La cité magique

Stewart's previous movie was "It's a Wonderful Life", and this one drinks from the same well.

It has a strong underlying moral about being true to yourself, and extols the virtues of honesty, pride in your small-town community. The town appears to be a microcosm of America, but it can only be that while it still has its innocence: once it tries to cash in on its status, disaster strikes.

It's a gentle, heartwarming little movie. Jimmy Stewart and the then Mrs Reagan do the romantic lead bits, and lots of people with "interesting" faces play "typical small town characters", the children manage to avoid being ridiculously cute, and it's all quite charming.

Watch out for the Senator's wife and the ancient employees of the newspaper, who are the most obviously funny characters. This may be billed as a comedy, but it's one to be amused by, and brings smiles to you face rather than guffaws and belly-laughs.

If you liked James Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Philadelphia Story", this one's for you.

Written and produced by frequent Frank Capra collaborator Robert Riskin and starring the director's three-time leading man James Stewart, one would be excused for mistaking this for a film by the celebrated purveyor of socially-conscious comedies.

However, while the plot is typically original and engaging, somehow it lacks Capra's unique cinematic expertise in putting over Riskin's ideas: the tone is too often syrupy and sentimental, while the hero isn't made to face formidable villains such as one finds in Capra's work. Even if director Wellman was more at home in outdoor actioners, he often displayed a social side and, for the record, had previously triumphed in two classic films set in contemporary times – namely the original version of A STAR IS BORN and the screwball comedy NOTHING SACRED (1937).

Stewart is a poll expert who believes that one city in the U.S. could be deemed the reference point as to how the whole nation thinks and feels about all aspects of life – its aspirations, trends, political views, etc. His report leads him to settle on the small Midwestern town of Grandview which, however, is on the point of modernizing itself (via a project bequeathed to local reporter Jane Wyman by her father). This would, doubtless, affect the idealized image being promoted by Stewart of Grandview as the prototypical American town with its simple way of life, so he manipulates the populace (without letting them on to his line of work) into opposing Wyman's scheme! This doesn't prevent the two from falling in love – a romance which ends, though, when she overhears him speaking to his superior in New York; distraught, she exposes his racket – but, in so doing, brings a whole circus of 'prospectors' and newshounds upon Grandview…so that the next poll turns out to be a disaster, and the town is disgraced!

Stewart is dismayed by all of this; however, he keeps in touch with the people of Grandview (the kids especially had learned to look up to him in view of his basketball prowess!) and, of course, Wyman. Eventually, he hits upon the idea that a pompous statement made earlier (but which remained unpublished) by the highest authorities in Grandview that, if necessary, they'll erect the proposed civic centre with their own hands could be used now to symbolize the town's determination to re-emerge… An RKO production, the film also features such reliable performers as Ned Sparks and Donald Meek as Stewart's associates, Kent Smith as a Grandview professor and ex-school chum of Stewart's, and Wallace Ford as one of the eminent townspeople.

This picture feels like one of the Capra/Riskin classics of the thirties but made a decade later there's something not quite right. The prog-rock analogy would be when Marillion in the 80s tried to emulate Genesis of the 70s - really good but lacking authenticity.

The golden partnership of Frank Capra and Robert Riskin had broken up by now and both were pursuing solo careers. The two former friends now really disliked each other and when Riskin saw his old pal's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, he was furious that Capra had made a film just like the ones he used to write himself. Consequently he made this as his reply. Although Riskin's film has exactly the same tone and mood as his earlier works he did with Capra in the thirties, he seems to try too hard to outdo Capra by making the story a little bit too far-fetched and being even more sentimental and mushy.

The films he made with Capra were incredibly sentimental but they work - they're believable and engaging. I think the passing of the decade from the thirties to the forties made this type of film too sweet for our tastes today. The thirties were a long time ago, we don't know anyone from that decade so we imagine them as a distinct species living in a Hollywood dream world where sentimentality was as natural as air and where an overwhelming sense of optimism, decency and kindness would always overcome the evils of society. OK, the forties is also a long time ago, because it's post-war those people don't seem that remote - they're virtually the same as us and don't think that differently to us. Seeing therefore that 1930s mind-set transposed to people whom we think are like us doesn't quite sit right.

