The Wicker Man

The Wicker Man (1973)

4 corrected entries

(1 vote)

Corrected entry: Willow's naked dancing and song was to try to 'call' Sergeant Howie to her for sex - they talk about it the next morning when she is disappointed he didn't come. But one of the reasons the islanders wanted him as a sacrifice was because he was a virgin. If she had succeeded she would have ruined everything for them, it doesn't make sense that she does this.

Correction: It makes perfect sense. They want a man who is "Unknown of woman", who is uptight and sexually repressed, "pure" in mind as well as body. If Howie was the type of man who would be tempted by the offer of cheap sex with Willow then he wasn't the man they wanted for the sacrifice. Ironically, accepting her invitation would have saved his life.

Corrected entry: Could Howie have not telephoned for more officers? When Howie first walks into Summerisle you can see poles that are used to carry telephone lines. Later on you see outside The Post Office (May Morrison's shop) a box that is used an exchange box for telephone lines in the town. The story gives us the belief that there were no telephones on Summerisle, which is why Howie was unable to send for help. But there is clear evidence of a telephone network on the island. Even if the islanders somehow manage to prevent him making a call, what about the radio on the plane?

Shadow 81

Correction: Howie checks the radio on the plane. It had been sabotaged and wouldn't turn on. This was shown in that very scene.

Corrected entry: During the scene in the Green man when the locals are singing "The landlord's daughter" Willow takes a key off the wall and goes through a door and is seen leaving the bar, the next shot cuts in and she is back in the bar singing along and is standing next to the man playing the accordion.

Will

Correction: Her father says "Show him to his room, would you?" She takes the key, and steps through the door. The cop doesn't follow because they start singing, so it's only natural she'd turn around. She's shown standing in the doorway.

Corrected entry: When Sgt Howie follows Miss Rose out of the classroom, he is holding his hat under his right arm, but when they get outside, Howie is holding his hat with both hands.

Will

Correction: When he walks out, he's holding it in both hands. He continues holding it in both hands, then puts it under his right arm. A bunch of people pass, and he winds up holding it in both hands again. Nothing unnatural here.

Other mistake: During his conversation with the landlord of the pub he ends up staying in, Sergeant Howie makes it clear that he did not intend to stay on Summerisle overnight, that he had been delayed and so needed accommodation. Makes you wonder why he packed his pyjamas. He's wearing them when Britt Ecklund does her famous naked song and dance routine, and they are not new so we know he didn't buy them that day. When he arrived he didn't even think he'd be on Summerisle for more than a few hours - we don't see him with so much as an overnight bag.

More mistakes in The Wicker Man

Lord Summerisle: Come. It is time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man.

More quotes from The Wicker Man

Trivia: In the Director's Cut - Robin Hardy who directed the film, appears at the beginning of the film in a "Hitchcock-style" cameo part as the church minister. (00:02:35)

Shadow 81

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Question: At the finale of The Wicker Man Howie/Edward Woodward is placed in a wooden cage high above the ground. The cage is set alight. When the cage began to burn and disintegrate, wouldn't he have fallen out of it onto the ground? As the cage burns, the wood must become brittle, so why can't he just force his way out? (Yes, he is surrounded by the islanders, but if anybody was being burnt alive, and they could get out of the flames, wouldn't the self-preservation instinct kick in?).

Rob Halliday

Answer: He would likely die from the heat or smoke inhalation long before the wood would deteriorate enough for him to fall out. The film also makes a point to show that Howie has given up trying to fight the villagers and has accepted his fate, so even if he could have forced his way out he no longer had the will to do so.

BaconIsMyBFF

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