Mario and the Magician (1981) Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas Mann

Try and Resist Him
Cast | Notes | Pictures | Quotes

Cast

Directed by Abraham Polonsky
Written by Thomas Mann

Malcolm's rarest film that never was. It was to be his follow up to Time After Time with his girlfriend Mary who was now his wife. It went far along the road to get made, only to have the plug pulled on it. So much time was spent on it in 1980 and 1981 when it was to be made and released that Malcolm did no other films at the time.
Was first mentioned in a People Magazine interview from 9/80 - "After the baby is born, they hope to co-star in a movie based on Thomas Mann's allegorical novella about Italian fascism, Mario and the Magician."
Based on Mann's 1930 novella of the same name. It is about a family spending their summer vacation in an Italy. One day, a magician announces a show. After some time, it becomes clear that he is not a normal magician, but someone with the ability to manipulate and to humiliate people just by the strength of his will. He is later assassinated by Mario.
The story is an attack on fascism as Mussolini was in charge of Italy at the time of publishing.
Has been performed as an opera.

Malcolm McDowell from my interview with him 8/11/07

Q: What ever happened to Mario and the Magician?

A: We are still trying.

Q: Are you switching roles with Jonathan Rhys Meyers?

A: Yeah, he's in it, but I was always going to play the magician. It's just going to be a younger magician.

Q: Why didn't that ever get off the ground in the 80s?

A: It almost did, but the director was a very old man, he was in his 70s, but that's not old, but they thought he was.