In this classic (not the naff Nicolas Cage remake), a devout Christian police officer travels to Summerisle to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a girl. He ploughs along with the clues and discovers that the missing girl is alive.

The pagan residents of Summerisle have lured the deeply religious policeman to the island to offer him, not the girl, as a sacrifice to the Wicker Man. He is imprisoned in a large wicker statue and burnt alive.