Magic (1978)

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

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writers:

William Goldman (novel), William Goldman (screenplay)

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Corky Withers / Fats (voice)
Ann-Margret	...	Peggy Ann Snow
Burgess Meredith	...	Ben Greene
Ed Lauter	...	Duke
E.J. André	...	Merlin
Jerry Houser	...	Cab Ddriver
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

Storyline

Magician's assistant Corky performs disastrously at his first solo appearance. He is given a ventriloquist dummy called Fats to improve his act and within a few years Corky is at the height of fame. However, Fats has developed a mind of his own and wants to control his master.

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Plot Keywords:

dummy | ventriloquist | magician | high school sweetheart | boat | 

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Taglines:

Abracadabra, I sit on his knee. Presto, change-o, and now he's me! Hocus Pocus, we take her to bed. Magic is fun...when you're dead.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 November 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

A mágus

Filming Locations:

Blue Lakes, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Joseph E. Levine Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mike Nichols briefly considered directing this film.

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Credits: Fats Anthony Hopkins

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Connections

Referenced in Freaks and Geeks: Noshing and Moshing (2000)

User Reviews

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!