''Summer Magic'' is a 1963 American

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by James Neilson, and starring

Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promisin ...

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

, and

Dorothy McGuire Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actre ...

in a story about an early 1900s Boston widow and her children taking up residence in a small town in Maine. The film was based on the novel '' Mother Carey's Chickens'' by Kate Douglas Wiggin. It was the fourth of six films that Mills appeared in for Disney, and the young actress received a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

nomination for her work. Mills later said it was the worst of the movies she made for Disney.

Plot

In the early 20th-century, financial problems force young

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

widow Margaret Carey (

) and her 3 children to move out of their home. Nancy (

), the dramatic but kind-hearted eldest child, remembers a large yellow house that the Careys had admired when they visited the small town of Beulah,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, and makes an inquiry about it. Upon the sale of the family's treasured piano ("Flitterin'"), Nancy reveals that the house is vacant and the family decides to relocate to the country ("Beautiful Beulah"). When the Careys arrive in Beulah they realize they're slightly out-of-place although the town welcomes them. Overall, the Careys find that moving to the country was the best decision for them and they're content in their new home ("Summer Magic"). But the house is in a shameful state of neglect, and caretaker Osh Popham (

), against his wife's wishes, offers cheap labor to make the house livable, as well as offering free products from his hardware store. He also steers young Peter in the right direction, trading him a pair of overalls for his "

Buster Brown suit A Buster Brown suit was a very popular style of clothing for young boys in the United States during the early 20th century. It was named after the comic strip character Buster Brown, created in 1902 by Richard Felton Outcault. It typically consis ...

" in which he now feels too citified, and offering him haircut money and carpentry lessons. Just when the Careys are settled in and things are going better, they find out that orphaned Cousin Julia's adoptive parents have run into their own financial problems and want to send her to the Careys. They reluctantly agree, and while they get ready for her, Gilly ( Eddie Hodges) and Nancy entertain Peter ( Jimmy Mathers) with jokes about her appearance and snobby, snotty personality ("Pink of Perfection"). When Julia (

Deborah Walley Deborah Walley (August 12, 1941May 10, 2001) was an American actress noted for playing the title role in '' Gidget Goes Hawaiian'' (1961) and appearing in several beach party films. Early years Walley was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut to Ice ...

) arrives, she's even worse than her cousins remembered. Part of her welcome seems to include being jumped on by Peter's large dog Sam in the middle of the night. Aghast at Beulah's primitive ways, she forces Osh's daughter Lally Joy (Wendy Turner) to help her bathe in the kitchen rather than lug kettles of hot water up the stairs. While Nancy and Lally Joy cope with Julia, Peter enjoys working on the house with Osh, who entertains him with stories of bugs the like of which Peter hadn't dealt with in the city ("Ugly Bug Ball"). When Margaret informs Osh of their still-failing finances, Osh, hoping to keep them in town, makes up a request from the house's owner, Tom Hamilton, in exchange for no rent. He pretends that Mr. Hamilton has answered in the affirmative, only requesting that on Halloween the Careys must have a ceremony for his dead mother and find a decent place for her picture. The Careys accept and Osh chooses a fake picture for the ceremony. But Osh's wife Mariah, who has been on to his lies from the beginning, visits the yellow house to tell the Careys that Mr. Hamilton has no idea that they are there. Before she can spill the news, Osh fakes a fall from the second story, claims an injured leg, and insist that his wife help him get home. After church the next Sunday, Nancy and Julia spot a handsome man, Charles Bryant ( James Stacy), who has moved to Beulah to be the new schoolteacher. They invite him to a lawn party at the yellow house, where both try to win his affections, Nancy with her smarts and Julia with her looks. Julia wins, leaving Nancy too jealous to enjoy the quiet evening after the party ("On the Front Porch"). In their bedroom, her jealousy and anger drive her to reveal that Julia's adoptive parents "dumped" her on the Careys after gambling away their money. Julia flees to Aunt Margaret for assurance that her parents truly loved her, and Margaret reveals that her parents' situation is looking good enough that they are about ready for her to come home. This makes Nancy realize that she has grown to love Julia despite her many flaws (and her having "won" Charles), and she begs her to stay. Julia accepts, and prepares to move in permanently with the Careys. As Halloween approaches, everyone gets ready for the big party. Lally Joy, who harbors a big crush on Gilly, displays her ugly dress to Nancy and Julia, fretting embarrassment at the party. Nancy and Julia promise to redesign the dress as they give her pointers on how to act around boys ("Femininity"). On the day of the party, a handsome young man ( Peter Brown) appears at the yellow house and meets Nancy. She informs him that they'd been living in the house and tells him about the party for Mr. Hamilton's mother. The stranger quickly heads for Osh's store, where it is revealed that he is Tom Hamilton. Osh comes clean about renting the house to the Careys, inspired by Nancy's good-heartedness. Indignant, Tom leaves the store. Reluctant to escort Lally Joy to the party, Gilly becomes more willing as she makes her appearance in her beautiful redesigned dress. Seeing them together and Charles and Julia together, Nancy realizes that she's the only one without a partner; after talking it over with her mother, she decides to attend on her own. As she descends the stairs she runs into Tom Hamilton, who accompanies her to the party. Nancy presents the picture Osh had produced: unfortunately, it is a frighteningly ugly woman and Tom feels insulted and angry at Osh. He reveals his true identity to the thoroughly-embarrassed Nancy, and as he has taken a fancy to her, he asks her to dance. As the party gets going, Osh exclaims that things always work out in the end.

