MovieChat Forums > The Ballad of Tam Lin (1971) Discussion > Is this the complete film?

Is this the complete film?

posted 20 years ago by BijouBob8mm
6 replies | jump to latest

For years I've heard the film released was not the film Roddy McDowall set out to make, that it was recut and retitled by the studio. Is the video version the studio's cut, or the original version McDowall made?

[–] ArmandoSerrano 19 years ago

It's the restored McDowell version supposedly.

[–] j-schelp 19 years ago

Yes, this is Roddy's version, and the video includes a wonderful introduction by him, telling the saga of making the film, and then seeing what was done to it all in the name of "business." Roddy's pain about this is obvious, (yet he is not bitter, which is not a surprise to those who know anything about him), but so is his gratitude to Martin Scorsese, among others, for finally allowing him to see his vision realized. It is a beautiful, lyrical, haunting film, and I am so glad this restoration was done in time for Roddy to see it and receive his overdue acclaim. Find it, buy it, watch it, and you won't be disappointed.

[–] caprice1221 11 years ago

It was released an complete in 1972 for the American Audience as Tam Lin.
It was released an complete in 1970 for the British Audience as The Devil's Widow.

His ending is chopping to some, but he left it such in way, did Ava Gardner win or not again Tom Lyn and wife to be Janet Ainsley.

[–] caprice1221 11 years ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tam-Lin_(film)

A newer release of this film (1998) (Republic Pictures Home Video) re-cut the film to be closer to Roddy McDowall's intention.

Some accounts claimed the re-cuts is more explanation of Tam Lin the Scottish Poem or sonnet.

Some accounts claims missing scenes...how Ava Gardner controls Ian McShane turns him to the beast to break the curse Janet had to hold on to him and never let him go.

It is of 1970 glamour not made for 2013 glamour in thinking. All her Guests were at one point her lover or lovers in orgy...Ian's character Tom got tired of sharing her with everyone...he was just a stable boy or stable horse to her nothing else.

To keep in 1970 PG Roddy McDowell could not show everyone in bed with Ava Gardner but only Ian McShane.

Roddy McDowell wanted to show subtlety the relationship with Tom and Janet maybe they did and maybe they did not.They had fallen in love with each other.

Originally Roddy McDowell wanted Elizabeth Taylor, his old friend to play Michaela Cazaret but she had refused. She was busy being retired and entertaining Richard Burton.

Roddy McDowell decided this would be his last film to direct...it cost way too much for him, he spend most of out of his own pocket for some of the scenes in Scotland.

[–] 35541m 10 years ago

Surely the film has always been released in a more or less complete form. Sure, AIP picked it up and advertised it as a horror film but they didn't seem to have really done anything to it. No new scenes were filmed or anything like that. The film has always had a fairly mild content.

The UK BBFC record the submission as The Devil's Widow in 1977 as having a 104m running time which is pretty much the running time of the new DVD. The running time of the original submission in March 1970, before it was tampered with by anyone, was also this length.

[–] caprice1221 10 years ago

http://www.amazon.com/Tam-Lin-Devils-Widow-Blu-ray/dp/B00E21DCBM

Tam Lin Aka the Devil's Widow [Blu-ray] (1970)
Ava Gardner (Actor), Ian McShane (Actor), Roddy McDowall (Director) | Rated: PG-13

Other Formats & Versions
Amazon Price New from Used from
Blu-ray 1-Disc Version $23.81 $19.00 $22.85
DVD 1-Disc Version $21.98 $11.97 $16.20

Product Details

Actors: Ava Gardner, Ian McShane, Stephanie Beacham, Cyril Cusack, Richard Wattis
Directors: Roddy McDowall
Writers: William Spier
Producers: Alan Ladd Jr.
Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen, Anamorphic
Language: English
Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Olive Films
DVD Release Date: September 24, 2013

Back 1970 this movie was rated R, it was released September 24 2013 with a new rating PG-13

