Stamp’s 2nd Indy appearance fills the mid-week slot this week.
As anticipated following Stamp’s first appearance in the Indy, we enjoyed this puzzle. We found it rather more straightforward than we had expected partly because some clues contained the same word in the clue and the solution (25ac, 1d, 2d and 5d). As we tackled the clues from top to bottom, we had most of the grid filled by the time we came to 27d, which references THE WICKER MAN, a notorious ‘folk horror’ film from 1973 which centres on Celtic pagan religious practices on a remote Scottish Island. Was it an an amazing coincidence that the film was on last night on BBC4 or was Stamp given advance warning? The i had it down as ‘The Film Of The Day’. Having skimmed through the preview yesterday we remembered that Edward Woodward was one of the stars – and that WOOD and WARD appear in the grid at 7d and 28d. We also remembered that the high priest, Lord Summerisle (19ac 27d) was played by Christopher Lee (21ac). Could there be a theme in a Wednesday puzzle?
On googling the film to remind ourselves of the rest of the plot and cast, we realised that there are no less than 16 entries that could be considered thematic, and a few references to the film in the clues (16ac, 24ac, 4d, 27d) . Stamp must really have been a fan!
Edward 7d28d plays a detective who comes to 19ac27d to investigate the disappearance of 11ac Morrison, who the islanders claim never existed. He stays at the 23d(-s)16ac pub and realises that the locals are 5d of Celtic pagan rituals who celebrate the annual 14ac with a May Queen. However, the last 14ac failed and they must 25ac a 17ac to guarantee a better one this year. He uses a mask of PUNCH (part of 9ac) to disguise himself during the May Day 29ac. He finds 11ac and flees to a 26d but is found by the islanders and Christopher 21ac, playing Lord 19ac27d, tells him that 11ac is not the intended 25ac – he is, as he meets the gods’ requirements, being a 17ac and a 6d. He is burnt in the 4d16ac effigy. A real feel-good film!!
Congratulations to Stamp for getting so many thematic entries into the grid (and clues!)
We’re looking forward to the next one!
PUNCH (horse) LINE (stroke)
hOBOES (drifters) missing the first letter or ‘intro’
R (run) O (over) WAN (sickly)
An anagram (‘treated’) of OLD KEG and NEW
A (answer) DO (abbreviation – ‘briefly’ – of ‘ditto’ – ‘as before’)
HARdEST (‘yielding least’) with the middle or ‘essential’ letter ‘d’ (500 in Roman numerals) changed to V (5) or ‘reduced by 99%’
MAy missing the last letter or ‘tailed’ + N (last letter or ‘close’ to queen)
VIRus missing or ‘sparing’ US (American) + GIN (spirit)
S (singular) mUMMER (actor) missing the first letter or ‘headed’
fLEEt (quick) missing the first and last letters or ‘rejecting outsiders’
U (posh) G G (‘goods’) in or ‘carried by’ SLED (sleigh)
Hidden (‘to some extent’) and reversed (‘rebuffed’) in ChRIStian
An anagram (‘faltering’) of IF CAR’S + ICE
Alternate or ‘occasional’ letters of g W bUsH + AN
V (very) in or ‘boring’ REEL (dance)
An anagram (‘wasted’) of N (new) and TURBINE + E (energy)
An anagram (‘with reconfiguration’) of PRO and S (succeeded) + RAN
S (second) MOBILE (phone) round or ‘installing’ NOW
CHINos (trousers) missing the last two letters or ‘one third off’
WICK (‘that supplies flame’) ER (‘I’m not sure’)
VOTE in or ‘stopping’ a reversal (‘rearing’) of SEED (children)
Double definition
WOO (court) D (date)
A STERN (grim)
H (hotel) sIGHS (seems miserable) missing or ‘denied’ the first or ‘early’ ‘s’ (sun)
T (tense) I’M (‘setter’s’) ID (papers)
An anagram (‘frantically’) of MUM SEARCHEd without or ‘wanting’ the ‘d’ (diameter) – we had to check this one, our last one in
IT IS after or ‘adjoining’ N (northern) EUR (Europe)
A clue-as-definition: a reversal (‘served up’) of RED (claret) round or ‘containing’ RINK (‘some ice’)
LUST (passion) RE (Royal Engineers)
Triple definition
C (cold) AVE (‘hail’)
First or ‘principal’ letters of Intrepid Sergeant Loses Everything – the film ‘Wicker Man’ (4D/16ac) is set on a Scottish Isle and features an ‘intrepid sergeant’ who ‘loses everything’
Double definition
I thought this was pretty tough but it was very enjoyable particularly with all the references to one of my favourite films.
HARVEST was very clever and gets my vote as favourite.
Many thanks to Stamp for an excellent puzzle and to B&J for their usual thorough review.
Welcome back Stamp – the theme sailed entirely over my head (and I’ve never seen the film), but never mind! Teasy, tricky, and satisfying stuff.
My favourites were NEURITIS for the sneaky ‘it’s’, the accessory for a Mac, and the aforementioned HARVEST.
Thanks Stamp, and B&J.
Probably stealing FrankieG’s thunder, but it’s 50 years today since public release. I saw it last night for the first time, surprisingly good.
Enjoyable puzzle, thanks
Horribly creepy and unsettling! The film, that is, not this wonderful tour de force of a puzzle. Bravo, Stamp, but compiling this crossword isn’t going to bring back your apples.
Another impressive achievement from Stamp. I spent a while trying synonyms of “vote”, before the penny dropped. Thanks, all.
Knew nothing of the theme-wasnt it a film where the star’s boyfriend (a certain singer) objected to her nude scenes?
I remember seeing the film 50 years ago in a double-bill with Don’t Look Now — another great film — The Wicker Man was the B-movie.
