Plot hole: Sergeant Howie is expected to report back to the mainland on the same day he left, and since he took a valuable aircraft with him on his trip it is inconceivable that his superior officers would not come looking for him if he didn't show up. First they would try contacting him on his radio and not receiving a reply they'd send out a search party, and they would do so within twenty four hours. Missing police officers are taken very, very seriously indeed.
The Wicker Man (1973)
Plot summary
Directed by: Robin Hardy
Starring: Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Edward Woodward
A young girl has been reported missing on Summerisle, a remote Scottish Island and Sergeant Howie is sent to investigate. On arriving on the Island Howie sees how the islanders live and is a bit unnerved because they are all weirdo's in their own rights. No one knows who the missing girl is and Howie is sent on a wild goose chase by the islanders trying to get to the bottom of it. He eventually seeks out Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee)who is also barking mad, and learns that the islanders live by different rules and philosophies which Howie very strongly disagrees with (being a devout, virgin christian). The apple crop of Summerisle failed the year before and the islanders want to make a sacrifice to the sun god's to ensure it does'nt happen again. Howie, we learn, has been lured to the island as the perfect sacrifice with the pretence of investigating the missing girl. In the end he get's sacrificed in the Wicker Man.
Incidentally, you can visit the remains of the Wicker Man on Burrow Head, in Galloway, South West Scotland.
More mistakes in The Wicker Man
Lord Summerisle: Come. It is time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man.
Trivia: Christopher Lee did this movie for free, and considers it one of his best roles ever.
Question: At the finale of The Wicker Man Howie/Edward Woodward is placed in a wooden cage high above the ground. The cage is set alight. When the cage began to burn and disintegrate, wouldn't he have fallen out of it onto the ground? As the cage burns, the wood must become brittle, so why can't he just force his way out? (Yes, he is surrounded by the islanders, but if anybody was being burnt alive, and they could get out of the flames, wouldn't the self-preservation instinct kick in?).
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Answer: He would likely die from the heat or smoke inhalation long before the wood would deteriorate enough for him to fall out. The film also makes a point to show that Howie has given up trying to fight the villagers and has accepted his fate, so even if he could have forced his way out he no longer had the will to do so.
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