Independent Films, Film Profiles

Magic (film)

Magic is a 1978 film starring Anthony Hopkins and Ann-Margret. It was written by William Goldman, who also wrote the novel on which it was based.Magic tells the story of Charles "Corky" Withers (Hopkins), a man who has just failed his first attempt at professional magic. His mentor says that he needs to have a better show business personality. A year later Corky comes back as a ventriloquist with a foul-mouthed dummy named Fats. His agent Ben Greene (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 that he suffers from multiple personality disorder, and that he hears Fats talking to him.In the Catskills he meets with his high-school crush, Peggy Ann Snow (Margret), who is stuck in a passionless marriage. Corky and Peg ultimately make love, which sparks the jealousy of both Fats and Peggy's husband, Duke (Ed Lauter).Meanwhile, Greene has tracked Corky down. After a tense confrontation where Greene discovers the truth about Corky's mental state, he demands that Corky get help. Fats convinces Corky to kill Greene. Corky does this by using Fats' hard, wooden head, taking away all of Greene's personal belongings and dragging the corpse into the lake. The next morning Fats becomes even more possessive and jealous when Corky says that he plans to leave Fats behind so that he and Peggy can go away together.Duke returns from his trip earlier than expected and is angry with Peggy, thinking that she might have cheated on him with Corky. After a heated argument, Peggy storms off and Duke decides to have a personal talk with Corky on the lake. Duke expresses worry that he and Peggy may be growing apart. The awkward conversation lasts until Duke discovers Greene's dead body on the edge of the lake.They row toward the body, and Duke, believing Greene could still be alive, sends Corky to get help. Duke only finds that Greene is indeed dead and, feeling something suspicious is going on, decides to search Corky's cabin.Indeed, Duke finds a trove of Greene's identification, only to have Fats kill him with "help" from Corky (Fats stabs Duke while Corky is covered by a curtain behind him). Corky convinces Peg to run away with him, but just when everything seems perfect, Fats "comes alive" and reveals that Corky's card trick is only a ruse to seduce women, and that she is only the latest of his conquests. Repulsed, Peg rejects Corky and locks herself in her bedroom. Fats then says that, from this point on, he will make the decisions in Corky's life, and asserts his new authority by ordering Corky to kill Peg.Corky, using Fats' voice, apologizes to Peggy from in front of her door. When Corky returns with a bloodstained knife, Fats seems pleased — until it is revealed that the blood on the knife is Corky's, having committed suicide so that he won't kill anyone else. As a result Fats also feels "faint", and as the two die, they wonder who will die first.Moments later, Peggy returns to their cabin, saying she has changed her mind and decided to come back to him.There are some major differences from the novel. Although the story and chain of events are not significantly changed from the book, the narrative here is obviously more straight-forward, whereas the book cuts from the aftermath, to Corky's youth and early career, to the present. Perhaps even more significant is the fact that Fats is a dummy is not revealed until midway in to the novel. The film keeps the scene, but it is introduced much earlier, in the second scene. Other changes include: