tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post1060282811177833710..comments2024-03-28T03:39:00.025-07:00Comments on WILD ABOUT HARRY: Whoa! Was there a Water Torture Cell movie?John Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-70188098575167123712019-05-23T02:18:16.504-07:002019-05-23T02:18:16.504-07:00John, I read Silverman's " Houdini "...John, I read Silverman's " Houdini " again along with his sources in the back. The article Sid Radner wrote titled: " Hardeen " is especially interesting. I know Hardeen managed some of Houdini's film companies. Late in his life Hardeen was giving and selling Houdini's equipment to Sid Radner, ostensibly to pay gambling debts etc. The article says Hardeen offered James Criswellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-1441535941626640052019-02-07T17:13:04.470-08:002019-02-07T17:13:04.470-08:00Guardedly excited! It's possible a reviewer ta...Guardedly excited! It's possible a reviewer taking notes on a dozen acts of vaudeville might get their facts scrambled. I was happy to find a second mention, but the wording is a little odd, so not a solid confirmation. But it's an intriguing possibility!John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-15094726373091359522019-02-07T11:04:24.281-08:002019-02-07T11:04:24.281-08:00Fantastic find, John. You must've stopped brea...Fantastic find, John. You must've stopped breathing when you saw these items - I did when I saw this post! And you surely must be right that he wouldn't have shown too much of the USD set-up/escape, but the phrase "was given a whale of a hand when he stepped out..." makes me think the film must've been something dramatic. Of course he'd get a whale of a hand with any Tom and Johanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01133250855806942658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-24758821685116196752019-02-07T09:01:19.244-08:002019-02-07T09:01:19.244-08:00Oh that would be awesome if he did that. :)Oh that would be awesome if he did that. :)John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-26821624644972464272019-02-07T09:00:53.523-08:002019-02-07T09:00:53.523-08:00Hey Jim. Houdini filmed many of his outdoor escape...Hey Jim. Houdini filmed many of his outdoor escapes such as bridge jumps, overboard boxes, and suspended straitjackets, and he began showing them before his act as early as 1907. A lot of it survives.<br /><br />True that in his later (post movie career) vaudeville tours he was sometimes criticized for talking too much. "Talks for 10 minutes about his greatness and then puts on an escape heJohn Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-16231352085609538592019-02-07T05:33:27.818-08:002019-02-07T05:33:27.818-08:00Is there some significance to the words “stepped o...Is there some significance to the words “stepped out well timed from the films?” Could he have walked out through the screen? It’s been done before as an illusion and would have been a great opener. Film to life. Tom Ewinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00511038360398817984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-20860212486555485472019-02-07T02:04:49.876-08:002019-02-07T02:04:49.876-08:00I'm replying to my own comment but I think it ...I'm replying to my own comment but I think it is warranted. I remember reading somewhere that, after Houdini began leaning more towards spiritualism debunking in his shows, he didn't perform as many of his prepared and sensational escapes. He wanted to concentrate on the fraud aspect of spiritualism but he did show some film footage of his exploits. I'm sure some of them were of his Jim Criswellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-33837271270437950552019-02-07T00:39:03.256-08:002019-02-07T00:39:03.256-08:00John, I have always held out hope that there is in...John, I have always held out hope that there is indeed film footage of the USD escape as the audience saw it. Part of me believes Houdini was such a leader in this new media of film as it came to the subject of magic and his exploits that he would have wanted to capture his greatest prepared escape on film, even if it was just to watch it himself. The other part of me believes he would have Jim Criswellnoreply@blogger.com