Being a big 1930s movie fan, it's great although a little sad to see the stalwarts of the pre-code days - but much older. We've former leading men, Regis Toomey and Wallace Ford now in supporting roles. We have Donald Meek and the great grumpy Ned Sparks in their last roles. The presence of these 'old timers' adds some necessary nostalgia from the earlier decade. Necessary because the whole premise of this picture is to imbue the audience with a sense of how warm, cozy and innocent America was before the war. What Riskin tries to do is make another of his classic little guy fights and beats 'the man.' In this case the little guy is a whole innocent and idyllic little town and 'the man' is greed and corruption. The trouble is that it's now 1947 so stories like his didn't quite resonate with a cynical post-war audience. Just like IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, this film was a momentous flop at the time (although IAWL lost even more money!)

MAGIC TOWN is not a bad film, it's just a rather pale reflection of better films! Whereas those earlier picture developed tension and a sense of outrage when things looked like they were starting to go wrong for our hero, this just plods along its predestined well-trodden path. You don't develop any empathy with the characters. Maybe that's because the hero of this story isn't really James Stewart, it's vaguer than that. Is the hero meant to be the townsfolk, these "average Americans" or possibly good old American values.

You can't engage with these people. James Stewart as always is likeable but he's not loveable in this one. Jane Wyman is pleasant enough but she doesn't exhibit any real personality and you honestly couldn't care less whether or not any romance develops between her and James Stewart. Worst of all - it feels like hours and hours of the story are devoted to Mr Stewart coaching a basketball team of pretentious kids - nobody cares.... no, worse than that is actually the school song which again goes on for about an hour allowing the camera to pan over every single man, woman and dog in the whole annoying town allowing them all to do their bit of acting as tears of pride well up in their eyes and smiles of affection abound (I can't say I put my hand on my heart and look wistfully at the sky when I think of my old school but that's clearly what everyone in 1947 did!).

What's most disappointing is William Wellman, Mr Action himself. It's hard to believe that "Wild Bill" Wellman made such a slow paced (plodding through treacle) mediocre movie. But would Frank Capra have made it better? Probably not - his output in the fifties wasn't anything to be that proud about either.

A year before this film came out there were major news stories about a `perfect American city,' but once the story broke… so did the illusion. People had to learn the perfect society has to be practiced individually, intentionally and daily for it to become a reality.

I just re-watched this film again today and was very entertained by James Stewart (winking and charming) and Jane Wyman (smart and sexy). Packed with the Robert Riskin type characters this story lacks the `real' message of his earlier films and there in lies it's only weakness. It's a fun trip but after we've gone in circles for a while we are reminded there is no place like home. Still this film has lots of treasures in the performances, dialogue, physical comedy and rich diversity home spun Americana characters. I recommend this to all fans of the Capra-Riskin genre.

P.S. It's also your last chance to enjoy the work of Ned Sparks & Donald Meek who both died after completing this minor masterpiece of Riskin-corn.

Maybe the silliest story ever to make it onto the silver screen. James Stewart plays a pollster looking for a town of such mathematical perfection that, whatever you polled its people, it would reflect exactly what the entire nation would feel about a give subject. He finds this place in Grandview, and there he takes his team. When Stewart finds local newspaper editor Jane Wyman trying to convince the town council to build a new civic center, he butts in. If the town were to change at all, its magical polling phenomenon could fade. Similar to The Music Man, Stewart develops a relationship with Wyman to keep the town as it is. Fortunately, it's less cynical and fake than the relationship between the two main characters of The Music Man, and, where Robert Preston's love still seems suspicious by the end of that film, Stewart's feels genuine quickly. He doesn't want the miracle to end, but he is utterly seduced not only by Wyman, but also by the small town. When the town discovers their perfect polling ability, they screw it up pretty much instantly (79% of the population say they would vote for a woman president!). The town goes down the toilet, and it's up to some faithful citizens, joined by the reformed Stewart, to save it. As ridiculous as the initial concept for Magic Town is, it gets even worse near the end. Stewart did this film directly after It's a Wonderful Life, and the small town sentiment is nearly identical in both films. While the first touches me, it's simply schmaltzy in Magic Town. The performances by Stewart and Wyman, as well as many decent supporting performances from many ever-reliable character actors, are better than the movie deserves. Stewart, in particular, is great. I've never seen this guy give a bad performance, and he throws himself behind this awful script with his full soul. He almost got me to buy it. Wyman's beautiful eyes enchanted me. But in the end, the story was just too ludicrous. 6/10.