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A screenplay penned by the acclaimed writer and featuring a horror icon and Edward Woodward should have been an ideal venture for director Robin Hardy while the production of The Wicker Man more than half a century ago.

Even though today it is celebrated as an iconic horror film, the extent of turmoil it brought the film-makers is now revealed in newly discovered letters and early versions of the script.

The Plot of The Wicker Man

The 1973 film centers on a puritan police officer, portrayed by Edward Woodward, who arrives on a remote Scottish island in search of a missing girl, but finds mysterious pagan residents who claim she ever existed. the actress was cast as an innkeeper’s sexually liberated daughter, who tempts the religious policeman, with Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle.

Production Tensions Uncovered

But the creative atmosphere was tense and contentious, the documents show. In a message to the writer, the director stated: “How dare you treat me like this?”

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

Heavy edits include the aristocrat’s dialogue in the final scene, which would have begun: “The girl was only a small part – the visible element. Don’t blame yourself, there was no way you could have known.”

Beyond Writer and Director

Conflict escalated outside the writer and director. A producer commented: “The writer’s skill has been offset by a self-indulgence that drove him to prove himself overly smart.”

In a letter to the production team, Hardy complained about the editor, the editing specialist: “I don’t think he appreciates the subject or style of the picture … and thinks that he has had enough of it.”

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

Lost Documents Found

An extensive correspondence about the film was among multiple bags of papers left in the loft of the old house of the director’s spouse, Caroline. Included were previously unseen scripts, storyboards, production photos and budget records, which reflect the challenges experienced by the team.

The director’s children his two sons, currently in their sixties, used the material for a forthcoming book, called Children of The Wicker Man. It reveals the intense stress faced by the director during the production of the movie – from his heart attack to financial ruin.

Personal Consequences

Initially, the film failed commercially and, in the aftermath of its failure, the director left his spouse and their children for a fresh start in the US. Court documents reveal Caroline as an unacknowledged producer and that he was indebted to her as much as £1m in today’s money. She was forced to give up the family home and passed away in the 1980s, aged 51, suffering from addiction, unaware that her film eventually became a global hit.

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

When he was contacted by a resident who had moved into the former family home, inquiring if he wanted to collect the documents, his first thought was to suggest burning “all of it”.

But then he and his stepbrother Dominic examined the sacks and understood the importance of what they held.

Revelations from the Papers

His brother, a scholar, said: “Every key figure is represented. We discovered an original script by Shaffer, 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.”

Compiling the publication has brought some “resolution”, Justin stated.

Financial Struggles

The family did not profit monetarily from the production, he added: “This movie earned a fortune for others. It’s unfair. Dad accepted five grand. Thus, he missed out on the profits. Christopher Lee never received payment from it either, although that he did his role for no pay, to leave his previous studio. So, in many ways, it was a harsh experience.”