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A screenplay written by the acclaimed writer and starring a horror icon and Edward Woodward could have been an ideal venture for director Robin Hardy during the filming of The Wicker Man over half a century ago.

Even though today it is celebrated as an iconic horror film, the extent of misery it caused the film-makers has now been revealed in newly discovered correspondence and script drafts.

The Storyline of The Wicker Man

This 1973 movie centers on a puritan police officer, portrayed by Edward Woodward, who travels on an isolated Scottish isle looking for a lost child, only to encounter sinister local pagans who deny she ever existed. Britt Ekland appeared as the daughter of a local innkeeper, who seduces the God-fearing officer, with Christopher Lee as the pagan aristocrat.

Production Tensions Uncovered

However, the working environment was tense and fractious, according to the letters. In a message to the writer, the director stated: “How dare you treat me this way?”

Shaffer was already famous with masterpieces like Sleuth, but his script of The Wicker Man reveals the director’s harsh edits to the screenplay.

Heavy edits feature Summerisle’s lines in the ending, which would have begun: “The child was but the tip of the iceberg – the visible element. Don’t blame yourself, there was no way you could have known.”

Apart from Writer and Director

Tensions boiled over outside the main pair. A producer commented: “Shaffer’s talent has been offset by a self-indulgence that impels him to prove himself overly smart.”

In a note to the producers, the director complained about the film’s editor, the editing specialist: “I believe he appreciates the subject or approach of the picture … and thinks that he has had enough of it.”

In one letter, Christopher Lee referred to the movie as “alluring and enigmatic”, despite “having to cope with a talkative producer, a stressed screenwriter and an overpaid and hostile director”.

Forgotten Papers Found

A large collection of letters about the production was part of multiple bags of papers forgotten in the attic of the old house of Hardy’s third wife, Caroline. There were also unpublished drafts, visual plans, production photos and budget records, many of which show the challenges experienced by the team.

The director’s children his two sons, now 60 and 63, used the material for an upcoming publication, called Children of The Wicker Man. It reveals the intense stress faced by Hardy during the making of the movie – including a health crisis to bankruptcy.

Personal Consequences

Initially, the film was a box office flop and, in the aftermath the disappointment, Hardy left his spouse and his family for a fresh start in the US. Court documents show Caroline as the film’s uncredited executive producer and that he was indebted to her as much as a large sum. She was forced to sell the family home and died in 1984, aged 51, suffering from addiction, never knowing that the project eventually became a global hit.

Justin, an acclaimed documentary maker, described The Wicker Man as “the film that ruined my family”.

When he was contacted by a woman who had moved into his mother’s old house, inquiring if he wanted to retrieve the documents, his initial reaction was to suggest burning “the bloody things”.

But then he and his stepbrother Dominic examined the bags and realised the significance of their contents.

Insights from the Papers

Dominic, an art historian, commented: “Every key figure are in there. We found an original script by the writer, but with his father’s notes as director, ‘controlling’ the writer’s excess. Due to his legal background, Shaffer did a lot of overexplaining and dad just went ‘cut, cut, cut’. They sort of respected each other and hated each other.”

Writing the book has brought some “resolution”, Justin said.

Financial Hardships

The family did not profit monetarily from the film, he added: “This movie has gone on to make a fortune for other people. It’s beyond a joke. Dad agreed to take a small fee. So he never received any of the upside. Christopher Lee never received payment from it either, despite the fact he performed the film for zero, to leave Hammer [Horror films]. So, in many ways, it’s been a harsh experience.”