Summer Magic (1963)

A Bostonian widow moves with her kids to the country.

Director:

James Neilson

Writers:

Sally Benson (screenplay), Kate Douglas Wiggin (book)

Stars:

Hayley Mills, Burl Ives, Dorothy McGuire

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Hayley Mills	...	Nancy Carey
Burl Ives	...	Osh Popham
Dorothy McGuire	...	Margaret Carey
Deborah Walley	...	Julia Carey
Una Merkel	...	Mariah Popham
Eddie Hodges	...	Gilly Carey
Michael J. Pollard	...	Digby Popham
Peter Brown	...	Tom Hamilton
James Stacy	...	Charles Bryant
Jimmy Mathers	...	Peter Carey
O.Z. Whitehead	...	Mr. Perkins
Wendy Turner	...	Lallie Joy Popham
Harry Holcombe	...	Henry Lord
Hilda Plowright	...	Mary

Storyline

Disney musical about Mother Carey, a Bostonian widow and her three children who move to Maine. Postmaster Osh Popham helps them move into a run-down old house and fixes it up for them. It's not entirely uninhabited, though; the owner, a Mr. Hamilton, is a mysterious character away in Europe, but Osh assures them he won't mind their living there, since he won't be coming home for a long time yet. The children and a cousin who comes to live with them have various adventures before an unexpected visitor shows up.

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Plot Keywords:

widow | chicken | summer | postmaster | maine | 

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Taglines:

HAYLEY'S IN A WHIRL! Breezing through her sixteenth summer!

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 July 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Doce Verão dos Meus Sonhos

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally planned as a vehicle for Annette Funicello.

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Quotes

Osh Popham: Mr. Hamilton wants a favor in return.
Margaret Carey: A favor? From us?
Osh Popham: Yes, he wants you to find a suitable place for his dear mother's picture.
Nancy Carey: Of course! Portrait of a lady! Where is it, Osh?
Osh Popham: Well, he hid it. He hid it away someplace safe. He wrote it down real clear, but it's just gone right out of my head.
Nancy Carey: Well, if you'll bring the letter, we'll follow the instructions to the last detail. She'll have a place of honor!
Osh Popham: Well, that's the idea. He wrote something about a simple little vase with flowers on her...
[...]

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Connections

Edited into Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color: Summer Magic: Part 1 (1965)

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Soundtracks

"Flitterin'"
(uncredited)
Written by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman
Sung by Hayley Mills, Eddie Hodges, and Dorothy McGuire (dubbed by Marilyn Hooven)

User Reviews

The Pink of Perfection? Not Quite, But...

I have fond memories of watching this movie on TV when I was about 7 years old. Looking back on it now, it's pretty typical Disney family-fare from the early 60s. Hayley Mills is cute, as usual, as the older sister in the Carey family. Eddie Hodges is not bad either as her brother. Burl Ives is enjoyable. His "Ugly Bug Ball" sequence with little Jimmy Mathers is cute, corny and memorable. Deborah Walley is fun as cousin Julia, and it's fun to see her and Mills irritating each other. There are some cute songs in here, by the Sherman brothers, but you have to wonder what they were thinking when they wrote them. In addition to the aforementioned "Ugly Bug Ball", we have two of the oddest inclusions in the Disney catalog: "Femininity" (where Walley and Mills teach Wendy Turner how to act like a woman!) and "The Pink of Perfection" (Mills' and Hodges' duet, in reference to Walley's snooty character).

Harmless, good, clean fun for the most part, but not in the same league as "Mary Poppins".