Summer Magic
Brief Synopsis
A small-town postman helps a Boston widow and her family adjust to country life.
Cast & Crew
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James Neilson
Director
Hayley Mills
Nancy Carey
Burl Ives
Osh Popham
Dorothy Mcguire
Margaret Carey
Deborah Walley
Cousin Julia
Eddie Hodges
Gilly Carey
Film Details
MPAA Rating
Genre
Musical
Comedy
Drama
Release Date
Jan
1963
Premiere Information
New York opening: 21 Aug 1963: Jul 1963
Production Company
Walt Disney Productions
Distribution Company
Buena Vista Distribution Co., Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Mother Carey's Chickens by Kate Douglas Wiggin (Boston, 1911).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 49m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Color (Technicolor)
Synopsis
Recently widowed Margaret Carey must move her family from their large house in Boston in order to economize. Osh Popham, the Beulah, Maine, postmaster, constable, and representative of an absentee landlord, receives a letter from Nancy, Margaret's teenage daughter, explaining the family's plight and asking about the availability of a large, yellow house in Beulah. Touched by the letter, in which Nancy describes her rickets-ridden brothers' need for country life, Osh allows them to move into the house practically rent-free, unbeknownst to the owner of the house, Tom Hamilton, who is abroad and is not expected to return. Osh's one condition is that the Careys enshrine a portrait of Tom's allegedly dead mother in the living room. Osh searches for the picture while the Careys set out to clean and paint the house, assisted by Osh's teenage children, Lallie Joy and Digby. Just as things begin to roll smoothly, Julia, the Careys' orphaned but haughty cousin, reluctantly comes to live with the Careys, and friction arises between her and Nancy. Osh finds Mrs. Hamilton's picture, and a great celebration is planned. All the preparations are made when on the day of the party Nancy realizes that she does not have an escort. Tom Hamilton suddenly arrives home, and he and Nancy are immediately attracted to each other. Without realizing who he is, Nancy reveals her fear that the owner of the house, "Old Tom Hamilton," will return and evict her family. Nancy later discovers Tom's identity, and it becomes clear that he does not intend to take the house from them and that he is seriously interested in Nancy. Songs : "Flitterin'," "Beautiful Beulah," "The Pink of Perfection" (Nancy & Gary), "Summer Magic" (Margaret), "The Ugly Bug Ball" (Osh), "On the Front Porch" (Osh & entire cast), "Femininity" (Nancy, Cousin Julia & Lallie Joy).
Director
James Neilson
Director
Cast
Hayley Mills
Nancy Carey
Burl Ives
Osh Popham
Dorothy Mcguire
Margaret Carey
Deborah Walley
Cousin Julia
Eddie Hodges
Gilly Carey
Jimmy Mathers
Peter Carey
Michael J. Pollard
Digby Popham
Wendy Turner
Lallie Joy Popham
Una Merkel
Maria Popham
Peter Brown
Tom Hamilton
James Stacy
Charles Bryant
O. Z. Whitehead
Mr. Perkins
Harry Holcombe
Henry Lord
Jan Stine
Mr. Perkins' son
Hilda Plowright
Mary
Marcy Mcguire
Ellen
Crew
Buddy Baker
Music
Sally Benson
Screenwriter
Camarata
Vocal Supervisor
Gertrude Casey
Costumes
Carroll Clark
Art Director
Robert Clatworthy
Art Director
Robert O. Cook
Sound Supervisor
Walt Disney
Presented By
Walt Disney
Producer
Peter Ellenshaw
Special Photography Effects
Bobby Hammack
Orchestration
Austen Jewell
Assistant Director
Chuck Keehne
Costumes
Evelyn Kennedy
Music Editor
Emile Kuri
Set Decoration
Eustace Lycett
Special Effects
Frank R. Mckelvy
Set Decoration
Pat Mcnalley
Makeup
Ron Miller
Associate Producer
Ruth Sandifer
Hairstyles
Walter Sheets
Orchestration
Richard M. Sherman
Composer
Robert B. Sherman
Composer
William Snyder
Director of Photography
Robert Stafford
Film Editor
Bill Thomas
Costume Design
Dean Thomas
Sound mix
Film Details
MPAA Rating
Genre
Musical
Comedy
Drama
Release Date
Jan
1963
Premiere Information
New York opening: 21 Aug 1963: Jul 1963
Production Company
Walt Disney Productions
Distribution Company
Buena Vista Distribution Co., Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Mother Carey's Chickens by Kate Douglas Wiggin (Boston, 1911).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 49m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Color (Technicolor)
Articles
Summer Magic
A widow from Boston moves her children to a run-down house in Maine.
Summer Magic
A widow from Boston moves her children to a run-down house in Maine.
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Remake of Mother Carey's Chickens, filmed by RKO in 1938.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Summer July 1963
Released in United States Summer July 1963