Cast

as Nancy Carey *

as Osh Popham *

as Margaret Carey *

Una Merkel Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress. Merkel was born in Kentucky and acted on stage in New York in the 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and became a popular film ...

as Mariah Popham *

as Julia Carey * James Stacy as Charles Bryant * Eddie Hodges as Gilly Carey * Jimmy Mathers as Peter Carey * Michael J. Pollard as Digby Popham * Wendy Turner as Lallie Joy Popham * Peter Brown as Tom Hamilton * O.Z. Whitehead as Mr. Perkins *

Hilda Plowright Hilda Plowright (29 November 1890 – 9 October 1973) was a British actress. Biography Plowright was born in Swaffham, Norfolk, England. Following a career on the stage in Britain she came to the United States and obtained work and a Social S ...

as Mary * Harry Holcombe as Henry Lord * Marcy McGuire as Ellen (uncredited) *

Songs

#"Flitterin'" #"Beautiful Beulah" #"Summer Magic" #"Pink of Perfection" #"The Ugly Bug Ball" #"On the Front Porch" #"Femininity"

Production notes

The screenplay was adapted by

Sally Benson Sally Benson (''née'' Sara Smith; September 3, 1897 – July 19, 1972) was an American writer of short stories and screenwriter. She is best known for her humorous tales of modern youth collected in ''Junior Miss'' and her semi-autobiographical ...

, author of the semi-

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

that were the basis of M-G-M's similarly-themed early 1900s era ''

Meet Me in St. Louis ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith family in St. Louis l ...

'' (1944), starring

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

and

Margaret O'Brien Angela Maxine O'Brien (born January 15, 1937) is an American film, radio, television, and stage actress, and is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Beginning a prolific career as a child actress in feature ...

. At first,

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film pr ...

did not care for "Ugly Bug Ball", but songwriter Robert Sherman explained 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

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

Release

The film poster and other associated advertising art were illustrated by artist

Paul Wenzel Paul Edward Wenzel (born February 14, 1935) is an American artist, best known for his career with The Walt Disney Company, creating illustrations for movie posters and retail merchandise.Dave Smith, ''Disney A to Z: The Updated Official Encyclo ...

Critical response

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the film "an easy-to-take entertainment that promises to be of particular delight to the younger element. The Disney trademark shows through all the way, meaning devotees of

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

had better not be invited". John L. Scott of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' wrote: "School vacationers, and their parents, will find that Walt Disney's 'Summer Magic' lives up to its title admirably ... The plot of 'Summer Magic' is slim but producer Disney and director James Neilson have worked sentimentality and humor into a nice blend".

Richard L. Coe Richard Livingston Coe (New York City, November 8, 1914 – Washington, D.C., November 12, 1995) was a theater and cinema critic for The Washington Post for more than forty years. Coe became known as one of the most influential theater critics outsi ...

of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nat ...

'' stated, "'Summer Magic' was a pleasure to the small fry who packed the Metropolitan yesterday, but this Walt Disney gift, which includes Hayley Mills and Burl Ives, will charm oldsters as well". The pseudonymous "Mae Tinee" of the '' Chicago Tribune'' wrote that "I was disappointed in this one. It is a perfectly clean, wholesome story which seems to aim at the amusing nostalgia of a '

' but never achieves it. The plot is both calculated and obvious and all the characters are drawn with a heavy hand". ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' commented that the ingredients of the film "could mean a sticky confection, but thanks to the intelligent, and at times very funny script, and a well integrated cast, the result is a delicious soufflé".

Literary sources

* Sherman, Robert B. '' Walt's Time: From Before to Beyond''. Santa Clarita: Camphor Tree Publishers, 1998.

References

External links

*
''Summer Magic'' at UltimateDisney.com
* * {{Sherman Brothers Musical Films 1963 films 1963 musical films Walt Disney Pictures films Films scored by Buddy Baker (composer) Films based on American novels Films directed by James Neilson Films produced by Walt Disney Films set in Maine Musicals by the Sherman Brothers Films based on works by Kate Douglas Wiggin Films set in the 1900s 1960s English-language films