- Magic Town
-
For other meanings, see Magic City (disambiguation).
Magic Town 
1947 theatrical posterDirected by William A. Wellman Written by Robert Riskin
Joseph Krumgold (story)Starring James Stewart
Jane Wyman
Kent SmithDistributed by RKO Radio Pictures Release date(s) 7 October 1947 Running time 103 mins Country United States Language English 
DVD cover
Magic Town (1947) 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.
Plot summary
Lawrence 'Rip' Smith (played by James Stewart), 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.
Reception
The film was a notorious box office flop at the time of its release.[citation needed]
External links
Films directed by William A. Wellman 1920s Second Hand Love • The Man Who Won • Big Dan • Cupid's Fireman • Not a Drum Was Heard • The Vagabond Trail • The Circus Cowboy • When Husbands Flirt • The Boob • You Never Know Women • The Cat's Pajamas • Wings • The Legion of the Condemned • Ladies of the Mob • Beggars of Life • Chinatown Nights • The Man I Love • Woman Trap1930s Dangerous Paradise • Young Eagles • Maybe It's Love • Other Men's Women • The Public Enemy • Night Nurse • The Star Witness • Safe in Hell • The Hatchet Man • So Big! • Love Is a Racket • The Purchase Price • The Conquerors • Frisco Jenny • Central Airport • Lilly Turner • Heroes for Sale • Midnight Mary • Wild Boys of the Road • Female • College Coach • Looking for Trouble • Stingaree • The President Vanishes • The Call of the Wild • The Robin Hood of El Dorado • Small Town Girl • A Star Is Born • Nothing Sacred • Men With Wings • Beau Geste • The Light that Failed1940s Reaching for the Sun • Roxie Hart • The Great Man's Lady • Thunder Birds • Lady of Burlesque • The Ox-Bow Incident • Buffalo Bill • This Man's Navy • The Story of G.I. Joe • Gallant Journey • Magic Town • The Iron Curtain • Yellow Sky • Battleground1950s The Next Voice You Hear... • The Happy Years • Across the Wide Missouri • It's a Big Country • Westward the Women • My Man and I • Island in the Sky • The High and the Mighty • Track of the Cat • Blood Alley • Good-bye, My Lady • Darby's Rangers • Lafayette EscadrilleTelevision Light's Diamond Jubilee (with Alan Handley, Christian Nyby, Roy Rowland, Norman Taurog, King Vidor and Bud Yorkin) (1954)Categories:- American films
- 1947 films
- 1940s comedy films
- RKO Pictures films
- American comedy films
- Opinion polling in the United States
- Films directed by William A. Wellman
- 1940s comedy film stubs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
