A devout and pious Catholic police sergeant travels to a remote Scottish island when he receives word that a young girl has gone missing. What he finds shocks and subtly intrigues while threatening his religious beliefs - a deeply pagan and close-knit society who worship nature over established religion. With strange customs and overt sensuality on full display at each turn, Edward Woodward's Sergeant Howie rallies forth to do his duty and solve the central mystery of the missing child. Entangling with the town's charmingly sinister leader Lord Summerisle (a wonderful Christopher Lee), the beguiling landlord's daughter and nymph Willow (Britt Eckland) and a host of other vaguely sinister characters, Howie delves deeper and deeper into the mysteries of the island, until the Wicker Man's stunning conclusion.

It's an utterly unforgettable and original film, sadly underrated at the time of its release and it's brilliance was barely touched by the abysmal, woefully misguided 2006 remake of the same name.