Tam Lin

One should be a fan of British cinema, retro pop culture, fantasy/folklore, and personal auteur-ship for maximum enjoyment of this likable but format-challenged film from the late 1960's/early 70's. I sure am, and as such quite savored this cinematic retelling of the Tam Lin ballad.

It's sufficiently enjoyable that I immediately transferred the VHS tape to DVD for future viewings. One suspects it had been slated for same, what with its 17 minute director's introduction, but remained lost in the ether of Republic Pictures' post-demise assorted distribution deals. One further suspects that its release under of aegis of an Ava Gardner tribute series was the ticket for its seeing light of day at all post theatrical debut. It's been written that Roddy McDowell lost control of this, his only directed film, with it subsequently languishing in drive-ins of the 1970's under such noms-du-exploitation as "The Devil's Widow!" As McDowell's sole direction job, this is a movie one ever so wants to be as good as Charles Laughton's similar solo effort "Night of the Hunter," which it isn't and cannot be, as few films can match "Hunter's" expert, mannerist weirdness. McDowell's is a B+ to Laughton's A+. What is it does share is the quirkiness of a singular vision, seeming unlike anything else of its respective era while still conforming to mainstream requisites, and the retelling of a dreamy but occasionally frightening fairy tale in modern clothes, with assorted decidedly odd touches. A true loss to cinema that both actors never directed another film.

Simply put, it's the ballad of Tam Lin (its original title in fact) retold with late '60's characters, and peopled with a cast of still working, familiar British names like Ian McShane (representing the titular captured knight Tam Lin,) Joanna Lumley and Stephanie Beacham (the Hammer horror ingénue, here as the ballad's Janet) with both Cyril and Sinead Cusack in tow. Gardner as the controlling "Faerie Queen" seems an apt focus of the swirling debaucheries and cruelties rationalized as group activity fun. This, strangely, isn't so much part of the fantasy as modern viewers might conclude: some of us who were adolescents in the '60's remember the genuine, wealthy older types lending their mansions to us young'uns in order to share in the decadent fun, whether vicariously or actively.

In "Tam Lin" you'll find a little seen but quite good updated fairy story, plus amusing music from jazz to the Pentangle, great costuming, retro period fun, gorgeous Scottish border scenery and an always great to watch cast. Time for whoever owns Republic's split assets this week to fund that DVD release.

I saw this film for the first time last night and loved it! After reading so many mixed or out- right negative reviews of it over the years, I was truly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, how well it was made, how well the Tam Lin legend was updated to a relatively contemporary setting, and, ultimately, how enthralled I was by Gardner's Fairy Queen.

I have to admit the first 15-20 minutes or so did take some work. Not that they were poorly spent minutes, but adjusting to the 1970s milieu of swinging London took some time, though it was great fun watching a very young Joanna Lumley in a film that somewhat prophesied her role as Patsy Stone on ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS.

Now that I've seen this, I wish Roddy had made more films. This is how I like my spooky fairy tales told. May be it all comes down to you're either on the SHREK bus or the TAM LIN bus. I'm definitely taking another ride on the latter.

The story of Tam Lin is as old as the hills... and the folk song it's taken from. Immeasurably wealthy mature lady fills her days with the young and carefree. Their attitudes sustain her lifestyle and keep her feeling young. Until she falls in love with and becomes infatuated with one of the young men in her entourage. Now, her age wheedles its way into her mind and thoughts, how can this young man love this old decrepit woman?

Slowly a wedge is driven between them. Unfortunately for her, the man finds a fresh love for his affections and impregnates her. Sick with rage and twisted with jealous love, the woman vows to take her murderous revenge on the man.

This is an excellent story and the writer, William Spier, did well converting the Scottish folk song. He structures most of the tale around the love story. It's not until we've passed halfway that the story takes a darker turn. It would have been nice to have a few darker elements throughout the tale, just to add a slight unease and interest. Above all, this woman's an alleged witch. Spier largely overlooks this element of the song. Instead of bewitching the man with a spell, it's the cash status that holds her followers close to her. For me, it was a missed opportunity to improve the story.

One of the key reasons I sought this film was Roddy McDowell directing. Whenever I see his name listed in any movie credits, I have to take a peek. I've always loved him as an actor, especially in the "Ape" movies and "The Legend of Hell House". So, is his directing up to scratch with his acting?

