Plot
Anthony Hopkins is a ventriloquist psychologically tormented by his dummy in the Richard Attenborough thriller Magic (a film with a story that may seem familiar to those who have seen the Michael Redgrave segment of Dead of Night, or the Cliff Robertson episode "The Dummy" from The Twilight Zone television series). William Goldman based his screenplay on his best-selling novel. Hopkins plays Corky, a seedy magician who is hooted off the stage in the low-rent clubs that will stoop to hire him. But when he comes across a dummy named Fats, his career is energized. Corky sees in Fats everything he lacks himself -- confidence, creativity, and verbal agility. With the help of his agent Ben Greene (Burgess Meredith), Corky rises to the top of the nightclub circuit. But with Corky's success comes an increased paranoia, and he turns down a TV contract, believing that it would mean taking a medical examination and that rumors of his mental instability might leak out. Corky takes off to a Catskills resort, run by Peggy Ann Snow (Ann-Margret), an old girlfriend now unhappily married to a volatile hick (Ed Lauter). While a frustrated Ben high tails it to the Catskills to find Corky, Corky discovers that he still has feelings for Peggy, but lands in the middle of a love triangle between the woman and her husband, where his schizophrenic personality manifests itself and additional murders occur. ~ Paul Brenner, RoviReview
Anthony Hopkins has claimed that playing Hannibal Lecter was simple once he nailed down the character's distinctive voice. Over a decade earlier, Hopkins delivered another great vocal performance as Fats. Before Corky becomes a ventriloquist, he is already a sweaty jumble of neuroses. Anybody who saw this man walking down the street would realize he is in need of professional help. Once Fats enters the picture, his nasal but forceful voice is both insistent and grating. The voice is a great piece of acting because it is easy to imagine oneself looking as disturbed as Corky if this voice were inside you all the time and had no way to release itself. Magic's suspense plot is overwrought and unoriginal, but Hopkins' performance gives the film a freshness and an energy it would otherwise lack. ~ Perry Seibert, RoviCast
- Anthony Hopkins - Corky/Voice of Fats
- Ann-Margret - Peggy Ann Snow
- Burgess Meredith - Ben Greene
- Ed Lauter - Duke
- E.J. Andre - Merlin
Credit
Richard J. Lawrence - Art Director, Ruth Myers - Costume Designer, Arne Schmidt - First Assistant Director, Richard Attenborough - Director, C.O. Erickson - Executive Producer, Jerry Goldsmith - Composer (Music Score), Lee C. Harman - Makeup, Hallie Smith-Simmons - Makeup, Terence Marsh - Production Designer, Victor J. Kemper - Cinematographer, C.O. Erickson - Producer, Joseph E. Levine - Producer, Richard P. Levine - Producer, John Franco, Jr. - Set Designer, Larry Jost - Sound/Sound Designer, William Goldman - Screenwriter, William Goldman - Book Author| Maghe Dhaka Tara (1960 Film), Maggie and the Men of Minnesota (Film) | |
| Magic (2010 Film), Magic (2008 Film) |
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