Magic (1978)

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writers:

William Goldman (novel)
William Goldman (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 November 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

A Terrifying Love Story.

Plot:

A ventriloquist is at the mercy of his vicious dummy while he tries to renew a romance with his high school sweetheart.

Plot Keywords:

Dummy | Ventriloquist | Magician | High School Sweethearts | Nbc

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Anthony Hopkins	...	Corky Withers / Voice of Fats
Ann-Margret	...	Peggy Ann Snow
Burgess Meredith	...	Ben Greene
Ed Lauter	...	Duke
E.J. André	...	Merlin
Jerry Houser	...	Cab driver
David Ogden Stiers	...	Todson
Lillian Randolph	...	Sadie
Joe Lowry	...	Club M.C.
Bob Hackman	...	Father
Mary Munday	...	Mother
Brad Beesley	...	Young Corky
Scott Garrett	...	Corky's brother
Beverly Sanders	...	Laughing lady
I.W. Klein	...	Maitre d'hotel

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:TV-PG (cable rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) (1978) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Blue Lakes, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The role of Corky was originally offered to Jack Nicholson, but upon hearing that he would have to wear a hairpiece to play the role, Nicholson turned it down.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Members of the crew are reflected in the cabin window when Corky gets his jacket before going out in the boat with Duke.

Quotes:

Fats: Hey, you know what I think?
Corky: What do you think?
Fats: We're gonna be a staaaaaaar!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Freaks and Geeks: Noshing and Moshing (#1.15)" (2000)

Surprisingly good!

Ventriloquist "Corky" is about to hit the big time when he starts to realize fame and fortune isn't all it's cracked up to be. He retreats to a lakeside cabin owned by the woman he fell in love with as a teenager but things turn nasty. He is suffering from schizophrenia and uses the dummy to voice the things he can't bring himself to say. This is done superbly and Anthony Hopkins plays it all extremely convincingly. Ann-Margret puts in a mostly believable performance too although at times she seems a little unlikely. It doesn't detract though, her screen presence adds a lot to the movie and she looks radiant as ever. For a while when watching this film I had a horrible feeling that the dummy would turn out to have an intelligence of its own and would start walking around with a knife in its little wooden hands. Thankfully this doesn't happen and it's a much more sinister and impressive film for it. Overall this was surprisingly watchable, well made and at times genuinely scary. The violence is filmed well and doesn't resort to bloodfests to get the message across. One of the few 70's horror flicks I've seen with good acting and a credible plot, well worth watching!