l at lllt‘ ICSI of the fllm and that. We had hada good deal with National Film Corporation. Iintlnm Right: Lord
said‘ ‘Do what you can with thcm‘_ General l won't tell you for publication Summerisle takes .~\sh Buchanan (Richard
h did“-I suéprisc me whcn they the actual But it was tzver S?00.f)0g Wren)_to Willow. at tlie ipn. for his sexual
It h t t rs‘ .but .t Y p us an at ‘ttton amount ‘or prtiits an initiation. Cut out in tie stort terston.
fer C ‘gsc no 0 nan
Y
e l '
care
lo“ atlvertisitig. lhey also then involved a tax
shelter group to the tttne of Sl50,000.
IIOW 3i‘nCt'S COLI TC CS5
what ljappgngd to jt_" ‘fliour days after the deal was signed. contact the Performing Rights Society. but
__Dm,id Blake National General went bankrupt. l believe he got nowhere with them. And it wasn't
Charlie [Boasberg] let the deal go through big enough financially-a matter of a few
because ll\lCkSil\CC\l|;t'.‘l)_’ walnéed to get filmsxigt lthouspnd dollltlirs-to get thle lawyigr‘ really
Y CO CC CI nottCCS In
P0511“/C UT YHIXC [O [Ty illl 'CCP i atttma VIICTZI going.
< " TYPCK up J" g OVCT {III SCZIIC ll OUL
."!lIl”lIy Film Ritlleliti (1/74). ‘I‘i'nu: Out. ter all. they had Norman.l.evy as head of .-\nd to sue. I would have had to pay the
I.muImi Tf(77ll'.\' (I2/16/73), Lmidmi E!'l‘Vl- distribution and were tuming a healthy expenses. So that was that. l was screwed. l
itig lVl'Il.'S 2/28/74). The Firiaiicial Tim:-.r prot at the time. had been promised a soundtrack album.
(l'-'/l5/73)- and (.'incma'I'V Today. a trade “.-\nyw;iy. Leo Greeneld and Ted Ash- but of course. you usually don't expect all
gerisdicitl h(l‘i_/;_54)73)., ;§nd eve‘? frtfgrg ley in Wamer giro; took oycr their zngire tltolsle kinds oifhpromises! tofbe (lt;p;.£)'00)f
CD JFK, | C l Ill Ilfgl .l‘l'YUYlg l'w§ 4 ('L\l§l OKUC main Y CCil\-ISL‘ l\Cy VCTY 3 il|'( lil C?" pillt El CC ' Of’
9/7-I). The film played a long while in l.nn- wanted First Artists. They looked at the directing. but it meant a lot more to him.
doti. on double bills. and was successful rest of the films and said. ‘Do what you THE WICKER MAN had been his rst
wherever it was shown. and eventually can with them'—so it didn't surprise me time out clirectiuil 3i¢@\ll-\re.S0\0=1certain
moved itito a single billing at the Odeon when they later chose not to distribute it. extent. his future film career was on the
llaymarket. in London's West I-Ind. But de- Then they got caught in breach of perform- line.
