Tam-Lin (film)
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Tam-Lin or The Devil's Widow | |
---|---|
Directed by | Roddy McDowall |
Written by | William Spier Robert Burns (poem) |
Produced by | Alan Ladd Jr. Stanley Mann Anthony B. Unger Henry T. Weinstein |
Starring | Ava Gardner Ian McShane Richard Wattis Cyril Cusack Stephanie Beacham |
Cinematography | Billy Williams |
Edited by | John Victor-Smith |
Music by | Stanley Myers |
Production companies | Gershwin-Kastner Productions Winkast Film Productions |
Distributed by | American 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 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
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 and starring Ava Gardner and Ian McShane.[1]
Plot
A mysterious older woman, "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 daughter of a vicar, and gets her pregnant. But when Tom tries to leave, Micky puts into motion a nefarious plot to enact a deadly vengeance.
Cast
- Ava Gardner as Michaela Cazaret
- Ian McShane as Tom Lynn
- Richard Wattis as Elroy
- Cyril Cusack as Vicar Julian Ainsley
- Stephanie Beacham as Janet Ainsley
- David Whitman (Kiffer Weisselberg) as Oliver
- Fabia Drake as Miss Gibson
- Sinéad Cusack as Rose
- Joanna Lumley as Georgia
- Jenny Hanley as Caroline
- Madeline Smith as Sue
- Bruce Robinson as Alan
- Victoria Fairbrother as Vanna
Production
The film was made by
Filming took place in the summer of 1969 at Traquair House and other locations in Peeblesshire, Scotland.[3][4] The cast stayed at the Peebles Hydro Hotel.[5] 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.
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.[citation needed]
Critical reception
The Radio Times Guide to Film rated Tam-Lin two stars out of five, writing: "although interminably slow and hilariously pretentious at times, its aura of faded Swinging Sixties decadence is interesting."[8]
References
- ^ "Tam-Lin". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ 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. 32 (10). British Film Institute: 98.
- ^ 'Shooting Now: Location', Kinematograph Weekly 19 July 1969
- ^ 'Gershwin-Kastner's Toys Rolls Scot Locationing', Variety 16 July 1969
- ^ "Lumley heads Ab-Fab cast at Melrose book bash". Border Telegraph. 19 June 2013.
- Sight & Sound. Archived from the originalon 3 August 2012.
- ^ "Tam-Lin". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 44 (516): 121. 1 January 1977 – via ProQuest.
- ^
Radio Times Guide to Films 2013. BBC Worldwide, London, 2012 (p.84). ISBN 9780956752321
External links
- Tam-Lin or The Devil's Widow at IMDb
- Tam-Lin at Rotten Tomatoes
- Tam-Lin then-and-now location photographs at ReelStreets
- Podcast episode analyzing the film: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-just-yesterday-the-roddy-mcdowall-podcast/id1276979932?i=1000418399347
- Entry on Tam Lin Balladry website: https://tam-lin.org/transformative/movie1970.html