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A script written by the acclaimed writer and starring Christopher Lee and the lead actor was expected to be a dream project for director Robin Hardy during the production of The Wicker Man over 50 years ago.

Although today it is revered as an iconic horror film, the extent of misery it brought the film-makers is now revealed in newly discovered letters and early versions of the script.

The Plot of This Classic Film

This 1973 movie revolves around a devout policeman, played by the actor, who arrives on a remote Scottish island in search of a lost child, but finds sinister local pagans who deny she ever existed. Britt Ekland appeared as an innkeeper’s sexually liberated daughter, who tempts the religious policeman, with Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle.

Production Conflict Uncovered

However, the working environment was tense and contentious, 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 masterpieces such as Sleuth, but his typed draft of The Wicker Man shows Hardy’s brutal cuts to the screenplay.

Heavy edits feature Summerisle’s lines in the final scene, originally starting: “The child was but the tip of the iceberg – the visible element. Do not reproach yourself, there was no way you could have known.”

Beyond the Creative Duo

Conflict escalated beyond the main pair. One of the producers commented: “The writer’s skill has been offset by excessive indulgence that drove him to prove himself overly smart.”

In a letter to the producers, Hardy complained about the film’s editor, the editing specialist: “I believe he likes the theme or approach of the film … and thinks that he has had enough of it.”

In one letter, Christopher Lee referred to the film as “appealing and mysterious”, despite “dealing with a garrulous producer, a stressed screenwriter and an overpaid and hostile director”.

Lost Documents Found

An extensive correspondence about the film was part of multiple bags of papers left in the loft of the former home of the director’s spouse, Caroline. Included were previously unseen scripts, visual plans, production photos and budget records, which reflect the challenges experienced by the film-makers.

Hardy’s sons his two sons, currently in their sixties, used these documents for a forthcoming book, titled Children of The Wicker Man. The book uncovers the extreme pressures faced by Hardy during the production of the film – including a health crisis to financial ruin.

Personal Fallout

At first, the film was a box office flop and, in the aftermath the disappointment, Hardy abandoned his spouse and their children for a fresh start in America. Court documents show Caroline as an unacknowledged producer and that Hardy was indebted to her up to £1m in today’s money. She had to sell the family home and died in the 1980s, aged 51, suffering from addiction, unaware that her film later turned into a global hit.

Justin, a Bafta-nominated historian film-maker, described The Wicker Man as “the movie that ruined our family”.

When someone reached out by a resident who had moved into the former family home, inquiring if he wished to collect the sacks of papers, his initial reaction was to propose destroying “the bloody things”.

But then he and his stepbrother Dominic examined the bags and realised the significance of what they held.

Insights from the Documents

Dominic, an art historian, said: “Every key figure is represented. We discovered the first draft by Shaffer, but with dad’s annotations as director, ‘containing’ Shaffer’s overexuberance. Because he was formerly a barrister, he did a lot of overexplaining and his father just went ‘cut, cut, cut’. They sort of loved each other and hated each other.”

Writing the book has brought some “closure”, the son said.

Financial Hardships

The family did not profit financially from the film, he added: “This movie earned so much money for other people. It’s beyond a joke. Dad agreed to take a small fee. So he never received any of the upside. The actor also did not get any money from it as well, although that he did the film for no pay, to get out of Hammer [Horror films]. Therefore, it was a very unkind film.”