spite all this. Deeley remained uniinpress- ance rights aiitl the film reverted to the tax ln the I-‘all of i976. llardy came to New
ed. and the film did not get out of London shelter people [Larry Gordon and his York to work on a pair of screenplays and
and into the provinces. Beachhead Properties]. You know, War- decided to try and locate the film. Through
ln .-\prtl. i974 no one is quite sure how ners could really care less what happened his laivyer. Bob Lasky, who specializes in
god \\';l;|l0*;hiC film \\';tSPL']r1lCt'Cd:’t1 the Tlhird to it." the film business, he began to dig around
‘estiv o ‘antastic ‘i ms in aris. wiere Such was the fate of a number ofotlter and traced its pat from British Lion to
il Won the Grtlll Prile uh April 30th. Bt’it- genre films that Warner Bros had acquired. National General to Warner Bros and final-
ish Lion was not pleased; to the contrary. by one means or another. Wamer Bros ly learned that it had reverted to the tax
Hardy claims. since he was Called “with at took one look at THE WICKER MAN. test- shelter group, which Lasky began to badg-
bitter complaint" demanding of him if he marketed _it in a few areas. reportedly sev- er. They came to_ter1ns. getting all the par-
had “smuggled the film into France. Prob- eral drive-ins. with no advance publicity ex- ttes to agree. which was no small task. “l
ably British Lion was upset because it was cept what Hardy described as "an unbeliev- assume." says llardy. “because of the tax
during this time that they were attempting able poster." shelter law changes. they might have been
to peddle the U.S. rights. with David Blake. On .\lay 15. Variety published a highly questioned on their tax write-off by the
their representative based here. showing favorable review (although their listed run- lRS. that there hadn't been a proper effort
the film to American distributors. ning time of 97 minutes is erroneous). to release it. [When queried, no one at
“l screened it for all the major distribu- Thtis far. it is the only review to appear in Larry Gordon's Beachhead Properties of-
tors." said Blake. “We tried to interest this country. fice returned my call. Anyway. they held
them first. naturally. because they are Unencouraged. near the end of i974. an auction. and out oftliree or four distrib-
inore cash-liappy than the minors. We Warner Bros then played offTllli WICKER utors who were interested. including A.
screened it very quickly; they Seemed im- M.-\N in a few additional areas. including Stirling Gold. a group called Ahraxas put in
pressed with it and were complimentary to San Diego and Atlanta. to satisfy the tax the highest bid."
it in conversation. but we got no offers. shelter requirements (that the film mus! Stirling Smith. the man who principally
“You should remember that only avery play commercially somewhere in the U.S. runs .-\braxas. is more of a film buff than
few indie lms ever make sense to major apart from sneak previews within the year thc usual businessmen one now finds in
distributors. unless they have the chance to o‘fl the tax deduction). then promptly slielv- lm élistribution. lllenhas produced and
go through the roof. They have had no c it and took the tax loss. _oste a weeknight y i_rt't program seen in
hand in their production. and they're just That was the last anvone heard of THE six Southern states. originating from New
not interested in anything with less pnlgrp WlCKl-ZR l\lAl\' for several years. The filni- Orleans. Ahraxas has been in operation a-
tial; they don't need that risk. And THE makers involved chalked it up to experi- bout 2‘/1 years. up to now. mainly as an in-
WICKER M.-\l\' just did not have that ence and moved on to other projects. The vestor conduit for the acquisition of dom-
spark, principals, such was their faith in the pro- estic rights to films that are unable to se-
“Remember. too. that at that time we ject. had never been paid for their work. cure a U.S. distributor or films that have
were aftera large cash guarantee. ofat least Snell. Lee and Shaffer had worked for been shelved by the majors. Some of the
SI million. We had had success in the past nothing, taking deferred salaries and gross films Smith has attempted to raise funds
with selling British Lion product for ad- points. Giovanni had been paid a small for are F FOR F.-\Kl".. $0l.1\RlS~ 'i‘i‘li‘l
vances that large. sum. but about a year later. in 1975. he at- SPIRIT OF THE Bl-ll-}lll\'l'l. and Herzog's
“We then showed it to the minors. even tempted to check into royalties due him .'\GUlRRF.. all of which eventually found
though we knew that they could not offer for the music. “Snell was convinced that he other distributors and commercial release.
much money upfront. I sat with Roger was going to make a fortune from the mu- Smith has had two set-backs. first in co-
Corman while he watched it, but he felt it sic. from a soundtrack album. and he also producing Noel Black's .\l.~\Rl.~\NNE. now
was too long and would only take it if he thought that ‘Gently johnny’ could if ex- tied up in litigation and resting in a lab.
could fool around with it." ploitcd become a popular hit. l told him and second. in the unsuccessful resurrec-
Corman eventually offered a hid of ‘Look. l'\'e spent four years in the business, tion of a Christopher Lee vehicle NOTH-
$50,000. and probably would have gotten and that's just no! a hit song. even ‘Corn- ING BUT Tlll-1 NIGHT. through lnterna-
behind it solidly in terms of promotion rigs‘ is far from it.‘ But he was excited. tional Films. Smith wants to specialize in
time and money. but British Lion was out Anyway, when you write a score in l-lur- fantasy. horror. and off-beat films and is
to recover as much money upfront against ope, you sell it outright. and you are sup- prepared. through Abraxas. to give careful
the film's cost as they could. posed to get a fCC—S0me‘ll‘ting like a nickel attention to the films he handles. aware
“I-'inally." continues Blake. “we made a Aeach time the thing goes through the pro- that while the potential of each is limited.
