Magic Town
Encyclopedia
Magic Town is a comedy film directed by William A. Wellman
, starring James Stewart
and Jane Wyman
. It is one of the first films about the then-new science of public opinion polling. The movie was inspired by the Middletown studies
.
Unbilled
), disappointed with inaccuracies from polling results, searches for a community in the middle of the United States
that can give perfect results when used for polling. When he finally finds a town where citizens' opinions perfectly mirror those of the American people as a whole, he sets up an undercover operation there. Over time, he gets involved with town inhabitants, and eventually the true nature of his operation is revealed. The town transforms almost overnight; citizens, aware of their special status, begin giving outlandish polling answers instead of the sensible ones they gave in the past. The town's reputation is ruined, together with Smith's plan. Smith however decides to save the town from itself.
William A. Wellman
William Augustus Wellman was an American film director. Although Wellman began his film career as an actor, he worked on over 80 films, as director, producer and consultant but most often as a director, notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often focusing on aviation...
, starring James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
and Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
. It is one of the first films about the then-new science of public opinion polling. The movie was inspired by the Middletown studies
Middletown studies
The Middletown studies were sociological case studies of the City of Muncie in Indiana conducted by Robert Staughton Lynd and Helen Merrell Lynd, husband-and-wife sociologists. The Lynds' findings were detailed in Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture, published in 1929, and Middletown in...
.
Cast
- James StewartJames StewartJames Stewart was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart may also refer to:-Noblemen:*James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland*James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn James Stewart (1908–1997) was a Hollywood movie actor and USAF brigadier general.James Stewart...
- Rip Smith - Jane WymanJane WymanJane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
- Mary Peterman - Kent SmithKent SmithKent Smith was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theater, and television.Born Frank Kent Smith in New York, New York, Smith made his acting debut on Broadway in 1932 in and, after spending a few years there, moved to Hollywood, California, where he made his film debut in The...
- Hoopendecker - Ned SparksNed SparksNed Sparks was a Canadian character actor. Sparks was well known for his deadpan expression and deep, gravelly voice.-Early life and career:...
- Ike - Wallace FordWallace FordWallace Ford was an English film and television actor who, with his friendly appearance and stocky build later in life, appeared in a number of film westerns and B-movies....
- Lou Dicketts - Regis ToomeyRegis ToomeyJohn Regis Toomey was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey and attended Peabody High School...
- Ed Weaver - Ann DoranAnn DoranAnn Lee Doran was an American character actress.-Early life and career:Born in Amarillo, Texas, Doran began acting at the age of four. She appeared in hundreds of silent films under assumed names to keep her father's family from finding out about her work...
- Mrs. Weaver - Donald MeekDonald MeekDonald Meek was a Scottish-born American character actor. He first worked as a stage actor and later became a film actor, starring in several movies including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Little Miss Broadway, and State Fair. Before becoming an actor, he fought in the Spanish-American War and...
- Mr. Twiddle - E. J. Ballantine - Moody
- Ann Shoemaker - Ma Peterman
- Mickey KuhnMickey KuhnMickey Kuhn is an American actor. His first fame came in playing the role of Beau Wilkes in the 1939 motion picture Gone With The Wind. Kuhn is one of the last surviving cast members from the movie.- External links :...
- Hank Nickleby - Howard Freeman - Nickleby
- Harry Holman - Mayor
- Mary Currier - Mrs. Frisby
- Mickey Roth - Bob Peterman
- Frank Fenton - Birch
- George IrvingGeorge Irving (American actor)George Henry Irving was an American film actor and director who made over 200 films in his lifetime. Some of his best known movies were Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Hearts Divided, A Night at the Opera, Son of Dracula, Hangmen Also Die!, Once Upon a Honeymoon, and Maid's Night Out.-Death:Irving...
- Senator Wilton - Selmer Jackson - Stringer
- Robert Dudley - Dickey
- Julia DeanJulia Dean (actress)Julia Dean was a stage and film actress who began her career in the 1890s.-Biography:Julia Dean was born to Albert Clay Dean and Susan Jane Morton in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1878. She made her Broadway debut December 1, 1902 in The Altars of Friendship. She toured with Joseph Jefferson and James...
- Mrs. Wilton - Joel Friedkin - Dingle
- Paul ScardonPaul ScardonPaul Scardon was an actor, a producer, and a director on both Australian and New York stages. He directed Blanche Sweet in Unwilling Husband, Bessie Barriscale in some of her most successful productions, and most of the melodramas which starred his wife, actress Betty Blythe...
- Hodges - George Chandler - Bus Driver
- Frank Darien - Mr. Quincy
- Larry Wheat - Sam Fuller
- Jimmy Crane - Shorty
- Richard Belding - Junior Dicketts
- Danny Mummert - Benny
Unbilled
- Griff Barnett - Henry-Stringer's Office
- Ralph Brooks - Birch's Secretary
- John Butler - Smoke Shop counter Customer
- Wheaton Chambers - Electrician
- Edgar Dearing - Questioning Grandview Citizen
- Dick Elliott - New Arrival
- Tom Fadden - Soda Jerk
- Franklyn FarnumFranklyn FarnumWilliam Smith , better known by his screen name, Franklyn Farnum, was an American character actor and Hollywood extra who appeared in 433 productions between the years 1916 and 1961....
- Townsman - Bess Flowers - Mayor's Secretary
- William Forrest - George
- Jack Gargan - Man with Reporter
- Joseph Granby -
- William Haade - Moving Man with Wastebasket
- Sam Harris - Businessman on Street
- Gabriel Heatter - Himself, Radio Newscaster
- Al Hill - Townsman
- Eddie Kane - Radio Host
- Tom Kennedy - Moving Man
- Frank Marlowe - Moving Man
- Paul Maxey - Man in Hall Outside Stringer's Office
- Bert Moorhouse - Newspaper Man
- Philip Morris - Townsman
- Ken Niles - Reporter
- Anne O'Neal - Naturally Nosey Lady
- Gary Owen - Cigar Counter Clerk
- Eddie Parks - Bookkeeper
- Vic PerrinVic PerrinVic Perrin was an American actor and voice artist. He is best remembered as the "Control Voice" in the original version of the TV series The Outer Limits ....
- Elevator Starter - Lee Phelps - City Council Member
- Snub Pollard - Townsman
- Cyril RingCyril RingCyril Ring was an American film actor. He began his career in silent films in 1921. By the time of his final performance in 1951, he had appeared in over 350 films, almost all in small and/or uncredited parts...
- Newspaper Man - John Sheehan - Mailman
- Harry Tenbrook - Shoe Shine Customer
- Jim Toney - Joe
- Emmett Vogan - Minister
- Nella Walker - Grandview Citizen
- Ray Walker - Stringer's Associate
- Eddy Walker - New Citizen in Crowd
- Billy Wayne - Reporter
- Dick Wessel - Moving Man
- Lee 'Lasses' White - Shoe Shine Man
Plot summary
Lawrence 'Rip' Smith (played by James StewartJames Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
), disappointed with inaccuracies from polling results, searches for a community in the middle of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that can give perfect results when used for polling. When he finally finds a town where citizens' opinions perfectly mirror those of the American people as a whole, he sets up an undercover operation there. Over time, he gets involved with town inhabitants, and eventually the true nature of his operation is revealed. The town transforms almost overnight; citizens, aware of their special status, begin giving outlandish polling answers instead of the sensible ones they gave in the past. The town's reputation is ruined, together with Smith's plan. Smith however decides to save the town from itself.