Summer Magic (1963)
Mother Carey, a Bostonian widow, and her three children move to Maine. Postmaster Osh Popham helps them move into a run-down old house and fixes it up for them. It's not entirely uninhabited, though; the owner, Mr. Hamilton, is a mysterious character away in Europe, but Osh assures them he won't mind their living there, since he won't be coming home for a long time yet. The children and a cousin who comes to live with them have various adventures before an unexpected visitor shows up
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Lack of good storyline.
Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
The decade that brought us the First World War may seem an odd subject for nostalgia, but "Summer Magic", like "On Moonlight Bay" from a few years earlier, is a film which tries to persuade us that, whatever may have been happening on the battlefields of Europe, the 1910s (or the "Ragtime Era" as many Americans called them) really were the time of a kinder, gentler America. (It is, apparently, a remake of a 1938 film called "Mother Carey's Chickens", which I have never seen). Margaret Carey, a recently widowed mother from Boston, is forced to move out of the family home when she discovers that her late husband was the victim of a fraudulent investment scheme. She and her three children, Nancy, Gilly and Peter, relocate to the small town of Beulah, Maine, where they rent a large yellow house. (Gilly- pronounced with a hard "G"- is a boy, not a girl. The name is presumably short for Gilbert, but this is never actually made clear). There are two main plot lines. The first revolves around the family's friendship with Ossian ("Osh") Popham, the agent for their rather mysterious landlord Mr Hamilton. The kindly Osh is more than just a letting agent; he is also the town's storekeeper and general odd-job- man. The second plot line deals with the visit of the Careys' spoilt, snobbish cousin Julia and the mutual dislike which grows up between her and Nancy, especially when they fall for the same man. This was the fourth of six films which Hayley Mills made for Walt Disney Productions. Hayley was, of course, originally from England, but during this period of her career was most often cast (as here) as an American, even though she had trouble managing a convincing American accent. (Here she attempts to sound more American by shortening the long "a" vowels, but this only makes her sound closer to Boston, Lincolnshire than to Boston, Massachusetts). This did not, however, affect her popularity, and she became possibly the most popular teenage star of the sixties. In Britain she tended to be cast in more serious roles ("Tiger Bay", "Whistle Down the Wind", "The Chalk Garden"), but most of her American films were comedies, of which this is a good example. It is also a good example of just what made Hayley so popular in her day- her wonderful liveliness and vivaciousness, combined with a gift for conveying sweetness and innocence. By 1963, when she would have been seventeen, she performed a sort of dual role for Disney. To the older generation she was the daughter they wished they had. To boys, she was the girlfriend they wished they had, a sex symbol in the nicest possible way. Dorothy McGuire, looking much younger than her 47 years, is good as Margaret, as is Deborah Walley as the insufferable Julia. The other performance which stands out, however, is from Burl Ives as the warm- hearted, if occasionally devious, Osh. Ives had originally made his name as a folk-singer, but later became a successful actor, both on Broadway and in the cinema. I had previously associated him with serious dramas such as "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "The Big Country", but here he shows that he could do light comedy as well. The film is also a musical with several songs, although none of them rally stand out apart from "The Ugly Bug Ball", which was a favourite of mine as a child. (I had no idea at the time that it was from a film). The plot at times becomes a bit hard to follow, especially the various machinations involving Osh and Mr Hamilton, and the ending seems a bit too abrupt. Overall, however, the film's cheerful atmosphere and the contributions of Mills and Ives make this a watchable example of warm- hearted Disney family entertainment. 7/10
After the death of her dad, destitute Hayley Mills (as Nancy Carey) and her ragtime musical family must move from Boston to a small town Beulah, Maine. The blonde, British-accented Ms. Mills looks and sounds nothing like dark-haired mother Dorothy McGuire (as Margaret Carey). To confuse matters, brother Eddie Hodges (as Gilly Carey) is a flaming redhead, while little Jimmy Mathers (as Peter Carey) looks like he's related to the lad on "Leave it to Beaver" - more so, after he loses the "sissy" wig.This is a fowl adaptation of "Mother Carey's Chickens".The family moves in to the "yellow house", with assistance from lovable old caretaker Burl Ives (as Osh Popham). Later, snooty cousin Deborah Walley (as Julia Carey) arrives, to show you where Mr. Hodges got his red hair. Mills attempts to hook up with handsome older men, like James Stacy (before "Lancer") and Peter Brown (before "Laredo"). Michael J. Pollard (as Digby Popham) provides comic relief. Worst song may be Mr. Ives' rendition of "The Ugly Bug Ball", which seems like it could be a Disney TV outtake.* Summer Magic (7/7/63) James Neilson ~ Hayley Mills, Burl Ives, Dorothy McGuire, Deborah Walley
Summer Magic is one of the few films I can think of where the remake actually improved on the original. Maybe it's the cast here, maybe it's the musical score by Disney house composers the Sherman Brothers.Whatever it is, Summer Magic is nice recreation of times at the turn of the last century when widow Carey, played by Dorothy McGuire moves in to this old house with her three children, Hayley Mills, Eddie Hodges, and Jimmy Mathers. They've had to get used to genteel poverty since Mrs. Carey's husband was killed in the Spanish American War.This remake of Mother Carey's Chickens is so laid back in style and spirit it makes The Music Man which covers the same era look like its on steroids. The score by the Brothers Sherman doesn't contain anything as memorable as what comes out of Mary Poppins, but those two guys suffered their entire careers from the rest of their work being compared to Mary Poppins.This was Hayley Mills's height as a Disney star and she certainly was lovely and winsome as the oldest of the Carey brood who gets a little romance from not one, but two sources in that first summer in Maine.Presiding over the whole film avuncularly is Burl Ives, playing a role Walter Brennan originated in Mother Carey's Chickens. Ives and Una Merkel and their son Michael J. Pollard make a trio of wise down home rustics. Well with Pollard you can skip the wise part.Summer Magic is one of the Magic Kingdom's best films and who knows, maybe it will get yet another remake. I can see Ashley Tisdale being the Hayley Mills of the 21st century.
I have just watched Summer Magic again,it has been many years since I first saw the film. I enjoyed the film when it first came out and I still enjoyed it again today. It was one of those enjoyable films with a story and sheer entertainment, no swearing and a delight to watch. Great names like Burl Ives, Hayley Mills, Peter Brown etc, well do I need to go on, they all made the film. I was much younger when the first came out and my friend and I thought how wonderful it would be to walk down some stairs and have the lovely Peter Brown waiting for you. As I said I was younger then, but when I saw Summer Magic again today, I still had not changed my mind about Peter Brown waiting at the bottom of the stairs for me! I would recommend this film to everyone to watch.