deal with Charles Boasberg at National jector. there is potential there. The purchase price
General. At the time they had been hand- “Now l never received one royalty that Abraxas paid to Beaclihead Properties
ling TIIE GET.-\\\'.»\Y with great success. check, even when the movie was selling out for THE WICKER .\l.-\N was in the form of
But just about then, when CBS decided to in London and japan. So l got a lawyer to continued page 46

1 42
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sorry. One should always be A I ‘_ .
open to the regenerative influ " V ~..

ences. My how they love their 15'“ I

divinity lessons! Howie: But -'3,"., ti’ vqq
they're naked! Summerisle: Na- ' Z-Y " ' i '- _'
turally. lt's much too danger _-firs ‘
ous to jump through the fire l;_\,j‘,‘~,-
with your clothes on. Howie: "1";
(scornful) What kind of reli- A v
gion can they be learning, 1;.“ ‘
jumping over bonres! Sum- '7 Ii-2"‘ -A
tncrislc: Parthenogenesis, liter
ally as Miss Rose would doubt
less explain in her assiduous
way. reproduction without sex- *-
ual union. Howie: What non- .3‘
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rehglonl Have they never heard ofjetul? Summer-ule. Hunaelf

the son of a virgin impregnated, I believe, by agaoat. . .Do sit
down, lhoch are I0 mueh better ablorhed with e knee: bent.
Oh Y8, lctgnnt. Even Christian: believe in parthenogeneais.
As for those children out there-th ‘re leapini through the
flame: in the hope that the God of may ma e them fruit-
ful. And really, you know, you can hardly blame them. After
all what girl would not prefer the child of a God to that of
some acne-scarred Artilan.

W , ~_:a¢"¥~'lv

xi v_‘
 “Looking back on 1|“. whole thing the fi_lm industr_y. livery studio keeps the Producer Peter_SneIl.screenwriter .»\nthony
to scc the lms that have bean suc_ negatives aurl trims of every film |\ makes. Shaffer and director Robin Ilardy confer
. . good. bad. Indifferent. old and new. Out- on location tn Scotland.
ccssful smcc' and ‘lune successful‘ side of cases like the natural disintegration
THE “YICKER “AN “'35 marginally of nitrate stock. how do you destroy 386
well ahead of its time." cans of film quote by mistake unqoulv- in the .\'nIimmI I:'nquin'r in the .-\|)ril :3.
__[);“vi(] Blakg Tl1ill'5 l" (I19 Tcillm "ffil"l1\5Y- S"m'~'llll"I§ I977. edition reporting how Rod Stewart
"HY Smmgc I5 I-WI"? "ll l‘"‘?-ii offered a six-figure sum to lnty the “nudie
"~1"lY “IU\'"5~ “‘\fl¢‘\' "19""! "f l'ill)lK'5-
11 movie" and destroy it. keeping girlfriend
a 520.000 cash guarantee. a trip to Britain. letters. unansweretl telc- Britt l)kl;mL|'§ uutlu 5.»;-m-5 [mm ruut-ltiug
Ileartened by this turn in his long. frns- phone calls, the word was that British Lion _.\m.-rt.-mt umtgcm-¢§_ This is uitttur u t-unny
trating struggle (now five years after the had received all the negative. including the tum-u .,|- ;, ltumt, mm on 5“-“,;m'$ paw (;i.
