Watched this old flick (1973) over the holiday weekend – what a hoot! If you ever get a chance to rent it, do so.
I had seen it once probably 20 or so years ago or more, when I was a mere lad. I can tell you one thing, I’m pretty sure the scene with Britt Ekland banging on the Sergeant’s door must have been excised – I think I would have remembered that.
So what was the film about? It’s really a charming film, in an old school sort of way, run on a tight budget on location in Scotland, with actors and extras each contributing memorable performances set to an intriguing score of traditional English folk music. It is also a film that asks the audience to turn a critical eye upon their own cherished prejudices and beliefs. And finally, it is a compelling whodunit, not in an Agatha Christie – here’s the answer in the last five minutes sort of way, but more like the kind of spell that H.P. Lovecraft could weave in his best stories (“Shadow over Innsmouth,” for example) where you pretty much suspect what is going on, but the actual realization still comes as a bit of a surprise… kind of like a dream where you know what’s going to happen but still can’t turn away.
One last thing, don’t watch it if you are at all squeamish about the human body – not in a chainsaw massacre sort of way, but rather in a frankly sexual manner.
Interesting sidenote: Very much to my own surprise I recognized the song “How do” sung by the bartender’s daughter Willow (played by Britt Ekland). But how? The Sneaker Pimps did a cover of in on their fabulous album Becoming X. If you enjoyed that song at all, then you’ve got to see Ekland (and her body double) shake their stuff to the tune. (Ekland was pregnant with Rod Stewart’s child at the time and did not want to be filmed in the buff below the waist. The pregnancy came to naught, as did their relationship, leading her to sue for palimony, which was denied.)
If you enjoyed the Sneaker Pimps album (I won’t try to describe it, you’ve got to hear it to believe it, but take it from me, it’s great), then you may be wondering what ever happened to them. They were a band of two school chums who recruited a singer, Kelli Dayton, with a haunting voice to front for their trip-hop sound. Well…. It took some hunting, but long story short, after taking the UK by storm and a triumphant tour of the US, the boys had basically became jealous of the attention lavished on Kelli and fired her from the band. Talk about killing the goose that laid the golden eggs! So while they soldier on, now alone at the center of their own childishly egotistical world, their last two releases haven’t generated a fraction of the excitement of their breakout album – predictably so, since the reason Kelli was brought on board to begin with was that neither of the boys could sing (so guess who’s singing now? Yup… one of the boys).
Meanwhile, Kelli changed her name back from her Irish mother’s (Dayton) to her Indian father’s (Ali), making her all the more difficult to track through interstices of the web. Her latest was just released earlier this year, Tigermouth, again a bit of a disappointment for those seeking the cyperpunk magic of Becoming X. Oh well, we still have Garbage, don’t we?
PS Apparently neither the Pimps nor the movie use the entire lyrics from the folk tune that forms the basis for “How Do.” This is actually pretty easy to discern in the film, as it kind of skips a beat as if clumsily edited. If you read them below you’ll understand why it was edited…
WILLOW'S SONG Heigh ho! Who is there? No one but me, my dear. Please come say, How do? The things I'll give to you. A stroke as gentle as a feather I'll catch a rainbow from the sky And tie the ends together. Heigh ho! I am here Am I not young and fair? Please come say, How do? The things I'll show to you. Would you have a wond'rous sight The midday sun at midnight? Fair maid, white and red, Comb you smooth and stroke your head How a maid can milk a bull! And every stroke a bucketful.
And to think I found this on the BBC…
6:24:28 PM 
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