Summer Magic

This article is about the 1963 film. For the misprinted run of cards from Magic: The Gathering, see Revised Edition (Magic: The Gathering).

Summer Magic
Original theatrical poster
Directed by	James Neilson
Produced by	Walt Disney
Written by	Sally Benson Kate Douglas Wiggin (Novel)
Starring	Hayley Mills Burl Ives Dorothy McGuire Deborah Walley Eddie Hodges Jimmy Mathers Michael J. Pollard Wendy Turner Una Merkel
Music by	Songs: Richard M. Sherman Robert B. Sherman Score: Buddy Baker
Studio	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	Buena Vista Distribution
Release date(s)	July 7, 1963 (1963-07-07)
Running time	110 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Summer Magic is a 1963 Walt Disney Productions feature film starring Hayley Mills, Burl Ives, and Dorothy McGuire in a story about a Boston widow and her children taking up residence in a small town in Maine. The film was based on the book "Mother Carey's Chickens" by Kate Douglas Wiggin and was directed by James Neilson. The film was Mills' fourth of six films for Disney, and the young actress received a Golden Globe nomination for her work.

Plot and cast

Widowed Margaret Carey (Dorothy McGuire) prepares to move her family into a depressing apartment, but her eldest daughter Nancy Carey (Hayley Mills) writes to Osh Popham (Burl Ives), the caretaker of a millionaire's country home they saw while on vacation in Maine. Popham lets the Careys have the house for a pittance and contributes major labor and materials to make it liveable, much to the consternation of his wife Mariah (Una Merkel). Nancy is grieved when her snooty cousin Julia (Deborah Walley) shows up, especially when the self-styled debutante steals the attention of the handsome new teacher Charles Bryant (James Stacy). Nancy gets unexpected compensation in the form of the even more desirable Tom Hamilton (Peter Brown), not realizing he is the owner of the house that his factor Popham has basically given away.

Songs

1. "Flitterin'"
2. "Beautiful Beulah"
3. "Summer Magic"
4. "Pink of Perfection"
5. "Ugly Bug Ball"
6. "On the Front Porch"
7. "Femininity"

Production notes

At first, Walt Disney did not care for the "Ugly Bug Ball." Songwriter Robert Sherman explained to Disney that to bugs, other bugs were not ugly, even if they looked ugly to us, beauty being in the eye of the beholder. Disney liked the idea and the song went on to become one of the popular songs of the year. It was sung by Burl Ives.

The optimistic Nancy Carey (Hayley Mills) in Summer Magic.

"On the Front Porch" is songwriter Robert Sherman's personal favorite song from his own work.

Literary sources

• Sherman, Robert B. Walt's Time: from before to beyond. Santa Clarita: Camphor Tree Publishers, 1998.

External links

• Summer Magic at UltimateDisney.com
• Summer Magic at the Internet Movie Database