film was made), llardy decided to take it at 87-minute version, buck from Hnmphries. ovanni 1li$lY\i§$t‘§ it its “rock star glamour"
step further. and in cooperation with and that a British Lion employee hadsign- hut "tt-L-mt-mluu; ltultlit-ity for tho l'il|u_ l
Smith. attempted to locate the footage— ed for it. .-\nd since then they say it has dis- can't believe he's serious. I mean. her tits
amounting to about fifteen mimnes that appeared. .~\ friend of mine in I...-\. said h;t\»t- ht-cu in "L-ttt-ly ;tll hut» mot-ics gittcg
Deeley had removed. so that Ahraxas could that Decley had told ltint that he didn't he- 'l'lll~', f\'l(;ll'l‘ 'l'lll-§\' R.~\II)I§l) .\llNSK\"$l"
have the full I02-minute version. In doing lie\'ed it had been destroyed.“ If we're lucky. .~\nterican audiences will
so. he uncovered perhaps the strangcst .-\sifto confirm that view. they had also soon he able to judge the Iilm for them-
story of the entire saga. originally said that all the publicity mater- selves. This incredible story is only about
They assumed. logically, that British ials. including color negatives and transpar- one. singlc film. I dread to think how many
Lion held the missing negative footage. So aucies. had been destroyed as well. but lat- other "unseen" filtns might ltave similar
Hardy began making calls. British Lion told er they were "found" and shipped to .~\- tales. if less absurd and lengthy.
(llt‘aelt-
that they could not locate the footage. braxas. head Properties. for instance. is rumored to
him
Hardy notified Snell and Shaffer in l.on- llowever. the trttth will probably never control the domestic rights to nearly J0!)
don, who also made inquiries and wcre emerge. .-\nd Ahraxas was left with only ff/ins!) The story is still evolving. In .‘\pril.
tumed away. the 2:": (short) prints. struck originally by 1977. :\l7I'.lXilS screened the film for the
The story is picked up by Snell. “What Natiottal General. to work \vitI\. Luckily. New York theatre owners. ()f them. Walter
was happening was that they couldn't find llardy remembered that a full-length print Reade offered a site for late May. hut due
it, .\nd nut he-ing ablc to titflivgy the neg} of the filtn had been sent to the ll.S. So he to I) the extraordinary expense'1)oftheopening
tivo trim; was ('rnb;|‘3§§i|‘|g_ lit-itislt Lion got on the phone again. "I rang Corman's a film properly in New York:
neces-
lwicc ;|sk,_.d the mm “mm. to go Lkm.“ imo office and asked hitn if he had a copy. l>e- sary lab work is not yet completed: and 3)
the mu“; and look’ and he called mu L-at-1, cause it seemed a logical place _\\‘here it the exact final form of the film had yet to
time saying‘ -Ether ltmsc guys have muvul might be. Deeley having sought his advice. be ironed out by llardy (i.e. perhaps not all
it sum‘-plat-Q L-15‘-_ or we're only guiug .-\nd they looked around and called back of the cut footage will go back in). it was
through the motions.' British Lion kept be- and said. ‘Nu. we don't have it.‘ But I /ttlcw agreetl not to go with the
Reade house at
ing umltiguuug as ht-l] ubuut i|_ 50 | mud: u there had to he a print over here unless it. that titnt-,
.

trip down there and what I found was this: too. had been destroyed. In tnid-_]uly. Robin llardy was contact-
tho pictut-g was (tit tlu“-n tu 87+ minutes, "So I went back to Britain and asked ed through his agent by the New York City
Tlml negative was fixed and sent up to the some friends of mine at lower levels of Police who asked about the film and want-
vaults at Ilumphries. the laboratory. .-\nd llritish l.ion if they thought there was one etl to see a copy of the script. .'\t the time.
that was it. That wax TIIE lt'I(.‘I\'I'IIt' .\l.~I.\'! in London. They said. ‘Look. it's more the police were in the throes of the “Son
To all extents and purposes. I don't think than our lives are worth to tell you. but of Szun" murders and were clutching at
there was ever any question in Deeley's there isn't one here. There ix one some- straws for clues to the mnrderer's identity.
mind that it would :'r't'r be re-lengthened. where in the States. hnt \ve don't know Now. one of the nicknames the killer used
So all those negative trims were pushed where. in his second letter to columnist jimmy
back into Shepperton's vaults. "l then called up Ron Weinberg. at vice Ilreslin was "The Wicked King Wicker."
