Houdini and the Rio's (attempted) silent movie revival

Cinema Treasures

In 1954, the Rio Theatre in San Francisco converted to an all-silent cinema, banking on nostalgia for the old classics in an era of Cinemascope and 3D. The article below, which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on New Year's Day, laid out the plan.

San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 1, 1954.

While not mentioned in the above article, Houdini was an integral part of the Rio's slate. A new episode of The Master Mystery would play before each new feature. Interestingly, Paramount's biopic Houdini (1953) was still playing in theaters, and could be seen at the Roxie on 16th and Valencia at this same time.

The Rio's first offering was the 1923 Lon Chaney classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame, along with episode 1 of The Master Mystery. A Universal Monster and Houdini? I would have been there in a second!

This wasn't the only time Houdini and The Hunchback of Notre Dame played in proximity. The below is from Waco, Texas, when Houdini was on his spiritualism lecture tour in 1924. Did Houdini ever see the movie, I wonder?

The Waco Times Herald, Oct. 8, 1924.

Week 2 featured Orchids & Ermine (1927) with the great Colleen Moore, the 1912 short The New York Hat with Mary Pickford and Lionel Barrymore, and The Mystery Mystery episode 2.

Week 3 featured the Wallace Beery comedy Behind the Front (1926), the Harry Langdon short Soldier Man, and episode 3 of The Master Mystery.

The 4th week features "Anatole France's Classic" Crainquebille (1922) and D.W. Griffith's Judith of Bethulia (1914). Despite an earlier newspaper report that The Master Mystery episode 4 would be part of the program, it is not included in the opening-day advertisement. Possibly it was dropped due to the length of the features.

The Rio's next feature would have been the Clara Bow comedy drama Dancing Mothers (1926), along with Laurel and Hardy's Criminals at Large (1929) and The Master Mystery. A newspaper reported it would be episode 4, offering further evidence that it had been dropped the previous week.

However, a slate of "Disney's True-Life Adventure" films opened at the Rio instead. The San Francisco Call reported the change.

The San Francisco Call Bulletin, Jan. 23, 1954

The mention of TV may be telling. In mid-January, local San Francisco television station KRON purchased a package of silents and began running its own series of silents as part of its late-night programming. Among their films were The Headless Horseman (1922) with Will Rogers, The Primrose Path (1925) with Clara Bow, and, yes, The Man From Beyond (1922) with you-know-who!

I wonder what print of The Master Mystery the Rio was showing? It could have been the complete 16mm print owned by John Hampton of the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles, which was going strong at this time. Perhaps the two theaters worked out an agreement to share films. Finally, how disappointing must it have been to Houdini fans to have the Rio pull the plug after only three (or four) episodes?

In the 1960s, the Rio became the Toho Rio and screened Japanese films. It was then acquired by United Artists and was known as the Metro II in the 1970s. In 1982, it briefly became the Rio again, before being sold and renamed the Mercury Theatre. It screened foreign films until its closure in 1986. It was demolished in 1990.

Below are more appearances of Houdini's movies in revival houses.

UPDATE: Here's a fun update. Our good friend Diego Domingo performed a special Halloween magic show at the Rio when it was the Metro II in 1970. In fact, Diego had pitched the idea of showing his 16mm print of The Man From Beyond to them, but the theater opted for a horror film instead.

Related:

• The Master Mystery at The Silent Movie Theater
• The Man From Beyond haunts Hollywood in 1971
• Houdini sells out in Sierra Madre