Editorial Reviews
They called her the Devil's Widow she drained them of their manhood and then of their lives! Legendary Hollywood goddess, Ava Gardner (One Touch of Venus) delivers a mesmerizing performance in director Roddy McDowall's wickedly suspenseful tale of decadent young thrill-seekers and the sinister seductress who holds them spellbound. Amid the dawn-to-dusk revelry at the fabulous country estate of wealthy and sophisticated Mrs. Cazaret (Gardner), the impulsive Tom Lynn (Ian McShane, TV's Deadwood) discovers that being the life of this party could have murderous consequences. The top-notch cast includes Stephanie Beacham (TV's The Colbys, Dynasty), Cyril Cusack (Fahrenheit 451), Richard Wattis (The Importance of Being Ernest) and Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous). Acting great Roddy McDowall's one and only directorial effort. Beautifully shot in scope by Billy Williams (Gandhi).

Olive Films continues to unearth rare films from the Paramount archives and here we have actor Roddy McDowell's only directorial effort 'TAM LIN' aka 'THE BALLAD OF TAM LIN' aka 'THE DEVIL'S WIDOW'-1970, a film which had the reputation of being a Horror film but instead emerges as a tragic tale of love and revenge. McDowell along with screenwriter William Spier have taken the ancient Scottish folk tale adapted by poet Robert Burns , sung by folk artists such as 'SANDY DENNY AND FAIRPORT CONVENTION' ,'PENTANGLE ' of which their version is included throughout this film, and 'JUNE TABOR' among others and given it a Seventies reawakening. Ageless actress Ava Gardner is excellent as Michaela Cazaret, a millionairess who hovers Charles Manson-like over her brood of teenage runaways in her Carter Hall mansion in Scotland. When her boy toy Tom Lin played by a young Ian McShane falls in love with his outsider soul mate brilliantly played by Stephanie Beacham, the spell is broken and she vows to have him killed in a chilling take on Director Ernest B. Schoedsack's classic 'THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME'-1932. Gardner predates actress Delphine Seyrig's performance of Countess Elizabeth Bathory in Director Harry Kumel's excellent 'DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS' aka 'LES LEVRES ROUGE'-1971 as she whispers her lines with a sinister twinge. Genre fans will spot Hammer actresses Jenny Hanley and Madeline Smith and also future 'NEW AVENGERS/ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS' star Joanna Lumley in nice cameos. Other excellent characters are veteran actor Cyril Cusack as Beacham's vicar father and British comic Richard Wattis playing against type as Gardner's sinister private secretary

Actor Roddy McDowall's only directorial effort, 1970's "Tam Lin" was an AIP release and later on VHS from Republic. Mentioned repeatedly in the same respect as Charles Laughton's only directorial effort, "Night of the Hunter" which also is an artistic rendering of kind of folklore. McDowall, who around this time starred in the degradations of the British horror picture, "It" and AIP's "Angel, Angel, Down We Go" (AKA: "Cult of the Damned") and has never given the likes of the powerhouse performances Laughton gave. But "Tam Lin" (AKA: "The Devil's Widow") is very good despite the critical panning the film received upon release which caused it to barely receive a distributing. It never stopped AIP before, but I am not familiar with its initial release. I'd been looking for its release on DVD for some time since reading a recent gothic novel of the Scottish folktale and poem upon which the original screenplay by William Spier is based. Ava Gardner is chillingly cast as the evil "Queen of the fairies" and Ian McShane (who starred opposite Oliver Reed in "Sitting Target" that same year and was also the lead opposite Hayley Mills in her father, John Mills' only directorial effort, "Sky West and Crooked" (AKA: "Gypsy Girl") is cast as the hero of the fable. Again, he is very appealing. Stephanie Beacham is cast winningly as the good girl. She has been known for some unusual roles in Hammer's "Dracula A.D. 1972" and "Superbitch." Besides, McDowall's skill with actors and involvement with rather dated jet set mileau of the early seventies, he artfully and very colorfully directs with striking cinematography by Billy Williams and music by Stanley Myers and a number of songs by Pentangle. It is a very good adaption of the Robert Burns poem and a rather literal version of the Tam Lin story despite the modern take. The film is presented here by Olive Films in a very good and deserving Blu-ray with no extras. They also manufacture a DVD version.