Magic Town
- James Stewart: Rip Smith
- Jane Wyman: Mary Peterman
- Kent Smith: Hoop Decker
- Ned Sparks: Ike
- Wallace Ford: Lou Dicketts
- Regis Toomey: Ed Weaver
- Ann Doran: Mrs. Weaver
- Donald Meek: Mr. Twiddle
- E. J. Ballantine: Moody
- Ann Shoemaker: Ma Peterman
- Mickey Kuhn: Hank Nickleby
- Howard Freeman: Nickleby
- Harry Holman: Mayor
- George Irving: Senator Wilton
- Mary Currier: Mrs. Frisby
- Mickey Roth: Bob Peterman
Foreign city is the title of a Hollywood movie from the year 1947. The film also appeared under the title The model city. He was one of the first films to deal with the young discipline opinion research. The script was inspired by the sociological community Middletown studies in Muncie (Indiana ) of the sociologist Robert S. Lynd and Helen pair M. Lynd.
Content
The unsuccessful pollster Rip Smith accidentally discovered the idyllic small town of Grandview U.S., whose population statistics accurately reflect the U.S. average, and thus in polls the same result as a survey of the entire U.S. population provides.
Smith initially marketed its discovery and organized as an insurance agent disguised secret polls, but then comes into conflict with the chief editor of the only local newspaper, as these new schools, and bring forth a new community center in the small town build, and lobbying makes the city council for that.
Smith feared that his newfound " Magic City " of an influx of new citizens then could no longer be representative, and therefore is very committed against the innovations, for his discovery already gives him a new lease of professional success. In an emotional speech, he flatters the mayor and the city.
As the inhabitants of the small town but then proud to discover their role and shared responsibility by a newspaper article, they decide on the one hand to better commercialize their small town, on the other hand they now create, small libraries, and discuss a lot with each other even in the polls by more education always sufficient to be informed about the topic.
Tourists and new residents now flock to Grand View. The city experienced by a brief economic boom - which, however, only takes so long until now (too) well-informed residents make decisions together in surveys that are no longer representative of the entire United States (about Can a woman be president of the USA? response of the population that is yes ). .
Then, the ( now no longer average ) small town because of this " nonsensical " survey results the laughing stock of the whole country, it is suddenly an embarrassment to live in Grandview, and Smith, who disappointed turns to alcohol, his new source of revenue is going back. In the derided city, citizens from civil society pull back and say no more about politics, the once confident open community is sinking into depression. The corrupt mayor, who had been announced yet bodied to the boom times, you 'll now build the required school ( with their own hands, if necessary ) is trying to privatize public lands for school and community center in secret.
At the end, see Smith and the editor but still in a love affair with each other. For the new school and the community center is now the youth of the town successfully demonstrated with a march to City Hall. When the City Council finds there gathered by the protest of the secretly planned privatization of public land, breaks great indignation among the inhabitants, the project is stopped. It now remembers the former public spirit and decides instead to build the community center together by each contributing what he can. New hope is born.
Production
Lead actor James Stewart had just Is not life beautiful? filmed and directed by Frank Capra, who was still in the follow-up phase, when he received through the commitment of Lew Wasserman the lead role in foreign city. The independent project was produced by Robert Riskin, who wrote the screenplay in numerous Capra films. Contemporary rumors said that Riskin had also taken over the Director of the film and William Wellman had acted only in the last week as a director, but Wellman later took over the responsibility for the film:
" I put in there from the beginning in the matter, and I wish I had never started. It was miserable dog! It's not my kind of movie. "
The film was a flop at the box office and led to James Stewart in his roles an image makeover began, figuring significantly edgier and tougher characters in the following films such as the password 777 and numerous Western. In Germany, strangers city was shown on television for the first time in 1986.
Reviews
The contemporary critics slating the film largely what was on the miscast James Stewart as draufgängerischem New York among others. Stewart himself was later that his role " consisted of individual parts, which are not fitted together to form a whole. " This is not least due to the fact that supporting actor Donald Meek died during filming and therefore had to be rewritten scenes in a short time. The basic idea of the film was recorded ambivalent: The Movie " is so unusual that he applause [ ... ] and so unrealistic that he deserves a slating ," Photoplay wrote.
Other criticisms of the film concerned the " confused [n ] plot and the sentimental, theatrical posturing [ ... ]. What was apparently intended as a good-natured satire, came out as a viscous, sticky piece. " Although the film Concerning operative " about a lot funnier sprinklings [ ... ] to [but] loses ultimately in an unforgivably dull subplot about the attempts of the citizens, the money be raised for a new building of the city administration and also suffers from the fact that Stewart's moral conversion takes place almost imperceptibly. "
The movie service saw strangers city a " amusing comedy about citizenship and community, staged with pretty incursions into the optimistic nature of the films of Frank Capra ," while other critics wrote: " If there was something that was even more questionable than Capracorn, then was it Capracorn without Capra. "