Summer Magic

Summer Magic is a 1963 Walt Disney Productions feature film starring Hayley Mills, Burl Ives, and Dorothy McGuire in a story about a Boston widow and her children taking up residence in a small town in Maine. The film was based on the book "Mother Carey's Chickens" by Kate Douglas Wiggin and was directed by James Neilson. The film was Mills' fourth of six films for Disney, and the young actress received a Golden Globe nomination for her work.

Plot
A young widow from Boston travels with her three children to Maine to enjoy their summer vacation. Margaret Carey (Dorothy McGuire) is helped by the friendly Osh Popham (Burl Ives), who finds the family a rent-free house vacated by a vacationing landowner. Daughter Nancy (Hayley Mills) catches the eye of a young schoolteacher, Digby (Michael J. Pollard). The owner of the summer house shows up from Europe unexpectedly, but keeps his identity a secret when he too falls for the young Nancy. The entire family gets to croon with Burl Ives in a folksy front-porch singalong. The townsfolk make the Careys feel at home to the point that they consider making the idyllic coastal town their permanent home.

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
 * Jim Stacy - Charles Bryant
 * O. Z. Whitehead - Mr Perkins
 * Eddie Quillan - Mailman
 * Norman Leavitt - Barber
 * Paul E. Burns - Driver
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Harry Holcombe - Henry Lord
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Jan Stine - Mr Perkins' Son
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Hilda Plowright - Mary
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Marcy McGuire - Ellen
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Hayley Mills - Nancy Carey
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Burl Ives - Osh Popham
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Dorothy McGuire - Margaret Carey
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Deborah Walley - Cousin Julia
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Eddie Hodges - Gilly Carey
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Jimmy Mathers - Peter Carey
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Michael J. Pollard - Digby Popham
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Una Merkel - Maria Popham
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Peter Brown - Tom Hamilton
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">O.Z. Whitehead - Mr. Perkins
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Paul E. Burns - Drinker
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Darren McGavin
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">James Stacy - Charles Bryant
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Eddie Quillan - Mailman
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Hilda Plowright - Mary
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Marcy McGuire - Ellen
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Jan Stine - Mr. Perkins' Son
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Harry Holcombe - Henry Lord

Production Credits

 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Director - James Neilson
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Screenplay - Sally Benson
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Source Material (from novel) - Kate Douglas Wiggin
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Producer - Walt Disney
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Assistant Director - Austen Jewell
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Director of Photography - William E. Snyder
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Editor - Robert Stafford
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Music - Buddy Baker
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Songs - Richard M. Sherman
 * <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Songs - Robert B. Sherman

Songs

 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">"Flitterin'"
 * 2) <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">"Beautiful Beulah"
 * 3) <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">"Summer Magic"
 * 4) <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">"Pink of Perfection"
 * 5) <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">"Ugly Bug Ball"
 * 6) <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">"On the Front Porch"
 * 7) <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">"Femininity"

Production notes
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">At first, Walt Disney did not care for the "Ugly Bug Ball." Songwriter Robert Sherman explained to Disney that to bugs, other bugs were not ugly, even if they looked ugly to us, beauty being in the eye of the beholder. Disney liked the idea and the song went on to become one of the popular songs of the year. It was sung by Burl Ives.

Trivia
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">"On the Front Porch" is songwriter Robert Sherman's personal favorite song from his own work.