The iconic horror movie starred Chistopher Lee, nevertheless it got here at a price for director Robin Hardy’s household (Picture:Rex Features)Five years after his father died, Justin Hardy acquired six sacks of paperwork that had sat within the loft of his previous household dwelling within the Midlands for 50 years.
Among them had been scripts, photographs, story boards and private letters all relating to 1 movie: The Wicker Man.
Although a dud when it first got here out in 1973, the transfer has since gained cult standing, with Empire Magazine even calling it ‘the Best British horror movie ever made’. A latest re-release of the film gained five-star evaluations.
The movie was the directorial debut of Justin’s father Robin Hardy, which he bluntly says ‘f***ed up my household.’
Set on a fictional Scottish island, the story tells of a devoutly Christian police officer (Edward Woodward), who, investigating the disappearance of a neighborhood woman, is shocked to find a city of dancing pagans led by charismatic cult chief Lord Summerisle (performed by horror film icon Christopher Lee).
One of the pagans Willow MacGregor (Britt Ekland) makes an attempt to seduce the officer, who has unknowingly been lured to the island for a sacrificial ceremony.
The story tells of a devoutly Christian police officer (Edward Woodward), who, investigating the disappearance of a neighborhood woman (Picture: Robert Keane)From phallic sweets and baby torture, to eerily stunning surroundings and a film ending that also shocks to the core – it was a movie made to unsettle the viewers from the off.
However British Lion, the studio which had bankrolled it, hated the completed product.
They dismissed it as one of many worst motion pictures in historical past and refused to put it on the market. In the months after it was launched, Christopher Lee (Lord of the Rings, Dracula, Star Wars), who performed Lord Summerisle, referred to as critics on the cellphone, begging them to come back to a screening, even providing to pay for his or her tickets.
It was a flop. But then it wasn’t.
The now iconic ‘Wicker Man’ in full impact on the set with Dominic and Justin (Picture: Robert Keane)Now, fifty years on, Justin and his brother Dominic Hardy, are taking one other have a look at why the movie initially bombed solely to finish up being revered by film buffs – and likewise give perception via their documentary Wickermania!, into the chaotic, heartbreaking affect it had on their household.
Prior to his notorious film, Robin had already cast a profitable profession in promoting, Justin tells Metro. They lived in ‘a really good home’ in Belgravia together with his spouse Caroline, Justin and his sister Arabella.
However, after the movie’s catastrophic reception, Caroline, who had invested all her cash in it, was saddled with the money owed whereas Robin packed his suitcase and left for the US in 1974. It was reported that the director was compelled to sleep on a bench in Central Park on his arrival in New York.
Before he left, Robin got here to see his son at college to say goodbye, telling Justin he was leaving and giving him a Saint Christopher, wishing him safety in his travels.
Justin (L) and Dominic (R) tells metro.co.uk concerning the affect the film had on their adolescence (Credit: Robert Keane)‘That was fairly dramatic,’ bear in mind Justin, who now works as a historian filmmaker. ‘Then he was off and that was that.’
With no various and no cash, Caroline needed to promote the London home and transfer the household the midlands. For the subsequent 4 years, Justin assumed his dad was useless.
‘My mom was making an attempt to get some response from him, and finally needed to divorce him on the grounds of not having heard from him; he explains.
‘My sister needed to change her title from Arabella to Joanna so as to have the ability to survive a Banbury complete. It was a fairly large, fairly seismic, social change. All these years I’ve had individuals saying to me: “God. You’re so fortunate. Your dad made The Wicker Man.” But that’s not fairly how I see it.
After the film got here out Robin packed his suitcase, left his household, and headed to the US (Picture: Alamy)‘It was a really unhappy time. Because, aside from every thing else, I’m going: “Well, the place’s Dad? Are we going to see him tomorrow? Are we going to see him subsequent week?” And my mom stated: “I do not know. I don’t know the place he’s. I don’t know learn how to attain him.”.
‘I suppose it wasn’t a very glad childhood view of your dad, provides Justin, who lives in Oxfordshire. ‘It felt like “Where’s the safety? You’ve left my mom with all this?” And she bought very sick. She did successfully flip to the bottle and died of liver cirrhosis. The f***-up of this movie led to to a downward spiral for the Hardys’.’
Five years after he vanished, Robin returned to the UK, flying over to observe his son act in a play, clutching an article about how properly the movie was doing in San Francisco.
Edward Woodward in a terriyfing scene within the cult film (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)Justin remembers: ‘I’m not even positive he gave me any discover that he was coming. He was like that. And so on the finish of it, I used to be having my make-up taken off and this man appeared and stated: “Hello. I’m your father.” I believed – I used to be fairly glad he didn’t inform me earlier than I went onstage.’
