# A Touch of Magic

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{{Short description|1961 American sponsored film}}
{{for|another use|Barbie: A Touch of Magic}}
{{italic title}}
{{One source|date=March 2026}}
right|frame|"The 1961 Pontiac! It's bewitchingly beautiful!"
'''''A Touch of Magic''''' (1961) is a [cult-classic](/source/cult-classic) [General Motors](/source/General_Motors) [sponsored-film](/source/sponsored-film) [short](/source/short_film) [musical](/source/musical_(film)).

The film begins with a designer at the drawing board, daydreaming about a 1920s couple who travel to the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages); the Man saves the Woman from a wizard ("an evil charmer") and a dragon, only to abruptly discover that they are all performing for an audience in the 1960s. The film then features the couple courting in [General Motors](/source/General_Motors)' latest cars. Now married, the Man and Woman next appear in an early 1960s style [home of the future](/source/home_of_the_future) with a magical kitchen; they host a housewarming party attended by invisible guests. We last see the couple dancing dreamily on a cloud.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_BQaDQAAQBAJ&q=tad+tadlock&pg=PA179|title=Highways of the Mind|first1=Helen J.|last1= Burgess|first2= Jeanne |last2=Hamming|page=179|publisher=[University of Pennsylvania Press](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania_Press) |year=2014|isbn= 9780812291797}}</ref>

The film, which went into the [public domain](/source/public_domain), was produced and directed by [Victor D. Solow](/source/Victor_D._Solow) through [MPO Productions](/source/MPO_Productions). [Joseph Moncure March](/source/Joseph_Moncure_March) and [Edward Eliscu](/source/Edward_Eliscu) wrote the script and lyrics; [Sol Kaplan](/source/Sol_Kaplan), the score. It starred dancers [Tad Tadlock](/source/Tad_Tadlock) (real name Thelma Tadlock) and [James Mitchell](/source/James_Mitchell_(actor)), with the singing voices of [Anita Ellis](/source/Anita_Ellis_(singer)) and [Ed Kenney](/source/Ed_Kenney).

This is one in a series of [Populuxe](/source/Populuxe) films and events sponsored by [General Motors](/source/General_Motors). The series began with the General Motors [Futurama](/source/Futurama_(New_York_World's_Fair)) exhibit at the [1939 World's Fair](/source/1939_World's_Fair), which displayed a vision of the future involving [urban sprawl](/source/urban_sprawl) and multilane limited access [freeways](/source/freeways). GM's later [Motorama](/source/General_Motors_Motorama) exhibits continued this theme into the 1960s. ''A Touch of Magic'' was the film for the 1961 Motorama.

==Selected quotes==
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* Man – "This dream house you and I will share/Was planned for us by Frigidaire"
* Man and Woman – "[Aladdin](/source/Aladdin)'s lamp has had its day/This modern magic is here to stay"
* Man and Woman – "A touch of magic every day/Is the charm that goes the long long way/It keeps our spirits young and gay/And the magic is constantly new/In a world full of magic with..."

==See also==
*''[Design for Dreaming](/source/Design_for_Dreaming)'', another GM film in the same series, also starring Tad Tadlock

==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332445/ ''A Touch of Magic'' at the Internet Movie Database]
* {{Internet Archive film|id=TouchofM1961}}
*{{cite news|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/1996-12-13/525791/| title=Motoramas in Pink Pajamas and Other Illusions from When Life Was Mighty Swell|first=Jesse|last=Sublett|date=December 13, 1996|accessdate= April 28, 2018|work=[Austin Chronicle](/source/Austin_Chronicle) | location=Texas|archivedate=September 12, 2015|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20150912082756/http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/1996-12-13/525791/|url-status=live}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Touch Of Magic, A}}
Category:General Motors
Category:1961 musical films
Category:Sponsored films
Category:1961 films
Category:Promotional films
Category:Films set in the 1920s
Category:Films set in the Middle Ages
Category:Films set in 1961
Category:Films about automobiles

{{musical-film-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [A Touch of Magic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Touch_of_Magic) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Touch_of_Magic?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.