Revenge of the beach boy

Remember that scene in the 2008 film Death Defying Acts that shows Houdini posed like a preening beach boy atop his Water Torture Cell at the conclusion of the escape? It's even in the trailer.

I've always seen this as an abomination of how the real Houdini would conclude the escape. By all accounts, when the tension was at its height, Houdini would come crashing through the front of the curtains out of breath as if he had just made his escape in the nick of time. That's how the real Houdini did things, Hollywood!

And then I found this illustration from Houdini's performance at the Cleveland Hippodrome in 1915 and now I need to shut up. 

Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 30, 1915.

Okay, maybe this is just the illustrator placing Harry atop the cell as his own artistic interpretation. Or maybe this is what he saw. Which would mean Hollywood can occasionally get things (accidentally) right.

"Told ya."

Related:

• Death Defying Acts (2008)
• Hollywood kills Houdini
• LINK: Davenport’s to exhibit Death Defying Acts Torture Cell

Hollywood kills Houdini

Today is the 95th Anniversary of the death of Harry Houdini in Detroit. How did Houdini die? Let's take a look at what Hollywood tells us.

When a Houdini biopic was being shopped around Hollywood in the 1930s, Columbia Picture's head Harry Cohen passed on the project, complaining Houdini's life lacked romance and "needed a better ending than a punch in the solar plexus." Hollywood never seemed to get past this, and over the course of five biopics has tried to add drama to Houdini's death. Here's how Hollywood killed Houdini.

Houdini (1953)

The classic biopic Houdini starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh decided to have Houdini die onstage inside his "Pagoda Torture Cell." It's plenty dramatic and for many decades people believed this is how Houdini really died (and some still do). The idea that Houdini is suffering the early stages of appendicitis is established in an earlier scene. And before he performs the fatal escape he runs into the handle of prop sword in his dressing room, presumably rupturing that problematic appendix.

The Great Houdinis (1976)

By 1976 the belief that Houdini died onstage in his Water Torture Cell was so wide spread that Hollywood couldn't resist doing it all over again. Give the people what they want! But this time the dressing room punch is also nicely dramatized for the first time. And Houdini doesn't actually die onstage. Over a freeze frame we hear Mini's voice explaining that he died a week later in Grace Hospital. So they were able to have it both ways. I do love Mini's final line: "We all knew he was waiting for Halloween. Made such a nice headline."

Houdini (1998)

Despite striving for more accuracy on several fronts, this 1998 movie from TNT decided to once again trap Houdini inside his Water Torture Cell. But he doesn't actually drown this time. Instead he dies in the hospital on what appears to be the operating table. The punch is also part of the chain of events, but it's a blink and you'll miss it moment.

Death Defying Acts (2008)

By the 2000s most people knew Houdini didn't die in the Water Torture Cell and that his death had something to do with a punch to the stomach. That was good enough for this indie feature which depicts Houdini being punched in the stomach in the lobby of a Montreal hotel and dropping dead on the spot.

Houdini Miniseries (2014)

For once Houdini's final days and death are portrayed largely accurately. But despite fine performances by stars Adrian Brody and Kristin Connolly, Harry Cohen might have been right. It's a little anti-climatic. As for Harry being kissed by Mama's in a sexy nurse outfit...what a weird movie this was.

I'm sure Hollywood isn't done killing Houdini in their own creative ways. What does the future hold? We'll find out!

Remembering

HARRY HOUDINI

on the

95th ANNIVERSARY 

OF HIS (REAL) DEATH

October 31, 1926

The novelizations

Novelizations are movies written as novels and released as tie-in merchandise. Before home video, novelizations were the best way to "own" a movie and revisit it whenever they like. Novelizations date back to silent era and can be collectible. There are a rare novelizations of King Kong and Bride of Frankenstein, and the novelization of Star Wars was released six months before the movie, making that first edition desirable.

But what does this have to do with Houdini? Well, there have been some Houdini novelizations. Not as many as one might hope (no Tony Curtis movie novelization, dang-in), but enough for a little Wild About Harry Bookshelf retrospective. So away we go!

The Master Mystery

Yes, Houdini's 15 episode movie serial, The Master Mystery, was novelized by screenwriters Arthur B. Reeve and John W. Grey. Released in hardcover by Grosset & Dunlap in 1919, it has become a hot collectible, especially in its original dust jacket. The book also contains photos from the movie. Before The Master Mystery appeared on VHS this was the only way to experience the serial and it remains an excellent way to research missing scenes. 

