Summary

• The Wicker Man was inspired by a 1676 engraving called "The Wicker Image" and aimed to be a more cerebral horror movie.
• The film was shot in 25 different locations throughout Scotland, with aerial shots of Summerisle filmed in South Africa.
• Christopher Lee starred in the movie for free and even paid for his own promotional tour, showing his ion for the film.

Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man is one of the most beloved cult horror films of the 1970s. Although the film was not a box office success at the time of its release, it grew in popularity through word of mouth. As such, the film currently holds an 89% certified fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating and remains one of the most beloved horror movies ever made. While the movie remains on many best-of lists for horror movies over the years, there is a lot that fans of the movie might not know, including answers to where was The Wicker Man filmed and how Hardy picked out his amazing cast.

Starring Edward Woodward, Sir Christopher Lee, and Britt Ekland, the story follows police Sergeant Neil Howie, summoned to Summerisle to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a young girl who the local townsfolk claim doesn't exist. What he then walks into is a horror tale that has no happy endings, but fills viewers with horrific images and even scarier explanations for why the seemingly docile people on this island would kill anyone to keep their dark secrets. There are many Wicker Man secrets in the book, The Wicker Man: The Official Story of the Film, with a lot of information for fans of the masterpiece.

10 The Movie Was Inspired By A Historical Engraving

"The Wicker Image" By Aylett Sammes

The Wicker Man was in part inspired by a 1676 engraving called "The Wicker Image" created by the artist Aylett Sammes. The image can be found in the volume of Britannia Antiqua Illustrata. According to screenwriter Anthony Shaffer (in the book, The Wicker Man: Conversations with Robin Hardy, Anthony Shaffer & Edward Woodward), his intent for the project was to make a more cerebral horror movie that was less dependent on the kind of gratuitous gore that was popular at the time. When he settled on the concept of sacrifice, Shaffer knew he was headed in the right direction.

“I don’t think a serious film on the subject had been done before. The subject opened the world of horror and terror, but also had an intellectual content which gave us a chance to do something quite provocative. Then came the question that unlocked things, or the McGuffin, as Hitchcock would say: What makes the perfect sacrifice? How do you choose that sacrifice that’s going to placate the gods, make the crops grow, or whatever the sacrifice is for?”

9 There Were 25 Filming Locations

This Included Scotland & South Africa

The Wicker Man was filmed in 25 different locations throughout Scotland in the fall of 1972. Galloway, Scotland was among the locations, which star Britt Ekland called "the bleakest place on Earth" before receiving tons of flak for saying so. Since the film was shot in the autumn but set in the springtime, several handmade trees with full blossoms were trucked in for the production. However, the aerial shots of Summerisle were shot in South Africa. Director Robin Hardy explained why they had to make this change (via The Guardian).

"Making the film was great fun. It was shot in 25 different locations and, since it was set in spring, and we were shooting in November, we had to glue leaves and blossom on to the trees wherever we were. The opening sequence, with aerial shots from the plane arriving, was actually filmed in South Africa, because we didn’t have the budget to glue blossom to that many trees."

8 Edward Woodward Was Not The First Choice For Sergeant Howie

Michael York & Peter Cushing Were Both Considered

Before Edward Woodward was cast in the lead role of Sergeant Howie, Robin Hardy considered several other actors. Michael York was his first choice to play the role, but he declined it. Once York ed, Hardy approached David Hemmings for the role. Later, star Christopher Lee offered the lead role to his longtime friend and fellow British horror legend Peter Cushing, but he declined due to scheduling conflicts. In the end, it was producer Peter Snell and screenwriter Anthony Shaffer who suggested Woodward, who happened to be Snell's first choice all along.

7 Christopher Lee Starred In The Movie For Free

Christopher Lee Even Spent His Own Money To Promote The Movie

Christopher Lee has named The Wicker Man as his favorite of his films and that his role as the cult leader Lord Summerisle is one of the greatest of his career. Lee also appeared in The Wicker Man for free, as did most of the actors, and even spent his own money on a promotional tour to help market the movie. Lee attended every promotional stop, willing to have him in the lead-up to the film's release. He paid for the entire trip. As proven by The Wicker Man's lasting legacy and impact, his ion for the film paid off.

