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Magic

 Magic
type
TVTItem
 Magic
label
Magic
 Magic
page
Magic
 Magic
comment
Magic is a 1978 Psychological Horror film directed by Richard Attenborough and written by William Goldman, who adapted his own 1976 novel of the same name.Failed stage magician Corky Withers (Anthony Hopkins) manages to rejuvenate 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.Corky heads to the Catskills, where he soon encounters his old high school crush Peggy (Ann-Margret) and her grouchy husband Duke (Ed Lauter). Meanwhile, Corky's agent Ben Greene (Burgess Meredith) has pursued him and quickly becomes suspicious regarding his mental well-being. Before long, the situation begins to turn violent.In September 2022, it was announced that a Remake of the film had entered development.
 Magic
fetched
2024-03-09T03:46:31Z
 Magic
parsed
2024-03-09T03:46:31Z
 Magic
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Magic / int_1501e2dd
type
Hero Antagonist
 Magic / int_1501e2dd
comment
Hero Antagonist: Duke and Ben Greene, who are swiftly replaced by Fats after they are killed.
 Magic / int_1501e2dd
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1.0
 Magic / int_1501e2dd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_1501e2dd
 Magic / int_17501df2
type
Cool Old Guy
 Magic / int_17501df2
comment
Cool Old Guy: Corky's agent Ben.
 Magic / int_17501df2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_17501df2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_17501df2
 Magic / int_33987735
type
Disposing of a Body
 Magic / int_33987735
comment
Disposing of a Body: Corky throws Ben Greene's body in the lake... only for it to be discovered during a fishing excursion.
 Magic / int_33987735
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_33987735
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_33987735
 Magic / int_44606d14
type
Becoming the Mask
 Magic / int_44606d14
comment
Becoming the Mask: Fats's personality gradually consumes Corky's. Corky stops Fats from pulling a Split-Personality Takeover at the end by killing himself.
 Magic / int_44606d14
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_44606d14
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1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_44606d14
 Magic / int_4781adbb
type
Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 Magic / int_4781adbb
comment
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Duke.
 Magic / int_4781adbb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_4781adbb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_4781adbb
 Magic / int_4e3d253b
type
Downer Ending
 Magic / int_4e3d253b
comment
Downer Ending: Corky stabs himself in order to stop Fats... except the last scene implies that Fats now resides in Peggy.
 Magic / int_4e3d253b
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1.0
 Magic / int_4e3d253b
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1.0
 Magic
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Magic / int_4e3d253b
 Magic / int_4e7c4536
type
Wham Line
 Magic / int_4e7c4536
comment
Wham Line: Following the deaths of Duke and Greene, Corky decides to run away with Peggy to Paris and abandon Fats in a trunk. Fats takes to pleading from within the trunk as Corky begins to pack... only to then switch tactics. A subtle one, that both ends the movie and implies that Fats may not be dead:
 Magic / int_4e7c4536
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_4e7c4536
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1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_4e7c4536
 Magic / int_537dd8fe
type
Affably Evil
 Magic / int_537dd8fe
comment
Affably Evil/Faux Affably Evil: Fats tends to alternate between the two of these.
 Magic / int_537dd8fe
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_537dd8fe
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_537dd8fe
 Magic / int_5a40d6a
type
Adaptation Distillation
 Magic / int_5a40d6a
comment
Adaptation Distillation: Goldman's novel would have been very hard to put on-screen as it was written.
 Magic / int_5a40d6a
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1.0
 Magic / int_5a40d6a
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1.0
 Magic
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Magic / int_5a40d6a
 Magic / int_65acf9db
type
He Knows Too Much
 Magic / int_65acf9db
comment
He Knows Too Much: Both Ben Greene and Duke are killed after discovering the dark truth about Corky and Fats.
 Magic / int_65acf9db
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_65acf9db
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_65acf9db
 Magic / int_6d332aea
type
Driven to Suicide
 Magic / int_6d332aea
comment
Driven to Suicide: Corky mortally wounds himself to stop Fats from murdering Peggy.
 Magic / int_6d332aea
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_6d332aea
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_6d332aea
 Magic / int_826ffcc8
type
Demonic Dummy
 Magic / int_826ffcc8
comment
Demonic Dummy: Fats. He managed to scare Hannibal Lecter, for God's sake.
