In case you want to know more: I’ve seen several films by B-movie director Al Adamson, but 1982’s “Carnival Magic
You know you’re in for a treat when the opening credits give big, blocky shout-outs not only to “TRUDY, THE CHIMP,” but “MISSY O’SHEA (THE GIRL IN THE CAR).” The protagonist — at least the one who doesn’t throw feces — is Markov the Magnificent (Don Stewart), a magician toiling in a two-bit traveling carnival. It’s a gig far beneath his powers — literally, as he can talk to the animals via telepathy — but he’s in danger of being fired for failing to draw crowds.
Only out of necessity does Markov reveal Alex, the speech-capable monkey (with a pre-laryngectomy smoker’s voice) he’s been hiding in his trailer all along. Naturally, their show is an instant hit with the uneducated audiences, and all’s well until a scientist wants to “experiment” on Alex, and the jealous tiger tamer is all too eager to help. But not before Alex steals a car and leads the local police on a chase.
It sounds like a riotous, Saturday-matinee take on those movies Clint Eastwood made with Clyde the orangutan, but “Carnival Magic” exudes a sinister vibe. Markov is one morose MFer who speaks in Zen-like platitudes and rarely cracks a smile; demonstrations of his noggin tricks with carnivalgoers are shot in such a menacing manner that you half expect his volunteers’ heads to explode à la “Scanners.”
In other words, I loved it! Adamson’s wife and frequent collaborator, Regina Carrol, practically bursts out of her outfits and, therefore, the film’s G rating. I don’t recall seeing another kiddie film with such overt big-breast jokes, either. Just when you think the movie could use a midget and some Shriners in go-karts, guess what shows up?
Shot in the poverty-stricken Carolinas country, “Carnival Magic” is one of those regional, low-budget affairs that, like the carnival itself, would set up shop for a week in one town before moving on to the next. It played 25 theaters over the course of a year, then was presumably lost until 2009. Cultra deserves inclusion in your estate planning not only for releasing the thing, but doing so in a combo pack that includes a Blu-ray and DVD, plus several bonus features, such as a full commentary and a sit-down diner chat with producer Elvin Feltner.
The movie ends with the onscreen promise, “SO LONG FOR NOW — SEE YOU NEXT YEAR IN MORE CARNIVAL MAGIC,” but alas, it was not to be. Make do with this, and to have your mind really blown, watch it back-to-back with “Birdemic” for an animal kingdom double feature as nature never intended. —Rod Lott
