History Film / Magic

Corky heads to the Catskills, where he soon encounters his old high school crush Peggy (Creator/AnnMargret) and her grouchy husband Duke (Creator/EdLauter). Meanwhile, Corky's agent, Ben Greene (Creator/BurgessMeredith), has pursued him and quickly becomes suspicious regarding his mental well-being. Before long, the situation begins to turn violent.

* DaylightHorror: [[spoiler:Fats "stabbing" Duke to death occurs the morning after Corky killed Ben (and, subsequently, the morning Duke found the corpse).]]

Corky heads for the Catskills, where he encounters his old high school crush Peggy (Creator/AnnMargret) and her grouchy husband Duke (Creator/EdLauter). Meanwhile, Corky's agent, Ben Greene (Creator/BurgessMeredith), has pursued him and quickly becomes suspicious regarding his mental well-being. Before long, the situation begins to turn violent.

Heading to the Catskills, Corky encounters his old high school crush Peggy (Creator/AnnMargret) and her grouchy husband Duke (Creator/EdLauter). Meanwhile, Corky's agent, Ben Greene (Creator/BurgessMeredith), has pursued him and quickly becomes suspicious regarding his mental well-being. Before long, the situation begins to turn violent.

Heading to the Catskills, Corky encounters his old high school crush Peggy (Creator/AnnMargret) and her grouchy husband Duke (Creator/EdLauter). Meanwhile, Corky's agent, Ben Greene (Creator/BurgessMeredith), has pursued him and quickly becomes suspicious regarding his mental well-being. Shortly thereafter, the situation begins to turn violent.

Heading to the Catskills, Corky encounters his old high school crush Peggy (Creator/AnnMargret) and her grouchy husband Duke (Creator/EdLauter). Meanwhile, Corky's agent, Ben Greene (Creator/BurgessMeredith), has pursued him and quickly becomes suspicious regarding his mental well-being. Shortly thereafter, the situation turns violent.

Failed {{stage magician}} Corky Withers (Creator/AnthonyHopkins) manages to revitalize his career with the addition of {{ventriloquism}} to his act; unfortunately, he also begins to manifest a split personality via his dummy, Fats, and just as he's about to hit it big with a television deal, chooses to flee rather than submit to the required medical exam.

Magic is fun; we're dead."''

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It is left ambiguous whether Fats is just a manifestation of Corky's split personality or a supernatural demon possessing him to kill. [[spoiler:The ending [[BaitAndSwitch implies the latter, when Peggy begins to speak like Fats]].]]

In September 2022, [[https://collider.com/sam-raimi-directing-magic-remake/ it was announced]] that a {{Remake}} of the film had entered development, with Creator/SamRaimi signed on to direct.

''Magic'' is a 1978 PsychologicalHorror film directed by Creator/RichardAttenborough and written by Creator/WilliamGoldman, who adapted his own 1976 novel.

[[quoteright:285:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_0771.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:285:''"Magic is fun!"'']]

Failed {{stage magician}} Corky Withers (Creator/AnthonyHopkins) manages to revitalize his career with the addition of {{ventriloquism}} to his act; unfortunately, he also begins to manifest a split personality through his dummy, Fats, and when about to hit it big with a television deal, he flees rather than submit to the required medical examination.

--->'''Fats''': ''(sing-song)'' [[spoiler:''[[LiarRevealed I'll telllll...]]'']]
--->'''Corky''': ''([[OhCrap stopping]])'' [[spoiler:...what'll you tell?]]

--->'''Peggy''': I'm warning you, Cork... Don't play hard to get with me... 'Cause I'm a woman, seeing I can always change my mind again... [[spoiler:''(in a Fats-like voice)'' You may not get this oppor-[[PrecisionFStrike fucking]]-tunity tomorrow!]]

* BecomingTheMask: Fats' personality gradually consumes Corky's. [[spoiler:Corky stops Fats from pulling a SplitPersonalityTakeover at the end by killing himself.]]

-->'''Corky:''' ''(to Fats)'' I carried her picture all these years, and she didn't remember me.
-->'''Peggy:''' ''(to her mirror)'' He didn't remember me.

[[caption-width-right:285:"Magic is fun!"]]

-->'''Peggy''': I'm warning you, Cork... Don't play hard to get with me... 'Cause I'm a woman, seeing I can always change my mind again... [[spoiler:''(in a Fats-like voice)'' You may not get this oppor-[[PrecisionFStrike fucking]]-tunity tomorrow!]]

--->'''Fats''': ... (sing-song) ''[[spoiler:[[LiarRevealed I'll telllll...]]]]''
--->'''Corky''': ([[OhCrap stops]]) [[spoiler:...what'll you tell?]]

Corky heads to the Catskills, where he encounters his old high school crush Peggy (Creator/AnnMargret) and her grouchy husband Duke (Creator/EdLauter). Meanwhile, Corky's agent, Ben Greene (Creator/BurgessMeredith), has pursued him and quickly becomes suspicious regarding his mental well-being. Shortly thereafter, the situation turns violent.

Failed magician Corky Withers (Creator/AnthonyHopkins) manages to revitalize his career with the addition of {{ventriloquism}} to his act; unfortunately, he also begins to manifest a split personality through his dummy, Fats, and when about to hit it big with a television deal, he flees rather than submit to the required medical examination.

Heading to the Catskills, Corky there encounters his old high school crush Peggy (Creator/AnnMargret) and her grouchy husband Duke (Creator/EdLauter). Meanwhile, Corky's agent, Ben Greene (Creator/BurgessMeredith), has pursued him and quickly becomes suspicious regarding his mental well-being.

Shortly thereafter, the situation turns violent.

* TheFilmOfTheBook: Done in a much more straightforward manner than the novel's kaleidoscope-esque nature, where it changed time period, location, and point of view swiftly and left important information, such as the identity of Fats the dummy, unknown for extended periods of time.

''Magic'' is a 1978 PsychologicalHorror film directed by Creator/RichardAttenborough and written by Creator/WilliamGoldman, adapted from Goldman's own 1976 novel.