No.

That's not to say he's a bad director. Far from it. I enjoyed this film, and McDowell shows he's not afraid to take risks. He has a brilliant eye for composition and when you see how he frames the castle, you'll want to move in. However, he tries a risky stills sequence between Tom Lynn (Ian McShane) and Janet Ashley (Stephanie Beacham). He uses this method to show and reflect the couples feelings and reactions between one another on this fateful meeting. It works to a certain degree. Regrettably, this composition suffers from too many unchanging stills of both McShane and Beacham. This dilutes the power of the sequence and diminishes the viewers' attention. Neither is good for a film.

There are only a handful of similar sections, so it's not too disastrous. McDowell at least shows initiative and imagination, which is always a wonderful thing. I wish more filmmakers possessed this trait. It would greatly improve some of the dross being churned out.

More variations in tempo would be nice. McDowell strolls the telling of the tale onto film. A few scenes would benefit from a faster pace to add excitement and tension. Some required a slower speed to build up anxiety and the expectancy of "what'll happen next(?)"

The cast is superb and full of well-known names and faces. Still, a lot of them are under-used: Richard Wattis' character, Elroy, needed more meat on his bones; as did Cyril Cusack's Vicar Julian Ainsley; Joanna Lumley as Georgia only has a couple of lines; Madeline Smith as Sue gets to say a few more words; and poor Jenny Hanley stays silent as Caroline.

McShane and Beacham are okay in their performances. They're nothing special and their characters often appear wan and insubstantial. However, like the actors and actresses above, these personas required fattening up. McShane and Beacham aren't at fault here. The writer needed to enhance the core elements of their personas and relationship better. Even McDowell could have developed them a little more through his direction.

"Tam Lynn" belongs to Ava Gardner. She's marvellous as the resentful Michaela Cazaret. and exudes desire and vitality in every scene. Cazaret's extreme wealth makes it easy for her to buy anything her appetite requires - even love and devotion. This woman owns everything and everyone in her presence. Gardner portrays this woman's insatiable cravings excellently. She uses every nuance to strengthen her character's persona. You can even see Cazaret's venom bubbling under her skin; waiting for some poor sod to cross her. You don't want to upset Cazaret.

This is a well filmed and told story that I would recommend to anybody who likes drama over their tales of the supernatural. The horror elements are there, just... look hard and you may find them. "Tam Lin" is worth one watch at least. It's not a bad way to waste an hour and a half...

... Oh, and I need to point out the soundtrack by Pentangle. It is awesomely cool. And is well worth a listen, in itself, especially if you like soul.

Ratings: Story 1 : Direction 1.25 : Pace 1 : Acting 1.5 : Enjoyment 1.25 Total 6 out of 10

Sprint on over to my Dramatisation Of Life and Absolute Horror and Killer Thriller Chiller lists to see where this witch landed her broomstick in my ratings.

Take Care and Stay Well.

That's the tag-line American International Pictures used to exploit this fantasy/horror film. Based on the ancient Scottish ballad "Tam Lin" (one of it's many titles), the plot concerns an aging, beautiful woman Ava Gardner) who uses her wealth (and occasionally, witchcraft) to control a decadent pack of attractive young people she surrounds herself with. But when her latest young stud (Ian McShane) falls for the local vicar's daughter (Stephanie Beacham), she vows revenge. The plot is fairly simple, though first (and last) time director Roddy McDowall does his best to insert as much ambiguity and mysticism as he can get away with. More of a fairy-tale allegory than a terror film, it was completed in late 1969, but ended up on the shelf when it's production company, Commonwealth United, went bankrupt. Three years later, along came AIP, who bought it and edited it over McDowall's protests. Devising a typically lurid advertising campaign, they exploited it as one of those "aging glamour star horror films" so popular in the 60s. Dubbing it "The Devils Widow", it was spottily released in grind houses and drive-ins in late 1972, after which it promptly vanished. It did occasionally play on television, which is where I caught it, before landing on video back in the late 90's. Althoug it's not a "class" film, by any means, it deserved better treatment than this. The still-beautiful Gardner gives a striking, believably cruel performance, and the supporting cast includes several familiar faces who got their start here. Besides those already mentioned, Joanna Lumley ("The Avengers", "Absolutely Fabulous") is very much in evidence. The production is handsome, the photography well above average, and the movie improves as it goes along. Worth seeing, especially for Ava Gardner.