I liked both, but the audience found the latter laughable, especially Britt Ekland, with her ‘…speaking and singing voices … dubbed by Annie Ross and Rachel Verney respectively’, dancing naked, trying to provoke LUST[re] in the strait-laced hero.
SIR Christopher (Frank Carandini) Lee was the obvious casting choice for a horror film villain. but who would play the virgin sergeant?
Fresh from Callan, Edward Woodward would, wouldn’t he?
Here’s Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle wearing a kilt and SPORRAN
https://www.alamy.com/christopher-lee-the-wicker-man-1973-image468466480.html
Setter dropping in to thank all those who have solved and/or commented on the puzzle. B&J, that is a superlative blog – given your usual standards, I would expect the perfect parsing and analysis but you also identified every themed solution and all the references in the clues. As well as providing a pretty thorough synopsis of the plot. Chapeau. DRINKER is the only arguable themer you could have added – the drinkers in the Green Man feature prominently – but that clue was serendipitous rather than planned (as was DEVOTEES).
To modern eyes, the film does appear quite dated now but it achieved cult status and has featured more highly than one might expect in various rankings of the genre. Christopher Lee, apparently, regarded it as one of his best works. I am conscious I probably owe an apology to FrankieG for ‘yet another’ 50 year old film/record – as James points out, it was released on this day in 1973, which may explain the showing on TV. In my defence, this puzzle was put together in the Spring a bit before setters began to be gently chided about those golden anniversaries.
Finally, with regard to serendipity and to show you should be careful when messing with the old gods, I noticed long after the puzzle’s completion that LUG chose to make an appearance almost in the centre of the grid (in SLUGGED). Lug, it turns out, was a Celtic God of the sun and the harvest whose feast day is the eve of harvest. There’s a delightful coincidence.
Stamp
Loved the puzzle. Love spotting golden anniversaries. Thanks S & B&J. Here’s Edward Woodward’s Australian commercial for Craftwood
[There’s a comment from @lordsummerisle9533 — 7 years ago — “This is a metaphor for … Christopher Lee”
Love the film, it’s a bona fide British horror classic. And I knew it was the 50th anniversary today (there have been lots of cultural activities to mark the occasion, particularly relating to the wonderful Paul Giovanni soundtrack, including a concert last night that I very much wanted to go to but alas couldn’t). Anyway, I didn’t take long to spot the theme!
That aside, the puzzle itself was enjoyable in its own right – particularly liked the def for PUNCHLINE.
Thanks, Stamp and B&J.
Nice one Stamp, definitely worth the postage.
Very nicely done indeed, Stamp. I wish that “some clues [containing] the same word in the clue and the solution” made puzzles more straightforward for me but I invariably fail to take the hint! Nonetheless, a most enjoyable and cleanly clued puzzle. I particularly liked HARVEST, SLUGGED, INNER TUBE, SPORRAN and ASTERN.
Thanks Stamp and also B&J for an excellent blog.
Beautifully woven theme… which I would have been ashamed to miss after the early 4d entry… surely REVEL must be part of the theme!? I’m sure the sinister costume thing was referred to as just that, not to mention the inclusion of REEL as part of solution. Also liked SEED being part of the solution for DEVOTEES.
chapeau indeed to both Stamp n Bertandjoyce
Thanks for the blog , totally by coincidence someone alerted me to this because they know I love the Wicker Man , so I managed to get it printed and found it was by Stamp/Frank/PostMark. I think I would have got the theme even without the initial alert.
Very impressive puzzle and sheer number of theme entries.
It was actually a B-movie released with Don’t Look Now , which is even better.
The 90 minute version shown last night was the original release, there is a longer version, starts on the mainland, an extra day on the island and more songs.
Like Widdersbel@11 I love the music – Corn rigs and barley rigs …. as he flies to the island.
Sorry Frankie@7 I did not look now closely enough, I was distracted by your comment on Lee and Woodward.
Yes Rod Stewart did not approve of Willow dancing naked. A body double was used for scenes from behind. At one point when she is banging on the wall there is a really bad cut to her double and it is clearly someone else.
Thanks both. Like Coot@13 I overthought all the clues where the fodder was given straight to us, perhaps as I’m not used to that, particularly in recent weeks. Saw some of the film last night, and cringed through much of it, with the exception of Ms Ekland’s ‘expressive’ dancing, which was my abiding memory from when I first saw it.
Thanks Stamp. I don’t know the film WICKER MAN so the genius of this crossword went right over my head. However, it’s not the first time that I enjoyed a puzzle despite missing the theme. I liked many of the clues including OBOES, VIRGIN, REVEL, SNOWMOBILE, ASTERN, and DRINKER. Thanks B&J for explaining so much.
Well, I’ve seen the film several times and I totally failed to spot the theme.
Late to this but thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve never actually seen the film but oddly seem to have absorbed some of its contents by a kind of cultural osmosis, so about half of the themers landed with me. Perhaps I should watch the film now! Loved HARVEST, VIRGIN, SNOWMOBILE, SACRIFICE and HIGHS.
Thanks PM for an excellent puzzle and B&J for an equally excellent blog.
I was another who finds it bemusing that the appearance of the same word in clue and solution might make the solving easier. Like Coot@13 I reckon it does just the opposite! I spent almost as long trying to fit an X (for VOTE) into 5d as almost the rest of the puzzle.
I ran out of time with two incomplete: PUNCHLINE was too good for me – “back end of chestnut” was well over my head. And “some ice” for RINK was also very good. Or good enough to defeat me, anyway.
Thanks to Mark for the puzzle and B&J for the blog – both of which reminded me of the couple of times I watched the film.