"Magic" (1978)

For an opportunity to see Ann-Margret’s nipples at 00:45:32…Hell ya.

She’s got a magical set for sure. Highly competitive with a Joey Heatherton. She’s a sweet somewhat naïve lonely middle ager named Peggy Snow in this one.

This could be a sister movie to “Misery” since the screenplay was written by the same person. The story is about a magician turned ventriloquist, whose drive to fame makes him create a dummy called Fats. Anthony Hopkins plays Corky, the oddball character who is creepy yet very convincing as a man who loses his mental capacity for real and the unreal. Perhaps his “genius” in this movie is his talent for disarming humor told through his act.

In fact, it makes him so successful that he’s got a standing contract to create a pilot for one of the monster television stations which is overseen by his agent, played by Burgess Meredith. Who should’ve been nominated here for an Oscar rather than the caricature of Mickey in “Rocky.” But whatever, this is a one man show with Hopkins. As a timid weirdo, he is fascinating. Practically scared of his shadow until he speaks through Fats. The issue arises when he vehemently refuses to take a medical exam for fear he will be found out that he suffers from mental illness. This exam is to cover NBC for the pilot and is standard. He freaks out so bad, he disappears to his childhood home hoping to find the girl that he lost so many years earlier. By happenstance, she runs a cabin-for-rent in a practically deserted small town. Unfortunately, we discover she is in a sexless marriage, and agrees with Corky to leave. Things get messed up when Corky’s agent finds out why he has been so sidetracked to take a medical exam. Then things get REALLY muddy.

I have a fondness for movies like this, simply because it requires so little. Three main characters and a tangled web. It gets worse an worse for Corky, but due to the sweet loving person that Peggy is, we are left with some frustration. Generally wanting to shake Corky to his senses. A smoking hot woman like Ann-Margaret is the prize, yet…he can’t drop the “act.” Ann-Margret is amazing in this movie. Not just for her tits, but her ability to play a broken flower, whose beauty put in any other town would be the belle. But since she’s stuck in upstate New York, she is saddled with a unmotivated lummox of a man named Duke, played fantastically by Ed Lauter (R.I.P.).

 Duke is a good man, but poorly suited to handle the more worldly-at-heart Peg. It would be easy to paint him out to be a thug and abusive, but you can see it’s just love that went stale. He’s clearly a more manly choice for her, but she elects the nebbish instead. You almost feel sorry for the guy. But you definitely don’t want to be completely around for after the curtain.

This was penned by the great William Goldman (whom this would be back to back ones he’s written). You can see his great humor poke through in a dark horror flick like this. Which, incidentally, I think these types of movies will have to re-genre their brand, since nowadays a person who is schizophrenic can’t be seen as a “horror” movie anymore. I think. I like that the glib jokes poke through. It’s a great reminder that not all thrillers need to be maudlin and dark. Even “Psycho” had some great humor to it. To which I think a lot of this borrows from Hitchcock. Interestingly, this was directed by Richard Attenborough. I didn’t realize this would be his cup of tea. A well made one at that.