Directed by:
Richard AttenboroughScreenplay:
William GoldmanCinematography:
Victor J. KemperComposer:
Jerry GoldsmithCast:
Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Ed Lauter, E.J. André, Jerry Houser, David Ogden Stiers, Lillian Randolph, Beverly SandersPlots(1)
Anthony Hopkins is Corky, a painfully shy, failed magician who finds overnight success as a ventriloquist. His brash, foul-mouthed dummy, Fats, becomes a huge nightclub hit. With his star on the rise, talent agent Ben Greene (Burgess Meredith) arranges an important shot at national TV. But the pressure of failing the network's required physical sends Corky into a panic. With Fats in tow, he flees the city to a nearly-deserted resort in the Catskills run by the love of his youth, Peggy Ann Snow (Ann-Margret).
Peg's spent years trapped in a loveless marriage with her high-school sweetheart, Duke. In Corky, she sees the chance for a loving relationship and accepts an offer to run away with him. After they make love, Corky confides to Fats that he may leave show business altogether. Fats becomes furious and lashes out at him, playing on his guilt and insecurity. Now under Fats' control, Corky is manipulated into a series of violent and unexpected confrontations.
(official distributor synopsis)
Cast
Anthony Hopkins
UK
Best movies:
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The Elephant Man (1980)
The Father (2020)
Ann-Margret
Sweden
Best movies:
Interstate 60 (2002)
Any Given Sunday (1999)
The Tenth Kingdom (2000) (series)
Burgess Meredith
USA
Best movies:
Rocky (1976)
Of Mice and Men (1939)
The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
Ed Lauter
USA
Best movies:
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
The Artist (2011)
Seabiscuit (2003)
E.J. André
USA
Best movies:
Papillon (1973)
The Lawyer (1970)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Jerry Houser
USA
Best movies:
Aladdin (1992)
The Fourth Wise Man (1985) (TV movie)
Miracle on Ice (1981) (TV movie)
David Ogden Stiers
USA
Best movies:
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
The Last of His Tribe (1992) (TV movie)
Lillian Randolph
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Roots (1977) (series)
Birth of the Blues (1941)
Beverly Sanders
USA
Best movies:
...And Justice for All (1979)
Magic (1978)
Payback (1997) (TV movie)