Here's a sample of the book describing Houdini's (a.k.a. Quentin Locke) straitjacket escape: 

Locke struggled with superhuman effort to release himself from the straight-jacket in which he was held prisoner. The throat-straps pressed against the neck muscles and the strain on the straps could be heard like pistol-shots as the leather stretched his prodigious effort.

With every nerve keyed up and his reflexes answering his keen brain, he swayed backward and forward, rolled from side to side until his shoulder blades were thrown completely out of joint. The pain was intense, but he summoned every ounce of strength at his command and finally succeeded in getting one of the arms free by gradually working his body toward a settee, where, with his elbow on the seat, he pushed his disjointed arm over his head.

Agony was written all over his face as at last with a final effort he extricated his arms and was in a position to loosen the straps which bound them, with his teeth.

Nor was his labor over now. The canvas jacket cut into his flesh and the buckles bruised his muscles. His body ached with weariness, yet he clung to his task. Like a thing incarnate he toiled as he realize the danger that in confronted Eva.

Now in public domain, The Master Mystery novelization has been reprinted several times, including as part of "The Arthur B. Reeve Detective Series" in 2006 and as an eBook and audiobook.

Terror Island

While it never appeared in book form (to my knowledge), Houdini's 1920 feature Terror Island was adapted into an 8-part story that appeared in the May 14, 1921 issue of Boys' Cinema Weekly. Joe Notaro uncovered this rarity in 2018 and reprinted the installments at Harry Houdini Circumstantial Evidence.

It's a shame we didn't get novelizations of Houdini's other movies.

The Great Houdinis

It was many years before there was another Houdini novelization, but then came The Great Houdinis by Melville Shavelson, published by Fawcett books in 1976. This is a novelization of the ABC television movie starting Paul Michael Glaser and Sally Struthers. It's a terrific novelization and a real pleasure to read. It also contains a few cuts scenes. 

Here's the opening of the book which gives a good taste of Shavelson's prose:

Two women walked along the pathway between the crowded headstones, the wind blowing the autumn leaves about their feet, rain dripping from the trees, a damp chill adding to the gloom. One of the women was Bess Houdini, older now, but still Bess. Sadness had touched, but not crushed her. She wore a cloth coat bundled about her, a scarf knotted firmly at her neck, a hat and gloves, and in her hand she carried a small cluster of roses, out of place here, because this was an Orthodox Jewish cemetery where the a customary offering is a pebble. But Harry Houdini was no ordinary tenant, and even after his death he was treated as a headliner; whatever he wanted backstage was okay with the management.

The Great Houdinis novelization was also published in a paperback and hardcover in the UK. The UK hardcover is illustrated with photos of the real Great Houdinis.

The Great Houdinis UK paperback.

FairyTale: A True Story

Ok, this isn't strictly a novelization, but I thought I'd include 1997's FairyTale: A True Story as it is an adaptation of a Houdini movie and was written by Monica Kulling who would go on to pen the children's biography The Great Houdini in 1999. Here's a taste of Tale:

Backstage in the dressing room, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a famous author, was waiting for Houdini. Sir Arthur was very interested in communicating with spirits. Houdini had once dazzled Sir Arthur's daughter by making an apple appear out of thin air. "Never try to fool children," Houdini had told the audience. "They expect nothing and, therefore, see everything."

It's too bad the movie did not also receive proper novelization, but it appears tie-in merchandise for this movie was all aimed at children.

Death Defying Acts

It's surprising that a movie which barely received a release (one week in Los Angeles and New York) would be novelized, but that is what we have with Death Defying Acts by Craig Cox. The novelization appeared as a trade paperback from Pocket Books in 2008. As far as I know it was only released in the U.S. Here a sample from Chapter 1:

Stay calm, Houdini reminded himself. As always, his chief task at such moments was to conquer fear, to retain his wits and faculties despite his alarming circumstances. Even shackled from head to toe, and plunging swiftly towards a watery grave, it was necessary to maintain an absolute serenity of spirit. If I panic, I am lost....

He held on tightly to his breath. Years of practice and conditioning has expanded his lung capacity until he go without breathing for three minutes or more. Cold water leeched the heat from his bones, yet the chill had little effect on him. He routinely bathed and tubs of ice water to inure his body against the shock of sudden immersion. Indeed, he had become accustom to a cold bath every morning and seldom enjoyed going without one. Sydney Harbor was not exactly warm this afternoon, but he had attempted this stunt in far cooler waters. Detroit, back in November of '07... now that had been cold.

Not to be nit-picky, but the "Detroit stunt" was actually 1906. But, hey, we don't read novelizations for the facts. These are for fun.

For more about novelizations, check out this 2014 Vanity Fair piece, Yes, People Still Read Movie Novelizations . . . And Write Them, Too. 

