They dissected his act, looked in-depth at the thinking behind every movement, every gesture, every action. They studied his manipulations, his productions, and how the story and character he created gave him cover to get way ahead of his audience. Everything was deliberate, to the minutest detail. The result was a performance that gave Cardini a reputation as the greatest ever.

 

In their study for this lecture. Toreno & Finn Jon kept notes, and in 1991 when they considered it ready, Toreno prepared the lecture for presentation at the MacMillan Magic Convention, London.

 

The lecture begins with an introduction by Finn Jon, who then steps aside to allow Toreno to present the lecture. Finn Jon remains on stage, should Toreno require assistance, but he needn't have done as although Toreno retired from performance in 1977, his passion for the work of Cardini and the class of his own manipulations show in abundance.

 

Toreno walks us through the Cardini act, showing the manipulations and productions, and most importantly, talking us through the thinking behind the magic.

 

This is a classic magic lecture that I feel every magician should watch, very few nowadays would have had the privilege of seeing Cardini in a live theatre, but many would have and can see the rare footage taken in 1957 and shown on the Paul Daniels Magic Show on the 23rd January 1988 (link here Cardini). I mention this footage for a reason, this was shown on a Saturday evening, I watched it with my family in silence, absorbed in the performance. My Dad had often told me about Cardini, this footage showed me why Dad held him with such high regard. But there's another reason, after the showing on that Saturday evening - during the following Monday & Tuesday, in our London Magic Shop, various passers by from the public made a point of coming in and asking/talking about the 'old magician' on television the previous Saturday. It'd never happened before, nor has it happened since. Such was the effect of the great Cardini's performance. I can understand why Toreno & Finn Jon, got together to prepare this lecture and I thank them for putting the work in and doing so, and giving us wonderful insight into the Cardini act.

 

 

Duration approx 1 hour, streamed footage recorded live at the 1991 MacMillan Magic Convention, London. Note: Because the recording is made during the convention, there is background noise throughout.