Magic (movie) - Definition

Magic is a 1978 film starring Anthony Hopkins and Ann-Margret. Not strictly a horror film, Magic is more correctly categorized as a "psychological thriller." It was written by William Goldman, who also wrote the novel it was based on.

Tagline

Abracadabra, I sit on his knee.

Presto, change-o, and now he's me!

Hocus Pocus, we take her to bed,

Magic is fun... we're dead.

Plot

Magic tells the story of Charles "Corky" Withers (Hopkins), a man that has just failed his first attempt at professional magic. His mentor says that he needs to have a better showbusiness personality. A year later Corky comes back as a ventriloquist with a foul-mouthed dummy named Fats. His agent Ben Green (played by Burgess Meredith) is on the verge of signing Corky on for his own television show, but Corky bails out for the Catskills, claiming to be afraid of success. In truth he doesn't want to take the required psychological testing because doctors might find out about his growing insanity where he can't quite seperate himself from his Fats personality.

In the Catskills he meets with his high-school crush named Peggy Ann Snow (Margret), a woman stuck in an abusive marriage. Corky and Peg start up a relationship, with sparks the jealousy of both Fats and Peggy's husband Duke (played by Ed Lauter).

Meanwhile, Green has tracked Corky down. After a tense confrontation where Green discovers the truth about Corky's mental state, he demands that Corky get help. Fats convinces Corky to kill Green. Fats also becomes even more posessive and jealous when Corky brings up the suggestion that he leave Fats behind so that he and Peggy can go away together. What follows is a battle between Corky's two personalities.

External link

• The IMDb entry on Magic (http://imdb.com/title/tt0077889/)

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