EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Alistair Olson After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

JohnHowardReid Produced by Robert Riskin. Copyright 26 September 1947 by Robert Riskin Productions, Inc. A William A. Wellman Production, presented by Robert Riskin. Released through RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Palace: 7 October 1947. U.S. release: 12 October 1947. U.K. release: 19 September 1949 (sic). Australian release: 29 April 1948. 9,454 feet. 105 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Polling! Having once worked (briefly) as an interviewer for the Gallup Poll, I must admit that polling and pollsters have a certain interest for me. But this attraction, I'm told, is not shared by the public at large. Which explains why Magic Town - a fantasy about a small American town whose citizenry accurately reflect the feelings and opinions of the whole nation - was not a success.NOTES: Last film for Donald Meek.COMMENT: Robert Riskin wrote some famous comedies for director Frank Capra, including Mr Deeds Goes to Town. What we have here is a Mr Deeds in reverse. Instead of a hayseed moralising in the big city, we have a smart, cynical urbanite inveigling himself into a small town and upsetting its values.Riskin set up his own company to make this film and offered the direction to Capra, who declined. He then decided to direct it himself. He'd previously directed When You're in Love (1937), a moderate success with Grace Moore and Cary Grant. Halfway through shooting, he realised the picture was not panning out, so he approached Capra for help. Capra again refused to become directly involved, but recommended William A. Wellman.Wellman gives a different version of events, stating that he was actively involved from the start. That the movie turned out so badly, he said, was entirely his fault. But I believe that either Wellman's memory is hazy or that he is deliberately offering himself as a scapegoat. In any event, the movie (in my opinion) isn't a tenth as bad as its detractors make out. True this "Capra comedy without Capra" may not seem to be Wild Bill Wellman's cup of tea, but he handles it well. The trouble is that the screenplay fails to develop its good central idea fully and gets itself side-tracked into providing a stellar part for Miss Wyman. Although she gives an ingratiating performance and her scenes with Stewart come across charmingly, she holds up the unfolding of the plot. Padding her role has also obviously been responsible for some considerable cutting of scenes played by other members of the cast - particularly Regis Toomey and Ann Doran, who are introduced without any explanation whatever slap in the middle of the climax! On the other hand, Kent Smith is given an elaborate introduction, but then unaccountably disappears. And it is obvious that the parts of Wallace Ford and E. J. Ballantine were longer when Wellman had finished shooting.Film editors Todd and Wray have succeeded in patching the film smoothly together, despite all the cuts. Attractive photography and appealing art direction are also major assets. In fact production values are triple "A" plus. Producer Riskin delved deep into his own pockets to put all this quality on to the screen. From all reports, he lost a packet. A pity!

slymusic "Magic Town" is a nice little comedy/drama and the second picture that James Stewart made after World War II, his first picture being the classic "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946). In "Magic Town," Stewart portrays Lawrence "Rip" Smith, a slick, big-city opinion pollster in search of a "mathematical miracle": a small town whose opinions (and subsequent numerical figures) reflect those of the country as a whole. When he finds out that Grandview is one such place, he seizes his opportunity to make a fast buck and heads off to this "perfect town," all the while posing as an insurance agent...and coaching the high school basketball team on the side. All goes well until Rip's love interest, newspaper editor Mary Peterman (Jane Wyman), finds out what he's up to.Here are my favorite moments from "Magic Town." The dance at the town meeting hall is briefly interrupted by a congregational singing of the best high school alma mater I have ever heard, titled "My Book of Memory." Rip butts in on a conference held by the mayor (Harry Holman) and convinces him and his committee not to change the town; if it weren't for the fact that Rip is a smooth-talking con man putting on a facade for the mayor and his committee, he otherwise appears as the quintessential boyish, drawling, folksy, innocent, idealistic, all-American Jimmy Stewart. The kind-faced Lou Dicketts (Wallace Ford) is one of the funnier characters in the picture because practically every sentence he speaks contains the word "whatchacallit." Rip boldly recites "Charge of the Light Brigade" against Mary's more subdued "Hiawatha." And finally, author Gary Fishgall, who wrote the finest biography of James Stewart I have ever read, pointed out that Stewart had decided to pepper up his characterization with exaggerated facial expressions (as when Rip recites his "goblins will get you" poem, or when he looks at Mary after she points out her graduation photo) and pieces of slapstick (as when Rip clumsily helps a kid stand on his shoulders to retrieve a basketball up a tree, or when Rip trips over some stairs when he mentions he can be tough). Stewart, in fact, may have been influenced by the Three Stooges in this film, as Rip utters such catchphrases as "Wise guy, huh?" and "What kind of a lamebrain do you think I am?"There are probably many who believe that "Magic Town" was not the right vehicle for James Stewart. One critic at the time even asked how much longer he would have to sit and watch this "beanpole" (Stewart) hemming and hawing. True, Stewart's career was in a slump in the late 1940s, but he didn't have to worry for long. He decided to toughen up his screen image, and his status in the motion picture industry soared!

larry41onEbay A year before this film came out there were major news stories about a `perfect American city,' but once the story broke… so did the illusion. People had to learn the perfect society has to be practiced individually, intentionally and daily for it to become a reality.I just re-watched this film again today and was very entertained by James Stewart (winking and charming) and Jane Wyman (smart and sexy). Packed with the Robert Riskin type characters this story lacks the `real' message of his earlier films and there in lies it's only weakness. It's a fun trip but after we've gone in circles for a while we are reminded there is no place like home. Still this film has lots of treasures in the performances, dialogue, physical comedy and rich diversity home spun Americana characters. I recommend this to all fans of the Capra-Riskin genre.P.S. It's also your last chance to enjoy the work of Ned Sparks & Donald Meek who both died after completing this minor masterpiece of Riskin-corn.

Robert D. Ruplenas "It's a Wonderful Life", this movie's predecessor, had grit and depth due to the highly conflicted role of the central character, George Bailey, superbly played by Jimmy Stewart. Those elements are singularly lacking in this bland followup, which turns out to be little more than an exercise in niceness.