tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post2580764225990564020..comments2024-03-18T18:37:43.110-07:00Comments on WILD ABOUT HARRY: The Houdini card manipulation movie mystery deepensJohn Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-73900906138338701672014-07-07T13:28:19.287-07:002014-07-07T13:28:19.287-07:00You know, the real story here might be the fact th...You know, the real story here might be the fact that the great Max Fleischman was behind this footage. That's a cool connection that has never been revealed.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-60908733819830675482014-07-07T13:24:29.847-07:002014-07-07T13:24:29.847-07:00Cool. Thanks for the clarification.Cool. Thanks for the clarification.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-49618459655523513832014-07-07T13:23:34.210-07:002014-07-07T13:23:34.210-07:00Awesome. Thanks.
Maybe during all this their Houd...Awesome. Thanks.<br /><br />Maybe during all this their Houdini footage got away from them and "magically" appeared as the Pathe short.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-85997131229435474772014-07-07T13:22:53.666-07:002014-07-07T13:22:53.666-07:00That very well could be. I also think theaters mig...That very well could be. I also think theaters might have sometimes titled (or re-titled) things themselves. Remember <a href="http://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2013/05/a-houdini-movie-mystery.html" rel="nofollow">THIS</a>?John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-62266862981268648062014-07-07T13:18:15.262-07:002014-07-07T13:18:15.262-07:00Yeah, I think you're right about that. I made ...Yeah, I think you're right about that. I made an edit with a correction to that title and the fact that it was a series.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-16831303690421307372014-07-07T13:12:10.861-07:002014-07-07T13:12:10.861-07:00Max Fleischman apparently is Red Seal (which went ...Max Fleischman apparently <em>is</em> Red Seal (which went belly up) and <em>is</em> Inkwell (though the latter was under Paramount for a while in the 20s.David Byronhttp://www.baroquepotion.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-52382026670952184342014-07-07T13:10:18.960-07:002014-07-07T13:10:18.960-07:00According to this, The Fleischer brothers also pa...According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Fleischer" rel="nofollow">this</a>, <em> The Fleischer brothers also partnered with Lee DeForest, Edwin Miles Fadiman, and Hugo Riesenfeld to form Red Seal Pictures Corporation, which owned 36 theaters on the East Coast, extending as far west as Cleveland, Ohio.<br />...<br />by late 1926, both the DeForest Phonofilm Corp. and Red Seal David Byronhttp://www.baroquepotion.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-73467033436547298152014-07-07T13:04:50.917-07:002014-07-07T13:04:50.917-07:00I guess another way to look at it is that they mig...I guess another way to look at it is that they might have named the Houdini short "Velvet Fingers" <i>because of</i> (not in spite of) the already existing serial.David Byronhttp://www.baroquepotion.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-86211211842245710562014-07-07T13:03:04.788-07:002014-07-07T13:03:04.788-07:00Oh, I think the ad just used "a Marvel of Mot...Oh, I think the ad just used "a Marvel of Motion" to mean "an issue of Marvels of Motion". No biggie.David Byronhttp://www.baroquepotion.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-22074595399306315312014-07-07T11:43:13.408-07:002014-07-07T11:43:13.408-07:00Thanks for letting me share your find here, Tom. S...Thanks for letting me share your find here, Tom. Sorry I didn't have time to dig down any deeper. But it looks like David is doing a great job of that here. :)John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-85474244500138186842014-07-07T11:39:56.975-07:002014-07-07T11:39:56.975-07:00I mentioned that feature in my first post. I would...I mentioned that feature in my first post. I wouldn't worry about that too much at this point. It's just a title. And 6 years could have been a long time in the silent era.<br /><br />And I'm just trying to throw out possibilities based on what we have. I don't mean to cloud with assumptions.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-45430712240417269002014-07-07T11:30:01.993-07:002014-07-07T11:30:01.993-07:00Ah, then it could be Inkwell Films bought the seri...Ah, then it could be Inkwell Films bought the series from Red Seal in '26 and re-released them?John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-77413075942232832362014-07-07T11:28:28.991-07:002014-07-07T11:28:28.991-07:00I said in my other post that I believe the most co...I said in my other post that I believe the most complete footage is on The Miracle Factory's DVD set "Vintage Magic Films". Unfortunately, I don't have that set.<br /><br />But I think the arm toss is in one of the HH docs. When I have time I'll search.