magic

Director: richard attenborough

Actor: anthony hopkins,ann-margret,burgess meredith,ed lauter

Data Published: Wed Nov 08 1978

Genres: Drama,Horror

Key Words: ventriloquist,ventriloquist dummy,dummy,entertainer,evil doll

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077889/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_(1978_film)

Description: Magic is a movie starring Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, and Burgess Meredith. A ventriloquist is at the mercy of his vicious dummy while he tries to renew a romance with his high school sweetheart.

Plot: Charles "Corky" Withers has just failed in his first attempt at professional magic. His mentor "Merlin" (E. J. André) says that he needs to have a better show business gimmick. A year later, Corky comes back as a combination magician and ventriloquist with a foul-mouthed dummy named Fats and is a huge success. His powerful agent Ben Greene is on the verge of signing Corky for his own television show, but Corky bails out for the Catskills, where he grew up, claiming to be "afraid of success." In truth, he does not want to take the TV network's required medical examination because doctors might find out that he suffers from severe issues, and that even off-stage he cannot control Fats (a manifestation of Corky's Id). In the Catskills, he reunites with his high-school crush, Peggy Ann Snow, who is stuck in a passionless marriage with Corky's friend from high school, Duke. A magic trick with a deck of cards charms Peg into thinking they are soulmates. She and Corky have sex, which sparks the jealousy not only of Peggy's tough-guy husband but also the dummy Fats. Greene arrives unexpectedly, having tracked Corky down. After a tense confrontation, in which Greene discovers the truth about Corky's mental state, the agent demands that Corky get help. Fats, however, convinces Corky to kill Greene. Corky does this by using Fats' hard, wooden head. He then removes all of Greene's identification and drags the corpse to the lake. When Corky tries to dispose of the body, however, Greene suddenly lunges at him, still alive. Corky, after an intense fight, manages to drown him. 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 honeymoon by themselves. Duke returns from his trip earlier than expected. He suspects his wife cheated on him and wants to have a talk with Corky on the lake. Rather than confront him, Duke awkwardly confides to Corky that he loves Peggy and is worried about losing her. Duke suddenly spots Greene's body on the edge of the lake. They row toward it. Duke, believing Greene could still be alive, sends Corky to get help. Curious, he decides to search Corky's cabin. Fats kills him with "help" from Corky. (The dummy stabs Duke while Corky is covered by a curtain behind him.) An increasingly deranged Corky manages to pull himself together and persuade Peg to run away with him. But she insists on waiting to tell Duke face to face. She thinks everything is fine until Fats "comes alive" and reveals that Corky's card trick is only a ruse he uses to seduce women, and that Peg is only the latest of his conquests. Repulsed, she rejects Corky and locks herself in her bedroom. Fats says that, from this point on, he will make the decisions in Corky's life. He immediately asserts this new authority by ordering Corky to kill Peg. Corky, turning on the charm and using Fats' voice, apologizes to Peggy from in front of her locked door. A short while later, Corky returns with a bloodstained knife. Fats seems pleased — until it is revealed that the blood on the knife is Corky's, who has fatally stabbed himself so that he won't kill anyone else. As a result, Fats also feels faint. They wonder which of them will die first. Moments later, Peggy returns to their cabin, happily calling out that she has changed her mind and has decided to run away with Corky after all. As she speaks, her voice changes into a caricature that sounds like a female Fats.