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litlover12) wrote2014-02-23 07:27 pm
litlover12) wrote2014-02-23 07:27 pm
Movie Mini-Review: Magic Town
As I said in an earlier post, this is a new thing I'm doing for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
movie_greats. Hope you enjoy!
I'd heard rumors that Magic Town (1947) wasn't very good, but because Jimmy Stewart is my favorite actor, I wanted to see it anyway. Turns out the rumors were true. Magic Town comes off like an attempt to make a Frank Capra film without Frank Capra; in fact, the script was written by Robert Riskin, who'd written some of Capra's greatest films (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, It Happened One Night, Lady for a Day). But Capra wasn't there for this one -- instead, the competent but not very inspired William Wellman was at the helm -- and I guess Riskin was having an off day, because this one has none of the sparkle or appeal of those. Mostly it just falls flat.
Stewart plays Rip Smith, a city slicker (there was their first mistake) and an independent pollster trying to compete with the big polling companies. He's just discovered a "miracle": a small Midwestern town called Grandview whose poll results always exactly reflect the national average. You're thrilled, right? Yeah, me neither.
But Rip is thrilled. He's convinced this is just the gimmick he needs to hit the big time in his field. He sets up shop there, passing himself off as an insurance salesman, and quickly wins everyone's hearts . . . except, of course, that of designated love interest Mary Peterman (Jane Wyman). Mary wants the town to make improvements, but Rip doesn't because that might wreck his polls or something, so because she's the local newspaper editor, she publishes a scathing article about him. But he works hard to win her over, and everything is going swimmingly -- until she finds out why he's really there.
You know how Alfred Hitchcock always talked about the "McGuffin" -- the plot device that the characters care about but the audience doesn't? The problem with Magic Town is that it's almost all McGuffin. Rip's polls and his methods and how they affect the town are of enormous concern to the people in the film; unfortunately, to the people not in the film, they're yawn-inducing.
It's bad enough that we're supposed to share Rip's excitement over the town that's going to make him a star pollster. It's even worse when his true purpose in the town is revealed. Mary goes into such a rage that you'd think being a disguised pollster was worse than being a Nazi storm trooper. Of course no one likes to be lied to, but her reaction really is over the top. And then, when the whole town finds out the truth, there's a sudden surge of pride and greed that basically turns the place into Pottersville, with people literally setting up booths to sell their opinions to the highest-bidding pollster. By the time the whole mess is resolved, it's extremely hard to care anymore about any of them.
So there's not a lot to recommend this one. Of course Stewart gives an excellent performance, because he was one of those actors who's incapable of giving anything less, and there's a scene where he plays with a kitten (see icon!) that is utterly adorable. Also, you have to give credit to the film that finally took full advantage of his height and gave him some basketball-playing scenes! And for those who like to see career women portrayed in classic films, Wyman does a convincing job as a newspaper editor. But that's pretty much all that's good about it.
Stewart made a number of these less-than-stellar little films around the time he came back from his war service, but -- thank heaven -- they couldn't derail him for long. He'd just done It's a Wonderful Life; his first Hitchcock film (Rope) was a year away; the first in a string of successful Westerns (Winchester '73) was to come in the next few years; and so was one of his greatest comedies (Harvey). His career would be going like gangbusters again very soon, full of can't-miss films. But as for Magic Town, unless you're a Stewart completist like I am, there's very little reason to see it.
movie_greats. Hope you enjoy!I'd heard rumors that Magic Town (1947) wasn't very good, but because Jimmy Stewart is my favorite actor, I wanted to see it anyway. Turns out the rumors were true. Magic Town comes off like an attempt to make a Frank Capra film without Frank Capra; in fact, the script was written by Robert Riskin, who'd written some of Capra's greatest films (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, It Happened One Night, Lady for a Day). But Capra wasn't there for this one -- instead, the competent but not very inspired William Wellman was at the helm -- and I guess Riskin was having an off day, because this one has none of the sparkle or appeal of those. Mostly it just falls flat.
Stewart plays Rip Smith, a city slicker (there was their first mistake) and an independent pollster trying to compete with the big polling companies. He's just discovered a "miracle": a small Midwestern town called Grandview whose poll results always exactly reflect the national average. You're thrilled, right? Yeah, me neither.
But Rip is thrilled. He's convinced this is just the gimmick he needs to hit the big time in his field. He sets up shop there, passing himself off as an insurance salesman, and quickly wins everyone's hearts . . . except, of course, that of designated love interest Mary Peterman (Jane Wyman). Mary wants the town to make improvements, but Rip doesn't because that might wreck his polls or something, so because she's the local newspaper editor, she publishes a scathing article about him. But he works hard to win her over, and everything is going swimmingly -- until she finds out why he's really there.
You know how Alfred Hitchcock always talked about the "McGuffin" -- the plot device that the characters care about but the audience doesn't? The problem with Magic Town is that it's almost all McGuffin. Rip's polls and his methods and how they affect the town are of enormous concern to the people in the film; unfortunately, to the people not in the film, they're yawn-inducing.
It's bad enough that we're supposed to share Rip's excitement over the town that's going to make him a star pollster. It's even worse when his true purpose in the town is revealed. Mary goes into such a rage that you'd think being a disguised pollster was worse than being a Nazi storm trooper. Of course no one likes to be lied to, but her reaction really is over the top. And then, when the whole town finds out the truth, there's a sudden surge of pride and greed that basically turns the place into Pottersville, with people literally setting up booths to sell their opinions to the highest-bidding pollster. By the time the whole mess is resolved, it's extremely hard to care anymore about any of them.
So there's not a lot to recommend this one. Of course Stewart gives an excellent performance, because he was one of those actors who's incapable of giving anything less, and there's a scene where he plays with a kitten (see icon!) that is utterly adorable. Also, you have to give credit to the film that finally took full advantage of his height and gave him some basketball-playing scenes! And for those who like to see career women portrayed in classic films, Wyman does a convincing job as a newspaper editor. But that's pretty much all that's good about it.
Stewart made a number of these less-than-stellar little films around the time he came back from his war service, but -- thank heaven -- they couldn't derail him for long. He'd just done It's a Wonderful Life; his first Hitchcock film (Rope) was a year away; the first in a string of successful Westerns (Winchester '73) was to come in the next few years; and so was one of his greatest comedies (Harvey). His career would be going like gangbusters again very soon, full of can't-miss films. But as for Magic Town, unless you're a Stewart completist like I am, there's very little reason to see it.
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Oh well, even the greatest actors make stupid movies... at least, as you pointed out, this was only an interlude in his career. And I've always loved your kitten-icon!