Tam-Lin (film)

Tam-Lin, also known as The Ballad of Tam-Lin, The Devil's Widow and The Devil's Woman, is a 1970 British folk horror film directed by Roddy McDowall. The film stars Ava Gardner and Ian McShane with Richard Wattis, Cyril Cusack, Stephanie Beacham, Sinéad Cusack and Joanna Lumley.

Tam-Lin or
The Devil's Widow
Original film poster
Directed byRoddy McDowall
Written byWilliam Spier
Robert Burns (poem)
Produced byAlan Ladd Jr.
Stanley Mann
Anthony B. Unger
Henry T. Weinstein
StarringAva Gardner
Ian McShane
Richard Wattis
Cyril Cusack
Stephanie Beacham
CinematographyBilly Williams
Edited byJohn Victor-Smith
Music byStanley Myers
Production
companies
Gershwin-Kastner Productions
Winkast Film Productions
Distributed byAmerican International Pictures
Release dates
December 1970 (U.K.) as Tam-Lin
September 1972 (U.S.) re-edited as The Devil's Widow
Running time
106 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

A mysterious older women, "Micky" (Michaela Cazaret), is in love with a younger man, Tom. She has used her wealth and influence to collect a group of hangers-on and is very controlling of Tom. But he meets and falls in love with Janet, the innocent young vicar's daughter, and gets her pregnant. But when Tom tries to leave Micky puts into motion a nefarious plot to enact a deadly vengeance.

Production

The film was made by Commonwealth United Entertainment. It was produced by Alan Ladd, Jr. and Stanley Mann, from a screenplay by William Spier based on the traditional Scottish poem The Ballad of Tam Lin. The film had original music by Stanley Myers and a musical version of the original poem recorded by the British folk rock band Pentangle, and was photographed by Billy Williams. It was the only film directed by McDowall.[1]

Filming took place in the summer of 1969 at Traquair House and other locations in Peeblesshire, Scotland.[2][3] The cast stayed at the Peebles Hydro Hotel.[4] Interiors were shot at Pinewood Studios, on sets designed by art directors John Graysmark and Donald M. Ashton. Costumes were designed by Beatrice Dawson and Ava Gardner's gowns executed by Balmain.

It's possible that pre-production work on this film prevented McDowall from reprising his role as Cornelius in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, the only one of the original five Planet of the Apes films from which he is absent. The Apes film had finished shooting by 25 June 1969, just two weeks before Tam-Lin began.[5]

Release

Given a limited release in Britain in December 1970, the film was shelved in the United States until 1972 when the rights were acquired by American International Pictures and it was recut and renamed The Devil's Widow.[6]

A newer release of this film (1998) (Republic Pictures Home Video) re-cut the film to be closer to Roddy McDowall's intention.

Cast

Reception

The Radio Times Guide to Film rated Tam-Lin two stars out of five. It added "although interminably slow and hilariously pretentious at times, its aura of faded Swinging Sixties decadence is interesting."[7]

References
  1. Satchell-Baeza, Sophia (2022). "Satchell-Baeza reviews the DVD recording of the film The Ballad of Tam Lin directed by Roddy McDowall". Sight and Sound. British Film Institute. 32 (10): 98.
  2. 'Shooting Now: Location', Kinematograph Weekly 19 July 1969
  3. 'Gershwin-Kastner's Toys Rolls Scot Locationing', Variety 16 July 1969
  4. "Lumley heads Ab-Fab cast at Melrose book bash". Border Telegraph. 19 June 2013.
  5. '5-Pix 20th Pact for Franciscus', Variety 25 June 1969
  6. Dunn, Sam. "Lost and found: The Ballad of Tam Lin". BFI Sight & Sound. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012.
  7. Radio Times Guide to Films 2013. BBC Worldwide, London, 2012 (p.84). ISBN 9780956752321
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