This overlooked and forgotten piece of witchy folk horror was the only film the legendary Roddy McDowall directed and leaves us thinking how much he would have impressed had he done more.
Based on a poem by Robert Burns, the titular character is renamed Tom Lynn for non-Gaelic audiences and is played splendidly by Ian McShane (American Gods). Tom is one of the many who occupy the mansion-like home of the bewitching Michaela Cazaret (Ava Gardner) and shares her bed as well as dwellings. One day, his head is turned by the local vicar’s daughter Janet (Stephanie Beacham), something that causes quite an upheaval to the status quo of the commune. Cazeret’s secretary (a wonderfully wily Richard Wattis in a rare appearance without his trademark glasses) hints that something deadly happened to people who had expressed their desire to leave.
McDowall directs in a confident and measured way, building up the tension and threat from a sedate start. The decadence of Cazeret’s followers is enhanced by including a brace of beautiful young actors who would go to become very familiar faces. We have Joanna Lumley, Madeline Smith, and Sinéad Cusack (whose father Cyril plays the vicar, dad to Beacham’s character). There’s also a fleeting appearance from a pre-Rocky Horror Peter Hinwood and pre-Withnail and I Bruce Robinson. Despite the starry cast, Tam Lin is a moody, absorbing piece. It’s very British and certainly of its time, but almost has a timeless quality. The Swinging Sixties spilt over into the early seventies for UK audiences, at least when it came to the film industry playing catch-up, but this doesn’t work against the film, instead, it adds to the uncanny nature of the story. For McDowall, it seems like it was his way of putting that period to bed. Literally.
The film was known as The Devil’s Widow in the US, a title that’s a little too on-the-nose, but works well. It was made at a time when older female actors were resorting to playing parts in so-called ‘hag horror’ pieces. Tam Lin presents this differently as Gardner’s ageing witch character is still attractive and definitely sexually active. It also goes further as the story progresses, as her beguiling charm becomes much more sinister.
The Blu-ray, from the Australian boutique label Imprint, presents the film faultlessly. It’s backed up with a wealth of extra features that include a pair of impressive commentaries (including one from BFI Flipside curators Will Fowler and Vic Pratt), interviews with some of the stars, and an informative visual essay by Kat Ellinger. It’s an impressive collection to support a film that has been neglected for so long.
