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Whenever Anthony Hopkins appears on the screen, you can be assured that you’re in a spectacular performance—and 1978’s Magic is no exception. Years before he terrified audiences as Dr. Hannibal Lector, Sir Anthony starred as Corky, a timid, mild-mannered magician whose first attempt as a performer is a total disaster. But then Corky hooks up with Fats, a crude, foul-mouthed dummy, who turns the new-and-improved magic act into an overnight success.
Corky’s agent, Ben Greene (Burgess Meredith), is raking in the dough, thanks to Corky and Fats. Corky makes appearances on all the late-night talk shows. He sells out clubs. And, eventually, he even gets a shot at his own TV show on NBC. But, terrified of taking the mandatory network physical, Corky freaks out and leaves town. He runs away to his hometown in the Catskills and rents a cabin at a resort that just happens to be run by Peggy Ann Snow (Ann-Margret), the beautiful girl who captured Corky’s heart in high school.
Corky never really got over his secret crush on Peg. And now, years later, he finally manages to win her over. They talk of running away together, but they’ve got a few obstacles in their way—like Duke (Ed Lauter), Peg’s husband, who’s desperate to keep her. And Ben, who’s determined to get Corky back to the city and back on TV. And—the biggest obstacle of all—Fats, who’s furious that Peg’s getting in the middle of their act.
As the story continues, it becomes harder and harder to tell who’s really controlling whom. Is Corky really in control, or is he just the dummy?
I always thought that ventriloquists’ dummies were creepy enough to begin with (even the dummy in the quirky Adrien Brody film, Dummy is creepy)—but Fats is guaranteed to give you nightmares. In fact, just his appearance on the DVD’s menu creeped me out. Add to that an eerie soundtrack, in which disturbing harmonica music plays during Fats’s scenes, and I was relieved to be watching this movie in broad daylight.
Magic, the film adaptation of the novel by William Goldman (who, strangely, also wrote The Princess Bride), is just plain chilling. At the same time, it’s quite well done—which isn’t exactly something that audiences have come to expect from horror films. Hopkins is—not surprisingly—fantastic in his role as Corky (and as the voice of Fats). And some of the scenes—especially the tension-filled scene in which Ben challenges Corky to keep Fats silent for five minutes—are unforgettable.
It may not be a horror classic on the same level as Psycho, but if you enjoy a good psychological thriller, Hopkins alone makes Magic worth your time.
