I still remember the long, cold shiver that went down my spine when I saw a 30-second teaser preview for Magic. What’s driving me nuts is I can’t remember where I saw it. It might have been at the theater or maybe on Showtime. All I know for sure is that it wasn’t on broadcast television. The studio pulled that spot immediately after parents’ complaints that a ventriloquist’s dummy reading poetry was scaring the living daylights out their children. Although it might not have been the first movie to use a ventriloquist’s personality to make an audience jump, Magic still holds the crown. This is in no small part to the fine acting of Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, and Anthony Hopkins.