Was Justin happy to see him? Did he forgive him for deserting him? ‘The psychological reality is that you’d have thought a toddler would say: “Hey, I’m not speaking to you. Where have you ever been all this time?” however the actuality is, you don’t try this,’ he says. ‘It’s like you’ve got a second alternative to fulfill your dad. And all you need to do is please your dad so he doesn’t go away once more. So he didn’t get any pushback from me for plenty of years.’
Justin discovered that the film had acquired a greater reception throughout universities and American movie festivals, and other people started to see the film in a brand new mild.
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Soon, it was revived as a cult basic – however the injury it had already finished to Robin’s household was irreparable.
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‘I needed to develop up with my sister with a really, very bitter and upset, fairly heavily-drinking mom,’ remembers Justin. ‘When she died in 1984 in some methods, it was a type of merciful ending to what had been a type of horrible endurance.’
Robin finally had eight kids by six completely different girls. As Justin explains: ‘He had kind for having a toddler, being married to a little bit of an heiress, the cash begins to expire and he strikes on.’
One of those kids was Dominic Hardy, who didn’t correctly get to know his dad till 1969 when his mum took him to the UK from their dwelling in Canada.
In the next years, Dominic would fly as an unaccompanied baby and spend three to 6 weeks with Robin and his siblings at summertime or at Christmas.
Dominic, a professor of artwork historical past in Montreal, remembers: ‘I found this entire household. Justin and Arabella had been the youngest on the time. The summer season of 1970, when seven of us had been all collectively for the one and solely time, was a legendary time for me. It had such an affect on me. I feel the others felt the identical method. We actually sought one another out in maturity and made up for misplaced years.’
Justin is a historian filmmaker from Oxfordshire and was a key a part of the manufacturing (Credit: Robert Keane)Dominic’s reminiscence of Robin was that he was a ‘flamboyant, charming and in some ways, admirable individual. And completely fascinating.’
He didn’t meet him for the primary time till he was six years previous, his first reminiscence of being taken on a day journey to a planetarium, the park and being purchased a prepare set, the pair of them collectively on the ground of his bed room establishing the tracks.
‘That was the one reminiscence I had of seeing him with my mum,’ says Dominic. ‘I had a number of admiration for him and a number of emulation. But additionally fear too. as a result of simply earlier than I used to be 11 he suffered a coronary heart assault, which practically killed him.’
Justin provides: ‘That was an enormous second in our household’s historical past. We all thought he was going to die. He began writing letters to us all. You’re not supposed to have the ability to make a movie should you’ve had a coronary heart assault as a result of you’ll be able to’t get insured.’
Robin was simply 41 on the time, and fortunate to outlive to complete the movie.
Dominic was mesmerised by the screening when the film first got here out.
Britt Ekland as Willow MacGregor throughout a scene within the as soon as controversial movie (Credit: Robert Keane)Just 12 years previous, he was shocked by its ending and surprised by the sexualised scenes.
Fifty years later, he has seen the movie with recent eyes, due to the invention of countless paperwork left in packing containers in that midlands attic. When the Hardy’s home was offered, the paperwork remained – till lockdown, when the customer approached Justin to return them.
Robin had died in 2016 and when Justin was supplied the paperwork 5 years later, he rejected them, asking – why dredge up the previous? However, following counsel from others, he finally accepted the packing containers and hung out wanting via them with Dominic who flew over to the UK from Canada to assist.
Their findings have since impressed the pair to make a documentary. ‘We need to inform the story of the making of ‘The Wicker Man’ from inside, from what these paperwork inform us,’ explains Dominic.’It’s a singular perspective.’
Dominic and Justin Hardy with their late father’s newly found private archive (Picture: Robert Keane)
‘We need to inform the story of the making of ‘The Wicker Man’ from inside’ (Picture: Robert Keane)
Dominic and Justin Hardy burn a fireplace in reminiscence of their father – and in celebration of all unbiased filmmakers (Picture: Robert Keane) Justin provides: ‘It was a treasure trove and it took a very long time to undergo. It was extraordinary to see the letters from Christopher Lee saying, “I feel I’ll have discovered this undertaking”. From Shaffer saying, “I need to assist you to direct your first movie”. There’s a unprecedented quantity of written materials that pertains to each stage of the making of an unbiased film.’
However, it’s been a troublesome discovery.
‘I steadily want I had by no means gone via it,’ admits Justin. ‘History is a wierd factor. It’s troublesome to know should you’re studying a partial view. [But] we need to discover forgiveness. We need to discover reparation. We need to discover decision.
Every baby desires to seek out that. And should you don’t, you’re solely damaging your self.
‘[Robin Hardy] is a person that was multisided – it is a movie that’s multisided, thats bought good and dangerous in it. But are you aware what? So many individualslove it and I discovered there actually is a love for my dad amongst Wicker Man followers. And I’ve tried to catch a few of that.’
Wickermania! will likely be premiering in 2024.
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First seem at horror-movie-the-wicker-man-left-a-family-in-tatters-19520336/ goal=”_blank”>The true story of how cult horror film The Wicker Man left a household in tatters