“I spent a lot of time there. looking president of .-\hraxas. I told him that if\ve Oddly enough, the police did not ask to
around. I nally looked at the records and did find it. he'd have to spend some mon- see the film. but Ilardy says. when he was
found that the trims. along with a lot of ey, but we could prim up some new see- asked to describe the plot. that "they cool-
positives. had been destroyed. The person tions from the positive print. and he said. ed a bit when I told them that at the end
who was managing the vaults at the time ‘We're prepared to do that to get the com- of it :1 cop \vas burned to death." Once
was told to clear out a certain number of plete version.' So he called all over the David llerkn\vit‘L. the alleged killer. was
them. and he did. inadvertantly destroying place. Finally I said. ‘You call London. captured. it was discovered that a street ad-
the negatives of three pictures not the they won't do anything for me.’ lle rang jaceut to the apartment building where
he
originals. which were also at IIumphries- up British Lion. told them he had. in fact. lived was named Wicker Street.
and the trims of TIIE WICKER MAN. just acquired the picture. could he see a .-\braxas has now set their official U.S.
thinking they were destroying positives on- full-length print of it. and they told him, premiere of Tllli WICKI-LR theatre M.-\I\' for Oe-
in New
matter of386 of film. "I'here‘s none here; it had been destroyed tober Eli. at the Sena .\la||
Iy. It came tu a cans
They wanted to get rid of it as closely as along with the negative trims.' Orleans. The two-week. Halloween booking
possible. so it went into the foundations of “Finally. on my hunch. he called Cor- at the agship huuse of the southeastern
a motorway that was bcinghuilt right next man and said. ‘There’s a rttmor that you Gulf States theatre chain will he kicked off
tu tho 5tttdiu_ have a print. Look. the negative'.s been de- with a special personal appearance by
“Now that was interpt-ctgd by Rubin stroyed. we're desperate to see this mater- Christopher |.ee. who is taking time out
uml utlwt-5 ue ,1 Cun§pir;tt~y_ but l ¢lun‘t ial. can you help us?. ;\nd Corman said. from his busy schedule lming C.-\R.-\-
think so. It was. frankly. British Lion just ‘Under those eirwmslanves. Iwill let you \‘.-\NS in Iran to come in for the lm's
tuuking the mt,“ way‘ ahtwugh they nal. have the print. because I do have it here.‘ It opening. .'\t this point. the version to he
ly atlmittutl it ltuu hggn d(§[|'()ygd_ Pgfgple had been there all the_timc. . ." screened is still the 87-minute "cut" ver-
don't destroy negative trims. but it happen- Cflmln I135 Ilotlilng to gain from the sion. but plans are still being considered to
ed. I can't believe it's a conspiracy; it's too filmii ¢\'9"lll;\l fI-'lv=1$¢- lull. in filFl- befre restore the film's missing footage. if only
petty and mean." the deal with Abraxas was signed. it was for its cvcnlual §;tl¢ tu _.\m¢ricuu tt-|¢vi;iQu_
But um-ltuus $n¢]l i5 ju§[ [King |'g[i(c|'|{ not his to lend. Needless to say. .—\braxas is tvltgt-9 u |()()-miuutu running tlmc is usually
since he's still working on projects with llu1\T(lil\llll\¢l"’lT\l Will‘ lI1eirli\'es-They ll"? desireable to accomodate a two-hour
time
Deeley. So is Shaffer. who would not attempting now tontakeathird generation slot,
speculate on the matter. who is currently negative from the Corman print. which was David Blake. the man who sold Tllli
Pic-
writing the new Christie picture. .\lURDliR nearly virgin having been run only a few \\'lCKF.R .\l.»\.\' to National General
ON 'l‘III-I NILE. for EMI. (A recent F..\ll ad times. and re-cut the-missing sections hack tures for American distribution. noted:
in l'nri1'l_v described him as “thceelehratcd into the film. The only worry now is what "Looking back on the whole thing. to see
.-\nthony Shafft-r.") kind ofvisual quality will result. the lms that have been successful since.
But others felt differently. Lee said. The only national exposure ‘l'II|i \\"lCK- and quite successful. Tllli WICKER .\I.-\N
“I‘ve never heard of that in all my years in l'lR I\l.-\X has received thus far is a small bit was marginally well ahead of its time."

45
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