The movie Christopher Lee called “the best film I’ve ever made” and why he had to promote it himself
Christopher Lee is one of cinema’s ultimate horror icons, making his first screen appearance as far back as 1948 with a minor role in the gothic horror Corridor of Mirrors. It took him many years of taking on small roles to break through, but in 1957, he finally landed his first of many jobs with Hammer.
He was cast as the Creature in The Curse of Frankenstein, and soon, he’d become a stalwart feature of British cinema, a go-to actor for classic monsters and villains. Whether he was Dracula, The Mummy, or, slightly more controversially, Dr Fu Manchu, it was hard to watch a horror movie in the 1950s and ‘60s and not spot Lee in a prominent role.
Then Hollywood came calling, and he went on to appear in everything from The Lord of the Rings to Star Wars. But before all of that came a certain 1970s film that would become both one of horror’s greatest achievements and his personal favourite: The Wicker Man. Considering how many horror films he appeared in over the years, it’s remarkable that he could choose just one, but his answer makes perfect sense. The Wicker Man is a masterpiece.
Forming the ‘unholy trilogy’ of British folk horror alongside Witchfinder General and The Blood on Satan’s Claw, The Wicker Man is widely considered one of the most important British movies ever made, with its unsettling vision of religion, community, sex, and sacrifice.
Edward Woodward starred as Sgt Neil Howie, a man sent to a small Hebridean island to investigate the disappearance of a young girl – upon arriving, he discovers a Pagan community whose beliefs and practices are starkly different from his own devout Christian ways, and, of course, he meets his unfortunate demise when he discovers that he has been lured there as a sacrificea, and while stuffed inside a giant wicker man by the villagers, he is burnt alive, his final pleas to God failing him.
Lee played Lord Summerisle, who ignores the fact that he could just as well be sacrificed by the villagers the following year. His performance is so quietly brilliant because we don’t initially suspect his evil, with Lee giving a rather personable performance. But this all breaks down by the end, as we discover this villainy, although it’s not like a switch is flicked and he suddenly takes off a mask. Lee is smart with it, and he keeps his performance ambiguous, but ultimately, utterly convincing.
Despite the fact that it is considered one of Britain’s finest films, when The Wicker Man was first released in 1973, Lee actually had to reach out to critics to ask for the movie to be considered for review. People just didn’t seem all that interested for a start. “No press show… no publicity,” Lee told the Independent.
“I rang all the film critics I knew and I said, ‘will you do me a favour – and I will pay for your seat – will you see this film that’s on now?’ Nobody asked me to pay for their seats. They went as individuals, they paid for their own. And the acclaim was virtually unanimous.”
He just needed to give the critics a little push in the right direction, but once he got them there, it didn’t take much to win them over. Despite the fact that he went on to appear in many major franchises and hit movies, Robin Hardy’s film will always be the one he cherishes most.
Talking to Total Film, he emphasised how much he loves the movie, “I’m still asked a great deal about The Wicker Man because it’s become one of the great cult movies of all time. That’s the story of my career, really, making cult movies. And I’ve always said it’s the best film I’ve ever made.”
