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

Even though it is now revered as a cult horror masterpiece, the extent of turmoil it brought the film-makers is now uncovered in newly discovered correspondence and early versions of the script.

The Storyline of The Wicker Man

This 1973 movie centers on a devout policeman, played by Edward Woodward, who arrives on an isolated Scottish isle in search of a missing girl, but finds mysterious pagan residents who deny the girl was real. Britt Ekland appeared as the daughter of a local innkeeper, who seduces the God-fearing officer, with Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle.

Creative Tensions Uncovered

But the creative atmosphere was tense and fractious, the documents show. In a letter to Shaffer, Hardy wrote: “How could you handle me like this?”

The screenwriter had already made his name with acclaimed works like Sleuth, but his typed draft of The Wicker Man shows Hardy’s brutal cuts to his work.

Heavy edits include the aristocrat’s dialogue in the final scene, originally starting: “The girl was but the tip of the iceberg – the part that showed. Don’t blame yourself, there was no way for you to know.”

Beyond the Creative Duo

Conflict escalated beyond the main pair. One of the producers wrote: “The writer’s skill has been offset by a self-indulgence that drove him to show he was too clever by half.”

In a letter to the producers, Hardy complained about the film’s editor, the editing specialist: “I believe he appreciates the theme or style of the film … and feels that he is tired of it.”

In one letter, Lee referred to the film as “alluring and mysterious”, even with “dealing with a garrulous producer, an underpaid and harassed writer and an overpaid and hostile director”.

Lost Documents Found

A large collection of letters about the film was part of multiple bags of documents left in the attic of the old house of the director’s spouse, Caroline. Included were previously unseen scripts, visual plans, on-set photographs and budget records, which reflect the struggles experienced by the team.

Hardy’s sons his two sons, now 60 and 63, have drawn on these documents for an upcoming publication, titled Children of The Wicker Man. The book uncovers the intense stress on Hardy throughout the making of the movie – including a health crisis to financial ruin.

Family Consequences

Initially, the movie failed commercially and, following of its failure, the director left his spouse and his family for a fresh start in America. Court documents show his wife as the film’s uncredited executive 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 died in the 1980s, aged 51, suffering from alcoholism, never knowing that her film later turned into an international success.

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

When someone reached out by a resident living in his mother’s old house, asking whether he wanted to retrieve the sacks of papers, his initial reaction was to suggest destroying “the bloody things”.

But then he and his stepbrother Dominic opened up the bags and realised the importance of their contents.

Insights from the Documents

Dominic, a scholar, commented: “Every key figure are in there. We found the first draft by the writer, but with his father’s notes as director, ‘containing’ Shaffer’s overexuberance. Due to his legal background, Shaffer did a lot of overexplaining and his father just went ‘edit, edit, edit’. They loved each other and hated each other.”

Writing the book provided some “closure”, the son said.

Financial Struggles

The family never benefited financially from the production, he added: “This movie has gone on to make a fortune for others. It’s beyond a joke. Dad accepted five grand. Thus, he missed out on the profits. Christopher Lee never received any money from it either, although he performed his role for zero, to get out of Hammer [Horror films]. Therefore, it was a harsh experience.”