Summer Magic
| Summer Magic | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| 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 |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
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Release date
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Running time
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110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $4,350,000 (US/ Canada rentals) |
Summer Magic is a 1963 Walt Disney Productions 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 novel Mother Carey's Chickens by Kate Douglas Wiggin and was directed by James Neilson. This was the fourth of six film Mills did for Disney, and the young actress received a Golden Globe nomination for her work here.
Financial problems force young Boston widow Margaret Carey (Dorothy McGuire) and her 3 children to move out of their home. Nancy (Hayley Mills), the dramatic and kind-hearted eldest, remembers a large yellow house that the Careys had admired when they visited the small town of Beulah, Maine, 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 (Burl Ives), 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" in which he now feels too citified, and offering him haircut money and carpentry lessons.
But 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) 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.
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Wikipedia