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-19837742265076423072014-07-07T11:25:51.494-07:002014-07-07T11:25:51.494-07:00So Red Seal Pictures is out by 1926 and these are ...So Red Seal Pictures is out by 1926 and these are now being made, or at least distributed, by Inkwell Films.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-16416212680774443932014-07-07T11:23:42.100-07:002014-07-07T11:23:42.100-07:00Great to see one of these. Thanks.Great to see one of these. Thanks.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-15383212779008934772014-07-07T11:21:11.672-07:002014-07-07T11:21:11.672-07:00Thanks David. Great work. Odd that this ad used th...Thanks David. Great work. Odd that this ad used the singular "Marvel."John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-24969671193558607952014-07-07T10:42:40.181-07:002014-07-07T10:42:40.181-07:00John, thanks for sharing! Hopefully we'll find...John, thanks for sharing! Hopefully we'll find more in the near future.Tom Intervalhttp://www.intervalmagic.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-704733753778923092014-07-07T10:39:42.721-07:002014-07-07T10:39:42.721-07:00Hi David. Thanks for your thoughts on this. The In...Hi David. Thanks for your thoughts on this. The Internet Archive is where I originally found the two advertisements. A day or two ago I also found a video on YouTube featuring Red Seal/Fleischer <i>Inklings</i> (1925) and a <i>Ko-Ko Song Car-Tune</i> (1924): http://youtu.be/LQQvsBoofug. The <i>Marvels of Motion</i> clip you posted below is interesting. It even mentions Houdini (when the dog is Tom Intervalhttp://www.intervalmagic.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-54353914357352493762014-07-07T10:11:15.453-07:002014-07-07T10:11:15.453-07:00According to _1000 and One: The Blue Book of Non-T...According to _<a href="http://tinyurl.com/p2wptej" rel="nofollow">1000 and One: The Blue Book of Non-Theatrical Films</a>_ (Chicago: Educational Screen, 1935), there were 13 one-reel issues in the "Marvels of Motion" series.<br /><br />According to _<a href="http://tinyurl.com/ktfael5" rel="nofollow">Wid's Film and Film Folks</a>_ of 1925, all 13 of them already existed by 1925.<br David Byronhttp://www.baroquepotion.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-80192246744587034332014-07-07T10:07:47.751-07:002014-07-07T10:07:47.751-07:00Ive seen much more of this film than whats shown o...Ive seen much more of this film than whats shown on youtube but dont know where Ive seen it. Ive seen Houdini spread the cards over his forearm, "roll" the cards like a domino effect and then toss them off his arm and catch them with the other hand. If all this survives...somewhere.....its a good bet it all survives....the question is where? Perry from NJ.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-77321752064124658152014-07-07T09:41:17.778-07:002014-07-07T09:41:17.778-07:00Further complicating the question, Pathé released ...Further complicating the question, Pathé released <a href="http://movieposters.ha.com/itm/serial/velvet-fingers-pathe-1920-three-sheet-41-x-81-episode-5-the-deserted-pavilion-/a/694-28087.s" rel="nofollow">a feature serial</a> called _<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvet_Fingers" rel="nofollow">Velvet Fingers</a>_ in 1920.<br /><br />Does it seem likely that Pathé would reuse the title ofDavid Byronhttp://www.baroquepotion.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-1181284411848252682014-07-07T09:28:31.218-07:002014-07-07T09:28:31.218-07:00According to this overview of items shown at the S...According to this <a href="http://www.silentfilm.org/archive/animation-rarities-1906-1928" rel="nofollow">overview of items shown at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival in 1999</a>, only one "Marvels of Motion" survives. The item references 1926, so I'm not sure whether that means that the item in my previous link is actually from 1926, or that there's a different (second!) David Byronhttp://www.baroquepotion.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-61358596566431388912014-07-07T09:23:19.928-07:002014-07-07T09:23:19.928-07:00Here's a Marvels of Motion from ca. 1930 produ...Here's a Marvels of Motion from ca. 1930 produced by Alfred Weiss: <a href="https://archive.org/details/6111_Marvels_of_Motion_A_00_01_12_00" rel="nofollow">https://archive.org/details/6111_Marvels_of_Motion_A_00_01_12_00</a>David Byronhttp://www.baroquepotion.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-49251452080505527512014-07-07T09:17:46.095-07:002014-07-07T09:17:46.095-07:00"Marvels of Motion" was a series, not a ..."Marvels of Motion" was <a href="https://archive.org/stream/exhibitorstrade00new/exhibitorstrade00new_djvu.txt" rel="nofollow">a series</a>, not a single featurette. Note the plural "Marvels". So it's possible that "Velvet Fingers" was folded into the series.<br /><br /><em>Red Seal Bookings Increase 2000% <br /><br />Red Seal Pictures Corporation, today, at the David Byronhttp://www.baroquepotion.comnoreply@blogger.com