Today would have been the 97th birthday of British director Robin Hardy.

Hardy was best-known for directing the original The Wicker Man.  Indeed, his subsequent films — including the long-delayed sequel — achieved nowhere near the acclaim as 1973’s Wicker Man.  A film in which a Christian detective (Edward Woodward) is lured to an island so that he can be tricked into becoming a pagan sacrifice, The Wicker Man is remembered for Christopher Lee’s chilling performance of Lord Summerisle and, of course, the burning man.

At the risk of being accused of heresy, I’ve always found The Wicker Man to be good but a bit overrated.  Woodward’s detective is portrayed as being such a fool that the film’s ending is nowhere near as shocking as it should be.  (The Wicker Man was written by Anthony Shaffer who, just as he would later do with 1978’s Absolution, lets his own issues with religion bleed a bit too heavily into the film.)  That said, the film is full of wonderfully creepy scenes, like the one below.

“Chop!  Chop!” the villagers say and it may seem like it’s all good fun but the look of relief on some of the people’s faces clue us into the fact that the blades have not always remained motionless.  It’s the supreme act of trust on an island where no one really has any reason to trust anyone.