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Carnival Magic (1983 film)

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Carnival Magic
DVD cover art
Directed byAl Adamson
Produced byElvin Feltner
Production
company
Krypton Productions
Release date
  • March 4, 1983 (1983-03-04)
[1]
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Carnival Magic is a 1983[1] American film directed by Al Adamson and starring Don Stewart.

Marketed as a family-oriented children’s film,[2] it has since gained a cult following in underground and B movie film circles owing to its surreal plot and incongruously-adult themes.[3] Carnival Magic is Adamson's penultimate film.[4]

Plot

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Markov the Magnificent is a talented magician and mind-reader whose career is fading. When he partners with a super-intelligent talking chimp named Alexander the Great, the duo suddenly become a big draw—and the potential savior for their struggling, small-time traveling circus. Markov and fellow workers inside the circus must fend off a jealous, alcoholic tiger-tamer and an evil doctor intent on stealing the chimp.

Cast

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  • Don Stewart as Markov
  • Regina Carrol as Kate
  • Jennifer Houlton as Ellen
  • Howard Segal as David
  • Joe Cirillo as Kirk
  • Mark Weston as Stoney
  • Charles Reynolds as Dr. Poole
  • Missy O'Shea as Girl in Car

Background

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Principal photography took place for the film over the span of three weeks in July 1980[5] in Gaffney, South Carolina,[1] during that city's South Carolina Peach Festival.[5] Many of the scenes in Gaffney were shot at the peach festival's carnival, its parade, and in a second parade staged for the movie.[5] Additional work for the film was done at the Earl Owensby Studios in Shelby, North Carolina.[5]

Producer Elvin Feltner and director Al Adamson intended the film as family fare, aimed at children, and it was in fact given a G rating by the MPAA.[1] However, the prevalence of adult themes (alcoholism, sex, abuse, violence) left many viewers confused. The film premiered at the Crosscreek Cinemas in Greenwood, South Carolina, on March 4, 1983,[1] and was also shown in other theatres in the region beginning on that date. By November it had seen a wider release, and was (for example) being shown in New York City.[6]

This was the last acting role for Regina Carrol, who was married to director Adamson and featured in several of his films.[7] Philip Morris, a real-life ringmaster, magician, and costume maker, appears as a carnival barker.[8] This was also one of Adamson’s last two films before retiring from the film industry and pursuing a career in real estate.[9]

Revival and re-release

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For two decades Carnival Magic was considered a lost film, and no prints were known to exist. This changed in 2009, when a 35mm print was discovered in a warehouse, sparking a revival of interest among cult film aficionados.[6] Following the discovery of this print, Carnival Magic was restored and re-mastered in 2010, receiving its television debut on Turner Classic Movies in October of that year, as part of their TCM Underground series.[7] It saw a DVD release in early 2011 from Film Chest and HD Cinema Classics, reissued on Blu-ray and containing bonus material. The bonus material includes out-takes, trailers, audio commentary and interviews with cult film historian Joe Rubin and producer Elvin Feltner.[10]

The film was featured in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 as a part of the show's eleventh season, released on April 14, 2017 through Netflix.

Targeted audience

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Various commentators found the film was a "strange move" in Adamson's career[2] and that although its targeted audience was allegedly children, the film was not actually shaped to that purpose, one reviewer confessing for instance: "the G-rated Carnival Magic is the most thematically adult 'kids' film I’ve ever seen".[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Hite, Duncan (1983-03-04). "Movie premiering here should please soap fans". The Index-Journal. p. 13. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  2. ^ a b "Carnival Magic". mondo-digital.com. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  3. ^ "Bumpy Ride".
  4. ^ "American Genre Film Archive CARNIVAL MAGIC". www.americangenrefilm.com. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  5. ^ a b c d "Peach festival proof "dreams do come true"". The Gaffney Ledger. 2012-07-11. p. 44. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  6. ^ a b Schlock, Temple Of (20 September 2010). "TEMPLE OF SCHLOCK: CARNIVAL MAGIC on TCM Underground in October!".
  7. ^ a b "Carnival Magic".
  8. ^ Taylor, Brett (Fall 2010). "The Amazing Philip Morris: TV Horror Host, Spook Show Magician, Ventriloquist, and The Man Who Made Bigfoot". Filmfax Plus (125).
  9. ^ Coffel, Chris (2020-02-25). "[Review] 'Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson' Shines Light on an Overlooked Legend". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  10. ^ "Amazon.com: Carnival Magic [Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack]: Don Stewart, Regina Carrol, Joe Cirillo, Al Adamson: Movies & TV". Amazon.
  11. ^ Drebit, Scott (2020-07-06). "Blu-ray Review: CARNIVAL MAGIC (1983)". Daily Dead. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
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