writers_reign I'm a great admirer of both Goldman brothers, James and William, both of whom have produced both novels and screenplays but I can't help feeling a little disappointed that Bill Goldman saw fit to rip off the segment from the portmanteau movie Dead Of Night (circa 1946) in which Michael Redgrave played a ventriloquist who wound up controlled by his dummy. Apart from disappointment I am also surprised that no one else seems to have spotted this. Admittedly the English film is now some seventy years old but even so ... That said this is a fairly competent adaptation by Goldman himself of his own novel and though it skips over Corky's transition from brilliant albeit egg-laying magician to vent act it does offer fine performances by Hopkins and Burgess Meredith.

BA_Harrison Struggling magician Corky Withers (Anthony Hopkins) develops a ventriloquist act involving a foulmouthed dummy called Fats (who looks like an even creepier version of Hopkins), after which his career finally starts to takes off. Unfortunately, Corky's fragile mind cannot handle the strain of two personalities, and begins to crack, turning him into a dangerous psychopath who believes that his dummy is alive.Scary dolls are a staple of the horror genre, but are rarely enough to carry a whole film. It's a good job, then, that Magic has plenty else going for it, not least a smart screenplay by best-selling writer William Goldman (adapted from his 1976 novel), excellent direction from future Oscar winner Richard Attenborough, and a great cast. Anthony Hopkins (another future Academy Award winner) is thoroughly convincing the mentally unstable conjurer Corky, the star mastering the art of throwing his voice and card tricks for the part, and he is given able support by the brilliant Burgess Meredith as concerned agent Ben, and from the beautiful Ann Margaret as love interest Peg.The film isn't so much scary as it is unsettling, and might disappoint some horror fans looking for jump scares or gory spectacle, but as a study in madness, it does very well indeed. 7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

PimpinAinttEasy Magic is a solid horror-thriller directed by Richard Attenborough that suffers from bad casting. Hopkins is not entirely convincing as the all American ventriloquist. Ann Margaret is not adorable enough as his childhood love. But Burgess Meredith was sensational. He is almost like a special effect in this film. He literally upstages Hopkins when they are together in the same scene.I liked the locales when Hopkins runs away from society. I thought this film was about a misanthropic man who runs away from society to hide his limitations/idiosyncrasies. But the society keeps creeping up on him. And he has no other alternative but to resort to violence. The film could have used more character development. We are not told what happened to Rusty in his childhood. The part about his childhood is too vague.The film has a very affecting great score by Jerry Goldsmith. I've read the book by William Goldman a long time ago. Good stuff.(7.5/10) ▲

inkslayer A successful ventriloquist - dependent upon his dummy's advice and whims - can't go to the next level of fame - TV - until he's checked out by a doctor. Instead of following his agent's advice to see a doctor, the ventriloquist heads for a remote Catskills lodge in hopes that the girl he held a torch for in high school is still available. When the agent comes a calling at the lodge, he tells the ventriloquist he can forgo seeing a doctor only if he can sit for 5 minutes without making his dummy talk. Anthony Hopkins is brilliant as Corky, the insecure, vulnerable ventriloquist who suffers from excruciating headaches and uncontrollable bouts of transferring his thoughts and feelings into his dummy's mouth. Because of Hopkins' emotional performance, we actually believe Fats (the wooden imp with the big head) is controlling Corky's every move - good and bad.Ann-Margret is warm, tender, and touching as Corky's high school sweetheart Peggy Ann Snow. Her belief in Corky - and her love for the adorable Fats - is poignant. At the same time you want to shout at the screen and say, "What the hell are you doing? The guy is nuts!!!"Burgess Meredith is Ben Greene, Corky's cigar-smoking agent who hounds Corky about seeing a doctor. And Ed Lauter plays Duke, Peggy Ann's jealous husband who gets caught between Corky's and Peggy Ann's rekindled love for one another.Corky and Fats have many heavy conversations with one another. The best being one of the last:"It was never me. Always us." - Corky "Schmuck. Us was you." - Fats"What?" - Corky "It was you all the time." - FatsI saw Magic in NYC when it first came out in 1978. That being said, the movie is better viewed on the big screen for a number of reasons. The most important- so you can better notice and experience the dummy's different faces/expressions during certain crucial scenes and because psychological thrillers are just more affective on large screens. However, don't pass this film over just because you can't sit in a Ziegfeld-sized theatre.