Corky Withers goes from flop magician to the hottest act in the country by making one small change to his act: Fats. Fats is a ventriloquist dummy with a dirty mouth. Corky gets away with some classic illusions handed down to him by an old master using raunchy humor as misdirection. Corky's poised to take over the world with the help of his agent, Ben "The Postman" Greene, until Corky starts to struggle to survive without Fats at all.
Magic is the greatest horror/thriller Alfred Hitchcock never got to make. It really plays like The Birds or Psycho. It's character-driven psychological horror with a good bit of outside adversity and a lot of blood. Richard Attenborough borrows heavily from the Hitchcock playbook to sell William Goldman's bizarre adaptation of his own bizarre novel.
Magic is not the first horror story dealing with a living dummy, and it's certainly not the last. It just might be the greatest. The calibre of talent onscreen is unparalleled in most horror films. Frankly, the only other one I can think of that comes close is What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?.
Anthony Hopkins pulls double duty as anxious magician Corky and foul-mouthed dummy Fats. It's a bravado performance. The only way I can describe it is if you imagine Anthony Perkins actually shown playing Norman Bates and his mother throughout the entire running time of Psycho, voice and all. It's the villain and the unwilling, beaten accomplice in one. Hopkins has a few scenes with actual screen partners, but spends most of the film acting against his own voice with or without the puppet in his hands.
Burgess Meredith, master of the genre character role, plays his agent The Postman. It's not very often that Meredith just got to play charming and he's so good at it. There's a weariness in the performance, a desperation even, as he tries everything in his power to prove his crazy plan of launching a superstar television magician works. In his greatest scene, he explains the crux of the entire film, "Very few things have ever scared me." The Postman's nickname means he always delivers. Turns out this magician/ventriloquist package isn't worth the cost of postage.
Ann-Margaret plays Peggy Ann Snow, Corky's childhood crush. When Corky flees from NYC to escape a routine physical, he goes right to her house. Ann-Margaret's role is not glamorous, flashy, or particularly memorable on paper. However, in Magic, she shines. She delivers a brilliant turn as a bored housewife willing to risk anything for a thrill, even facing a truly frightening force in Corky. Fats might be the villain, but Corky proves why he can't be trusted to perform on his own when he agrees to do magic with Peggy.
Magic is not a loud or aggressive horror film. It's a slow burn thriller driven by psychology. Corky's disassociation through Fats is never really explained. Attenborough wisely refuses to pick a side on whether or not the dummy has a mind of his own. That leaves so much of the story up for interpretation and debate. It's truly an underwatched horror classic, worthy of a place on the mantle with Rosemary's Baby, Night of the Living Dead, and Bride of Frankenstein.
Magic is currently streaming on Shudder.