 Magic / int_826ffcc8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_826ffcc8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_826ffcc8
 Magic / int_898ff050
type
Villain Protagonist
 Magic / int_898ff050
comment
Villain Protagonist: Corky.
 Magic / int_898ff050
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_898ff050
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_898ff050
 Magic / int_8e1aef2d
type
Reference Overdosed
 Magic / int_8e1aef2d
comment
Reference Overdosed:
 Magic / int_8e1aef2d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_8e1aef2d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_8e1aef2d
 Magic / int_8ed5c6e4
type
Asshole Victim
 Magic / int_8ed5c6e4
comment
Asshole Victim: Duke, subverted that despite his rocky marriage and being a Crazy Jealous Guy, he still remains polite to Corky out of appealing over their high school-dated friendship rather than confront him for his affair with his wife, confiding that he still loves her and is afraid to lose her.
 Magic / int_8ed5c6e4
featureApplicability
-0.3
 Magic / int_8ed5c6e4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_8ed5c6e4
 Magic / int_90a1fbd4
type
Split-Personality Takeover
 Magic / int_90a1fbd4
comment
Split-Personality Takeover: Attempted near the end when Fats tells Corky that he is going to call all the shots from now on, starting by trying to get him to kill Peggy. Subverted in that Corky ultimately uses the knife on himself. However, the last scene implies Fats managed to do this... with Peggy.
 Magic / int_90a1fbd4
featureApplicability
-0.3
 Magic / int_90a1fbd4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_90a1fbd4
 Magic / int_9f6fb586
type
Leitmotif
 Magic / int_9f6fb586
comment
Leitmotif: Jerry Goldsmith's score includes one of these for Fats, a little two-note harmonica riff.
 Magic / int_9f6fb586
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_9f6fb586
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_9f6fb586
 Magic / int_b5171e10
type
Tragic Villain
 Magic / int_b5171e10
comment
Tragic Villain: Corky.
 Magic / int_b5171e10
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_b5171e10
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_b5171e10
 Magic / int_b9af5ef3
type
The Film of the Book
 Magic / int_b9af5ef3
comment
The Film of the Book: Done in a much more straightforward manner than the kaleidoscope-esque novel, which 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 / int_b9af5ef3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_b9af5ef3
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1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_b9af5ef3
 Magic / int_ba3b41d6
type
Ironic Echo Cut
 Magic / int_ba3b41d6
comment
Ironic Echo Cut: After Corky rents the cabin from Peggy.
 Magic / int_ba3b41d6
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1.0
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1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_ba3b41d6
 Magic / int_c04b1231
type
Jump Scare
 Magic / int_c04b1231
comment
Jump Scare: Fats "stabbing" Duke to death.
 Magic / int_c04b1231
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_c04b1231
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_c04b1231
 Magic / int_c83751cb
type
Description Cut
 Magic / int_c83751cb
comment
Description Cut: In the opening scene, Corky tells his mentor Merlin all about what a rousing success his first magic show was, while we see that it was actually anything but.
 Magic / int_c83751cb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_c83751cb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_c83751cb
 Magic / int_cb70651c
type
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane
 Magic / int_cb70651c
comment
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It is left ambiguous whether Fats is just a manifestation of Corky's split personality or a supernatural demon possessing him to kill. The ending implies the latter, when Peggy begins to speak like Fats. Though even then, one could also just interpret it as Peggy also developing a split personality as it’s quite implied that she also isn’t mentally sound.
 Magic / int_cb70651c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_cb70651c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Magic
hasFeature
Magic / int_cb70651c
 Magic / int_e431c24c
type
Not Quite Dead
 Magic / int_e431c24c
comment
Not Quite Dead: Ben Greene starts struggling with Corky while Corky is trying to sink his corpse.
 Magic / int_e431c24c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Magic / int_e431c24c
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1.0
 Magic
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Magic / int_e431c24c
 Magic / int_name
type
ItemName
 Magic / int_name
comment
 Magic / int_name
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1.0
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 Magic
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Magic / int_name
 Magic / int_name
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Magic

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Magic
hasFeature
Demonic Dummy / int_ba44ea73
 Magic
hasFeature
Psychological Horror / int_ba44ea73
 Magic
hasFeature
Psychological Thriller / int_ba44ea73