talkmagic.co.uk

The Effect

VOLUME 1

Ultimate Three Card Monte- Bill’s comical presentation of the Michael Skinner Classic! A great way to open your close-up show!

Sam the Bellhop- Bill’s signature effect as seen on TV’s World’s Greatest Magic, explained with all the moves and timing in complete detail.

I Don’t Even Have a Pocket- An Ambitious Card routine with a hilarious ending.

I Should Have Done It Myself- Guaranteed reaction every time with this seldom seen idea! If it’s good enough for Fred Kaps, it’s good enough for you!

Cheating in Las Vegas- with the Aces A display of card control Bill has been performing for over 20 years.

Back the Way They Were- Commmercial thoughts on presentation for Dr. Daley’s Last Trick. This classic should be in every professional’s close-up bag!

Test of Strength- The Slydini Silks is truly one of magic great secrets. See Bill Malone’s performance and hear him explain this classic of magic!



Cost Around the twenty-ish pound mark from many places



Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

A 3 I reckon at most. Most of the routines here are pretty easy with no knuckle busting sleights. Easily achievable to anyone with a bit of card experience



Review

Now this Dvd is part of a 4 volume set which are all available to buy seperately so after seeing several bill Malone performances I decided to give vol.1 a shot.

Firstly what struck me with this dvd is the performance section. With most magic dvds I have owned in the past each effect is performed in its own section but with 'On the Loose' all the effects are shown in one block pieced together as a full performance. This is an extrememly handy thing to have as Bill Malone is first and foremostly an entertainer....and a very good one at that.

The explainations of the effects are very well covered, in great detail and most importantly well taught. Not only the sleights and the little nuances are taught but more importantly how to use timing to make them more effective and entertaining.

The effects themselves are all very commercial and effective. Rarely have I got a dvd and after watching it realised that every effect on the dvd I could and most probably will use on a regular basis.
The highlights for me are the obvious 'Sam the Bellhop', 'Test Of strength' and 'I Should Have Done It Myself' all of which I have been furiously practicing since getting the dvd.
My one bugbear if there is one is the fact that 2 off the effects will need the vast majority of people to have to go and buy other magic items in order to perform them but the tips Bill gives to these are worth getting the dvd other than just the original effects.
For example I already owned a Book of Slydini silks but Bills tips have helped me smooth it out a great deal.
Lastly on the DVD there are several 'Bills Tips' which are his musings on what makes a successful professional and general tips on the business of magic all of which adds to an already rich collection.
I have heard on the grapevine that vol.1 is the best of the 4 volume set but this is very good indeed and will definitely be tempted in to the other 3 once I get my stuff back from the pawn shop.

Oooh the only other annoyance is the extremely familiar and over acting audience....especially that David fella who seems to be in about 3 or 4 of my other magic DVDS.




Overall

I'd give it a scorching 9 /10. It's one of my favourites down to the number of routines I'm going to use on a regular basis.

Whilst I don't have this particular item, I really like Bill Malone, and Sam the Bellhop was one of the first things I ever saw him do... talk about having things down to a fine art??

If you haven't ever seen Bill Malone, or haven't ever seen him do Sam the Bellhop? It would, in my opinion be worth the price of this just to see that, the way - and at the speed at which - he presents it!

His explanations are both detailed and clear and are easy to follow. It isn't something you will be able to do overnight, but with a little work, you'll have it down, and with a little more work, you'll gain some of the speed that Bill is known for!

Best,
*Magical Lady*

I tell thee magical lady you aint wrong there.

I've been studying the Sam the bellhop routine and although it is quite simple his execuction of it is effortless. Quite a treat to watch and his teaching of this consists of so much more than the nuts and bolts of how it works.

I bought this from ebay a few weeks ago and am waiting in anticipation!

I had no idea this hadn't been reviewed before.

Without a doubt the greatest magic DVD that I own in my humble opinion and one that I revist on many an occasion.

The teaching of Sam the Bellhop alone is worth the price of the DVD. Not only do you get the workings of a great trick and all the tips to go with presentation but he breaks down a number of great false shuffles into the bargain.

I've seen the trick performed by others but nothing comes close to Bills version

I haven't got the other 3 volumes so haven't reviewed those so I'd be interested in hearing about them in review if anyone has them.

I bought all four in the set so il review them soon

Thanks for the review definately getting it now...

if u want to see some of the effects being performed they are on youtube