The reputation of this one rests largely on the fact that it was the sole directorial effort of former child actor McDowall; for fantasy buffs, he had just appeared as Cornelius in PLANET OF THE APES (1968) and would feature in 4 of the movie sequels and even the spin-off TV series – indeed, he only missed out on BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970) because he was involved in making the film under review; his other genre efforts include IT! (1967), THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE (1973) and the two FRIGHT NIGHT pictures from the latter half of the 1980s.

Inspired by a Robert Burns poem, TAM-LIN (as it is better-known – another alternate title is the terminally silly THE DEVIL'S WIDOW!) deals with a Succubus-like wealthy woman called "Mickey" (played by Ava Gardner in pretty much her last leading role, which she naturally gives it her all and, even at 48, looks ravishing, apart from being decked-out in expensive clothes) who, as a means of preserving her own vitality surrounds herself by myriad youths in her vast country estate (this being the "Age Of Aquarius" these are hip, uninhibited – indulge in all sorts of charades to while away the time, including a fortune-telling bid which suddenly turns scary – but also aimless types, so that whenever she decides to let one of them go, they invariably plead with her to remain).

Occasionally, she even chooses a young man among them as her lover but holds the reins tightly on him, as if forever conscious of the volatile nature of the relationship; tending her affairs is waspish Richard Wattis (usually seen in comedies but perfectly cast here, especially effective when he provides details to Gardner's current partner about his predecessors' tragic deaths, subtly alluding to his own fate were he to break free of his mistress' clutches!). The latter (named Tom Lynn!) is played by Ian McShane and, needless to say, he falls for an outsider before long – minister Cyril Cusack's daughter Stephanie Beacham; though Gardner does not mind his attentions towards the latter initially – she is even protective of the girl when the latter pays them a visit and is taunted by the others (these include Cusack's real-life daughter Sinead, future film director Bruce Robinson, as well as Hammer starlets Joanna Lumley and Madeleine Smith, who demonstrates her immaturity by yearning for a puppy though she still gets to utter a line that perfectly encapsulates the predominant liberalism of the era, "I'll swallow anything as long as it's illegal"!) – but when things get serious, and Beacham becomes pregnant, she takes a different attitude altogether.

Consequently, Mickey becomes bored with her 'guests' and has them replaced – keeping only one young man who had most actively pursued McShane for his 'betrayal' – only these seem to be most receptive to her 'evil' nature. They kidnap the hero (just as he is about to elope with Beacham, whom he had even dissuaded from aborting her child), who is then let loose to literally be chased through the swamps; however, he has been drugged and he hallucinates himself at the center of a number of terrible predicaments: he is turned into a living teddy-bear(!), attacked by a giant snake and even engulfed in flames (unfortunately, the otherwise quite satisfactory widescreen VHS source is exceedingly dark during this sequence, so that one has to make an effort to discern just what is going on…though I wonder whether it was intentionally mystifying – again, shot by Billy Williams!). Anyway, with Beacham by his side, he manages to overcome these 'punishments', so that Gardner has no alternative but to give up and seek her 'life-affirming' kind of thrills elsewhere, with Wattis and the afore-mentioned hanger-on (who has effectively become McShane's replacement) in tow.

The pictorial Scottish setting and evocative folk score (by Stanley Myers and the group Pentangle – coincidentally, former band member Bert Jansch would pass away the very day after this viewing!) anticipate THE WICKER MAN (1973; whose co-star Diane Cilento, eerily enough, I have just learned died yesterday!); similarly, the depiction of a romantic idyll through a series of freeze-frames (a tell-tale sign of McDowall's passion for photography) look forward to the bloody murder set-piece in the recently-viewed WELCOME TO ARROW BEACH – released 4 years later and, as it happens, a film made by another actor-turned-director i.e. Laurence Harvey. By the way, THE BALLAD OF TAM LIN was originally released in the U.S. via a reportedly much-altered version that stressed the horror elements; this came to be because the company that financed it, Commonwealth, folded around this same time and the picture was subsequently bought and distributed by AIP! In the 1990s (the days of VHS and shortly before McDowall's death), the film was restored more or less to its original form by none other than Martin Scorsese – but, being currently unavailable on any official digital format, it remains an elusive beast...