Other selections from the WILD ABOUT HARRY bookshelf:

• "This book is full of lies" - Houdini His Life Story
• The secrets of The Secrets of Houdini - The Secrets of Houdini
• "Had Houdini lived he would have written this book" - Houdini's Escapes and Magic
• The gateway biography - The Great Houdini
• An alternative gateway - Houdini Master of Escape
• The first great Houdini biography - Houdini The Man Who Walked Through Walls
• The perennial - Houdini on Magic
• The textbook - Houdini The Untold Story
• The Fantastic Four - The Original Houdini Scrapbook, Houdini His Art and Magic, Houdini A Pictorial Life, Houdini His Legend and His Magic
• The best forgotten Houdini book - Houdini's Fabulous Magic
• The Brandon book - The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini
• The imposter - The Great Balsamo

Death Defying Acts 10 year anniversary

It was 10 years ago today that Death Defying Acts was released to theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The film starred Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Scottish psychic out to collect his $10,000 prize. It also co-starred a young Saoirse Ronan, who has gone on to great success.

The movie only played for one week in just two locations. Did you see it in theaters? I did!

Related:

• Death Defying Acts (2008)
• Death Defying Acts opens today in New York and Los Angeles
• Catalina Island Museum will screen 'Death Defying Acts' on July 18

Catalina Island Museum will screen 'Death Defying Acts' on July 18

The Catalina Island Museum will screen the 2008 movie Death Defying Acts starring Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta-Jones in their outdoor amphitheater on Wednesday, July 18. Here are details:

Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Movies at the Museum
Death Defying Acts (2008)
7:00 pm - 10:00 pm (film begins at dusk) 

This annual summer program takes advantage of our outdoor amphitheater and Avalon's beautiful summer nights. Catalina Island and magic are the main themes for this summer's film series. In Death Defying Acts, Guy Pearce stars as Harry Houdini who is on a tour of Britain in 1926. He enters into a passionate affair with a Scottish psychic, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, who is out to con the famous magician. (Death Defying Acts is rated PG.) 

Click for tickets and more information.

Don't forget that your ticket gives you access to Houdini: Terror on the Magic Isle, an exhibit devoted entirely to Houdini's 1920 movie, Terror Island, which was largely filmed on Catalina. The exhibition runs through October 7 and is a must see!

For more information and upcoming events visit the Catalina Island Museum website or Facebook.

Related:

• Death Defying Acts (2008)
• Tony Curtis on Terror Island
• Houdini is back on 'Terror Island' starting TODAY

International Houdini curiosities

It's becoming clear that the DVD market is drying up, and this is distressing for Houdini buffs as The Grim Game and Houdini & Doyle have yet to appear on any physical home format (in the U.S.). So it might be a good idea to shore up the collection before it's too late. Recently I had a look at what's available internationally, and in doing so I found some curiosities.

For starters, check out the Region Free Spanish language Blu-ray of the classic Houdini (1953) with unusual cover art. The photo of star Tony Curtis is actually from a different film. The image of him suspended in a straitjacket is from Houdini, although I've never seen this image in color.

Another oddity is an Italian Blu-ray that combines the 2008 film Death Defying Acts with the 2006 movie The Illusionist starring Edward Norton. (Notice that in international markets the name HOUDINI was added to the title of the film.) There is also an Italian Magic 3 pack which includes the 2009 film Dorian Gray, which is really pushing it as far as a magic theme is concerned. Death Defying Acts has yet to appear on Blu-ray in the U.S. (and probably never will).

Finally, here's the artwork for a Japanese DVD for Houdini (1953). It's funny how they've used the exterior shot of Tony Pastor's Theater and just left the "Tony" visible. But notice how this cover doesn't depict any magic or escapes. Heck, it looks like it could be a musical!

The latest DVD and Blu-ray release of Houdini (1953) in the U.S. is by Olive Films. Might it be the last?

Related:

• HOUDINI (1953)
• Death Defying Acts (2008)
• Italian 'Houdini' DVD includes 'The Man From Beyond'

Gillian Armstrong's Death Defying disappointment

Gillian Armstrong, who directed the 2008 Houdini film Death Defying Acts with Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta-Jones, has received some press lately for her criticism that movie studios are run by "12-year-old executives."

Gillian Armstrong directs Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Death Defying Acts.

Death Defying Acts, which was British-Australian co-production distributed by the Weinstein Company in the U.S., was Armstrong's last feature film. She now makes documentaries in her native Australia.

"What's happened to drama in the last 12 years, is that all the drama writers have left the feature industry and gone to TV and [are] writing for HBO, Showtime and Netflix," Armstrong says. "The sort of films I like to make, human dramas, the last 12 years... the scripts are all rubbish. They are all nothing. They're empty, they're formula, they're nothing."

