Imagine sitting around the TV with your family and seeing this commercial pop up on screen back in the 1970s. Magic is now streaming on the Bloody Disgusting-powered SCREAMBOX.Įditor’s Note: This article was originally published on November 8, 2018.The phrase “they don’t make them like they used to” is thrown around a lot in the context of nostalgia, but in the case of the first teaser for Magic, it’s quite accurate. The story of Corky and Fats may not be as well known, but the influence of Magic is still strong in horror even 45 years later. Moreover, Magic served as direct inspiration for Don Mancini’s original screenplay for Child’s Play, fittingly released almost a decade apart to the day. Magic wasn’t the first time that a ventriloquist was terrorized by his own dummy, but its emphasis on the psychological, Hopkins’ intense performance, and Attenborough opting for straightforward tension without a hint of camp elevated the film into something that holds up well, even if nowhere close to being as scary as the initial TV spot suggests. Kemper ( Audrey Rose, Xanadu, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure) and a score by legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith ( Alien, Gremlins, Poltergeist), and Magic became an impressive film inside and out. Throw in the talents of cinematographer Victor J. Though many names were tied to this film prior to production, from Roman Polanski to Steven Spielberg, the directorial duties ultimately fell to Richard Attenborough, the director behind Gandhi and A Bridge Too Far, but who fans will ultimately recognize as Professor John Hammond from Jurassic Park. According to Goldman, he wrote Peggy with her in mind. Ann-Margret has the tough job of playing the straight-man against Hopkins’ manic man losing his grip, and she pulls it off well. Corky is always a means of escaping not just her marriage but her small town, making it easier to turn a blind eye to his erratic behavior. Stuck in an unhappy marriage, it’s easy for her to be manipulated by Corky. There’s a sadness in Corky’s desire for normalcy despite knowing Fats won’t ever let him have it, but the true tragedy is the way Peggy is caught in the middle. Fats is a manifestation of Corky’s id, and Corky is aware of his mental instability from the get-go. Fats even looks just like Corky, and is voiced by Hopkins too. Hopkins plays Corky always on the edge, always manic and nervous save for the fleeting moments of calm happiness with Peggy. Unlike the ambiguity in Goldman’s source novel, the film version of Magic doesn’t make any attempts to conceal the truth about Fats. Corky’s fears are amplified when he renews a relationship with married woman Peggy ( Ann-Margret), and Fats isn’t thrilled about it. But the network requires a medical exam to close the deal, and Corky runs back home to the Catskills out of fear. The act is so compelling that his agent Ben Greene ( Burgess Meredith) has lined up a great TV deal for him. Cut to a year later, where Corky has completely turned his show around thanks to the addition of ventriloquism in his act, with his dummy Fats. Socially awkward, Corky chokes on stage and his subsequent outburst toward a less than enthusiastic audience has his ailing mentor warning him to develop a better stage presence and gimmick. Corky opens the film as an aspiring magician, but lacks the charisma of his mentor Merlin. That ventriloquist, Corky, is played by Anthony Hopkins. The only problem is that his dummy is the jealous type. Written by William Goldman ( The Stepford Wives, The Princess Bride), and adapted from the novel he also wrote, Magic revolves around a ventriloquist seeking to renew a relationship with his former high school sweetheart. Released 45 years ago on November 8, 1978, Magic is an underappreciated classic and one of horror’s most unnerving love stories. The TV spot was so effective that it’s arguably scarier than the actual film it wasn’t the straightforward horror story the teaser indicated but much more a psychological thriller. The simple but terrifying ad didn’t give away much about the actual plot, but it did instill a lot of traumatic nightmares for any young viewers that happened to catch it. The phrase “they don’t make them like they used to” is thrown around a lot in the context of nostalgia, but in the case of the first teaser for Magic, it’s quite accurate.
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