6 Edward Woodward's Reaction To The Wicker Man Was Real

Edward Woodward Wanted To be Surprised By The Effigy

To ensure the utmost authenticity, Edward Woodward repeatedly refused to visit the set where the Wicker Man effigy was housed before filming the iconic finale. The first time Woodward saw the towering set piece came when his character Howie was dragged over the hill against his will. As such, Howie's frightened response of "Oh God, Oh Jesus Christ" was Woodward's genuine reaction. As Woodward was being carried toward the effigy, he asked Hardy if he was going to be placed inside The Wicker Man structure. Hardy said yes.

5 The Wicker Man Was Really Burned

Woodward Re It Was A Very Scary Moment

The movie's infamous finale features the sinister Summerisle locals cheering over the sacrificial burning of Sergeant Howie. Believe it or not, Edward Woodward was placed inside the Wicker Man structure while it was being burned for real. The actor has since claimed that he's never been more scared in his six-decade career. As if the burning Wicker Man wasn't enough, one of the sacrificial goats that was placed in a pen above Woodward urinated on Woodward. Specifically, this happened when the fires began and the poor goat was so terrified that it pissed on the actor below. Robin Hardy ed the moment well (via Fortean Times).

"He was there quite a while. We had an escape hatch at the back so that he could be got out of it extremely fast, and we had somebody at the back who could just pull it open and pull him out, and he went down on a kind of pulley attached to his belt. We had to be very careful because when we were shooting, and he was in there it was actually burning. There isn't a society for the prevention of cruelty to actors you know!"

4 Britt Ekland's Boyfriend Tried To Get The Film Banned

Singer Rod Stewart Was Not Happy About Her Dance Scene

One of the most indelible moments of The Wicker Man involves Willow's (Britt Ekland) nude dance scene, which took 13 hours to shoot. Although a stunt double was used for Ekland's lower half, her then-boyfriend, Rod Stewart, lobbied to have the film banned over the use of Ekland's nude body (via Independent). Because she was pregnant at the time, Ekland demanded a body double from the waist down. Although Lorraine Peters is credited as her stand-in, Hardy claims he found a prostitute from Scotland to perform the dance. Ekland was displeased to learn the nude double scenes were filmed after she left the set.

3 Some Deleted Scenes Were Restored For The DVD

One Of Christopher Lee's Favorite Scenes Was Added Back In

Several scenes were filmed that ultimately went unused in the theatrical cut of The Wicker Man. Some, if not all, the excised footage has been restored in the 102-minute Special Edition Director's Cut, giving fans of the cult film a new experience. Among the more memorable excisions include footage depicting Sergeant Howie as a preacher, a longer version of Lord Summerisle's poem, several longer conversations between Howie and various locals, and a scene where Howie visits Lord Summerisle's castle and listens to him give a grand speech about apples. Lee was particularly miffed that the latter scene was cut.

2 The Original Negatives & Outtakes Were Destroyed

The Original Footage Was Destroyed By New Management

Long after production wrapped, the official film negative and reels of outtakes were secured in a storage vault at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England. Upon a change in ownership, the new management asked for everything in the vault to be destroyed. Unfortunately, the original film negatives for The Wicker Man were returned from the lab and placed in the vault right before the contents were razed. This is why, as mentioned above, only a fraction of the many deleted scenes and outtakes were restored, as many of the originals were lost in the vault's destruction.

1 It Has A Crazy Action-Packed Sequel

It Is Available As An Online Audio Drama

In 1989, The Wicker Man scribe Anthony Shaffer penned a 30-page treatment for a sequel entitled The Loathsome Lambton Worm. Rather than another methodical sacrificial mystery, this follow-up would have been a bombastic FX-driven fantasy-horror story. The sequel picked up immediately after the original ended, with several cops rescuing Howie. As he sets out to get revenge on Lord Summerisle and his disciples, Howie faces challenges from Pagan druids. This all culminates in a battle between Howie and a fire-spitting dragon before Howie commits suicide by plunging off a cliff while strapped two to giant eagles.

Hardy had no interest in filming this sequel, but its illustrated treatment is included in Alan Brown's book Inside The Wicker Man: How Not to Make a Cult Classic. For the curious, The Loathsome Lambton Worm has an online audio drama, and Hardy and Lee made a spiritual sequel to The Wicker Man in the 2011 film The Wicker Tree.