Armstrong also complains that movie executives interfere with the creative side of a production, and this was an issue on her Houdini film.

"I had a lot of battles on the last one, Death Defying Acts. The co-production thing is quite damaging to the industry and I had something like five producers in three different countries all fighting with each other. It made it hard focusing on making the movie wonderful."

Can't say I disagree with her! But despite her struggles, I still think she turned out a quality film with Death Defying Acts.

You can read the full article at The Sunday Morning Herald. Death Defying Acts is available on DVD from Amazon.

Related:

• Death Defying Acts (2008)
• Now you see him, now you don’t
• Weinstein Co. acquires Death Defying Acts

Saoirse Ronan nominated for Best Actress Oscar

Saoirse Ronan, who played Benji in the 2008 Houdini movie Death Defying Acts, has been nominated for a Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Brooklyn. This is her second Oscar nomination.

In Death Defying Acts, Saoirse plays the young daughter of Mary McGarvie (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a Scottish psychic who has an affair with Houdini (Guy Pearce) in Edinburgh in 1926. The story is entirely fictional, but it's a decent film with strong production values and Saoirse is especially good as Benji.

But Saoirse isn't the only Houdini movie alumnus to be nominatde for an Oscar this year. Mark Ruffalo, who played Theo Hardeen in TNT's Houdini (1998), is nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Spotlight.

The 88th Academy Awards will take place on February 28, 2016. Death Defying Acts is available on DVD.

Related:

• Death Defying Acts (2008)
• Oscar's Houdini alumni
• Houdini wins the Oscar for Best Actor

Death Defying Acts on KTLA, Sunday

UPDATE: This 2AM showing of Death Defying Acts appears to have vanished from the KTLA schedule. Oh well. Pop in the DVD!

Death Defying Acts will air on local Southern California television station KTLA this Sunday, August 30 at 2:00 AM. It's not often this movie shows up on T.V., so set those DVRs.

Death Defying Acts is a romantic fiction starring Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Scottish psychic. It had a limited theatrical release back in 2008. It's available on DVD.

Related:

• Death Defying Acts (2008)
• Death Defying Acts opens in New York and LA
• Death Defying Acts released on DVD

Death Defying Acts on BBC 2 today

It's not often you hear about a showing of Death Defying Acts on television, but it look like the movie will screen today in the UK on BBC Two at 11:20pm.

Death Defying Acts is a romantic fiction starring Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Scottish psychic. It had a very limited theatrical release back in 2008. It's available on DVD.

Related:

• Death Defying Acts (2008)
• Death Defying Acts opens in New York and LA
• Death Defying Acts released on DVD

LINK: Davenport’s to exhibit Death Defying Acts Torture Cell

Our good friend Tom Interval has discovered that the Water Torture Cell featured in the film Death Defying Acts will be put on display at Davenport’s Magic Kingdom -- a new magic museum set to open in Norfolk, England, on May 25. Click the headline to read the full scoop at Tom's excellent website, Houdini Museum.

UPDATE: You can see a photo of the cell on display at Dean Carnegie's The Magic Detective.

Rare Houdini booklets by Woods and Lead now available as PDFs

Two long out-of-print Houdini booklets by Roger Woods and Brian Lead, Houdini The Myth Maker (1987) and Harry Houdini Legend & Legacy (1993), are now available as PDF downloads for $12 each from Lybrary.com.

Both books provide excellent examinations of specific episodes and challenges from Houdini's career. I would recommend Legend & Legacy in particular as it contains rare photos of Houdini exposing the Mysto coffin escape, and also shots of him from a 1920 The Illustrated Chronicle climbing to the top of a castle in Newcastle and hanging from the parapet (which recalls the scene in Death Defying Acts when Houdini climbs atop a parapet in Edinburgh).

Thanks to Eric Fry for the tip.

UPDATE: Looks like printed versions of the books can still be purchased at rogerwoodsmagic.co.uk.

Is Rachel a Weisz?

Yesterday it was announced that Rachel Weisz has been nominated for a Best Actress Golden Globe for her performance in The Deep Blue Sea. Not only did I develop a mad crush on Rachel after The Mummy (Universal horror being a side passion of mine), not only is she married to 007/Daniel Craig himself (my other blog: The Book Bond), but there is also the Houdini thing.

