''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 Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

. The film stars

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

and

Ian McShane Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (2004 ...

with

Richard Wattis Richard Wattis (25 February 1912 – 1 February 1975) was an English actor, co-starring in many popular British comedies of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Richard Cameron Wattis was born on 25 February 1912 in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, the ...

Cyril Cusack Cyril James Cusack (26 November 1910 – 7 October 1993) was an Irish stage and screen actor with a career that spanned more than 70 years. During his lifetime, he was considered one of Ireland’s finest thespians, and was renowned for his int ...

Stephanie Beacham Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English television, film, radio and theatre actress. Although she has a wide number of credits to her name, Beacham is best known for for playing Sable Colby in the ABC soap operas ''The Colbys'' ...

Sinéad Cusack Sinéad Moira Cusack ( ) is an Irish actress. Her first acting roles were at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, before moving to London in 1969 to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has won the Critics' Circle and ''Evening Standard'' Awards f ...

and

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...

Production

The film was made by

Commonwealth United Entertainment Commonwealth United Entertainment, formerly known as ''Television Enterprises Corporation'' and was also known as Commonwealth United Corporation after its parent corporation, was an American film production and distribution company active to 197 ...

. It was produced by

Alan Ladd, Jr. Alan Walbridge Ladd Jr. (October 22, 1937 – March 2, 2022) was an American film industry executive and producer. He served as president of 20th Century Fox from 1976 to 1979, during which he approved the production of '' Star Wars''. He later e ...

and Stanley Mann, from a screenplay by

William Spier William Hannan Spier (October 16, 1906 – May 30, 1973) was an American writer, producer, and director for television and radio. He is best known for his radio work, notably ''Suspense'' and ''The Adventures of Sam Spade''. Early life Wil ...

based on the traditional Scottish poem ''

The Ballad of Tam Lin ''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, ...

''. The film had original music by

Stanley Myers Stanley Myers (6 October 19309 November 1993) was an English composer and conductor, who scored over sixty films and television series, working closely with filmmakers Nicolas Roeg, Jerzy Skolimowski and Volker Schlöndorff. He is best known fo ...

and a musical version of the original poem recorded by the British

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

band Pentangle, and was photographed by Billy Williams. It was the only film directed by McDowall. Filming took place in the summer of 1969 at

Traquair House Traquair House, approximately 7 miles southeast of Peebles, is claimed to be the oldest continually inhabited house in Scotland. Whilst not strictly a castle, it is built in the style of a fortified mansion. It pre-dates the Scottish Baronial s ...

and other locations in

Peeblesshire Peeblesshire ( gd, Siorrachd nam Pùballan), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lan ...

, Scotland. The cast stayed at the Peebles Hydro Hotel. Interiors were shot at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

, on sets designed by

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

John Graysmark John Graysmark (26 March 1935 – 10 October 2010) was a British production designer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. Graysmark was involved with film from an early age, through his father, who w ...

and Donald M. Ashton. Costumes were designed by

Beatrice Dawson Beatrice Dawson (26 January 1908 – 16 April 1976) was a British costume designer who was nominated for an Academy Award, as well as three BAFTA nominations. She had 69 film credits from 1945 to 1976. Dawson also worked on an episode of ...

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 ''Beneath the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original ''Planet of the Apes'' series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs. The film stars Jam ...

'', the only one of the original five ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...

'' films from which he is absent. The ''Apes'' film had finished shooting by 25 June 1969, just two weeks before ''Tam-Lin'' began.

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 American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

and it was recut and renamed ''The Devil's Widow''. A newer release of this film (1998) (

Republic Pictures Home Video A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

) re-cut the film to be closer to Roddy McDowall's intention.

Cast

as Michaela Cazaret *

as Tom Lynn *

as Elroy *

as Vicar Julian Ainsley *

as Janet Ainsley * David Whitman (Kiffer Weisselberg) as Oliver *

Fabia Drake Fabia Drake OBE (born Ethel McGlinchy; 20 January 1904 – 28 February 1990) was a British actress whose professional career spanned almost 73 years during the 20th century. Drake was born in Herne Bay, Kent. Her first professional role in ...

as Miss Gibson *

as Rose *

as Georgia *

Jenny Hanley Jenny Hanley (born 15 August 1947) is an English actress. She remains best known for being one of the presenters of the ITV children's magazine programme ''Magpie''. Early life and education Hanley is the daughter of actors Dinah Sheridan and ...

as Caroline *

Madeline Smith Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949) is an English actress. After working as a model in the late 1960s, she went on to appear in many television series and stage productions, plus comedy and horror films, in the 1970s and 1980s. She is perhaps ...

as Sue *

Bruce Robinson Bruce Robinson (born 2 May 1946) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and novelist. He wrote and directed the cult classic ''Withnail and I'' (1987), a film with comic and tragic elements set in London in the late 1960s, which drew on hi ...

as Alan * Victoria Fairbrother as Vanna *

Reception

''The

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

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 The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London as its centre. It saw a flourishing in art, mus ...

decadence is interesting." ''Radio Times Guide to Films 2013''. BBC Worldwide, London, 2012 (p.84).

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, tam_lin * 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 1970 films 1970 horror films Folk horror films British horror films Films directed by Roddy McDowall Films scored by Stanley Myers American International Pictures films Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films set in London Films set in Scotland Films produced by Stanley Mann 1970s English-language films 1970s British films