Several articles across the web say that Rachel "idolizes" Houdini. There is also the possibility that they are related (the Weiss family was "Weisz" back in Hungary). I first heard this back in 2005 when Rachel was originally tapped to play Mary McGarvie in Death Defying Acts (the part ultimately went to Catherine Zeta-Jones). But now I've found what purports to be a direct quote from her thanks to Rachel Weisz Paradise:

"He could bust out of any jail, out of any lock, out of any situation. He was a very early poster boy using S&M as part of his appearance and a greased body, wearing little underwear. Also he’s Hungarian and his surname was Weiss, so my fantasy has been that he’s a long lost cousin."

Congratulations to Rachel Weisz on her Golden Globe nomination (a traditional Oscar indicator). She will next appear as Evanora in Oz: The Great and Powerful, featuring James Franco as a magician.

Houdini: The Man Behind The Magic

Here is the short promotional documentary, Houdini: The Man Behind The Magic, which appeared only on the Blockbuster Exclusive edition of the Death Defying Acts DVD. It features the cast and crew of the 2008 film talking about the real Harry Houdini.

It's interesting that Scott Penrose, the Magic Consultant on the film, mentions that John Calvert knew Houdini. I believe that could make Calvert, who just turned 101 (I attended his birthday celebration at The Magic Castle last month), the last known living person who actually met Houdini.

You can enjoy more Houdini video goodies like this on the WILD ABOUT HARRY YouTube Channel.

Death Defying Acts (2008)

In many ways, Death Defying Acts is the model for how not to make a film about Houdini. It opts for fiction over fact, spiritualism over magic and escapes, and incident over biography. It even omits Houdini's name from the title. What the filmmakers thought would be the "hook" of this movie is beyond me, except that it starred Catherine Zeta-Jones.

But having said that, Death Defying Acts is not without merit, and it was good to see Houdini in any form back on the big screen, if only for one week.

From the start, Death Defying Acts was more about the role of the fictional Mary McGarvie than Houdini. This was clear when the project was first announced in the trades as Death Defying Feats in 2005. At that time, Rachel Weisz was set for the co-starring role. Weisz even said she believed she might be related to Houdini! But even with the casting of Guy Pearce as Houdini the project would have trouble getting off the ground until Catherine Zeta-Jones, fresh off her Oscar win for Chicago, took over the role of Mary, reportedly agreeing to a pay cut that "saved the film."

Directed by Gillian Armstrong with a script by Tony Grisoni and Brian Ward, Death Defying Acts tells the fictional story of Houdini's obsessive search for a medium who can prove communication with the dead (and his mother) during a tour of Scotland in 1926. Houdini discovers McGarvie, a Scottish Music Hall clairvoyant, who along with her young daughter, Benji (nicely played by Saoirse Ronan), manipulates matters to get inside Houdini's cloistered world. Ultimately the two tricksters fall in love.

The film was shot in Edinburgh (where it is set) and in London's Savoy Hotel. Much was made by the British tabloid press about an on-set injury to star Zeta-Jones when a member of the crew accidentally stepped on her toe. The Sun reported that, "It virtually took the toenail clean off." Executive producer Dan Lupovitz threw cold water on the story by saying, "It was as minor incident which hardly disrupted filming. She's fine."

In the film, Guy Pearce plays Houdini as a bit of a primadonna who berates hotel porters and barks at his (fictional) manager, Mr. Sugarman (Timothy Spall). Pearce also effects a husky, gravelly voice. The result is the least likable Houdini of them all, although Pearce certainly looks the part with a very Houdini-like physique (although he's the Houdini of 1906 rather than 1926). Says Pearce: "There’s footage of Houdini and there’s audio stuff of him, but I decided to go in a completely different direction and really just work off what my own imaginative response was to the script anyway, I think, rather than really just trying to channel somebody."

The real highlight of Death Defying Acts is the outstanding production design by Gemma Jackson. The opening bridge jump in Sydney Harbor is truly evocative of the period. Many authentic Houdini photos are recreated with Pearce's likeness. Houdini's stationary is even accurately reproduced. The Chinese Water Torture Cell is nicely recreated, although Pearce's patter is hokey and its conclusion, with Pearce lounging across the top like a beach boy, seems out of character. While Bess does not appear in the film, her photograph does. Oddly, the filmmakers elected not to use a photo of the real Bess, but a photo of an unknown actress. Who is this mystery Bessie?

For once a Hollywood film does not portray Houdini as dying in the Water Torture Cell. However Death Defying Acts takes the punch in the stomach story to a new mythic level by having Houdini struck in public and dropping dead on the spot. The so credited "Montreal student", played by Justin Flagg, shouts "Trick or Treat" before he delivers the fatal blow. The punch, and Houdini's problematic appendix, are set-up throughout the film, but the depiction of his sudden death seems a bit lazy.

Produced for less than $20 million, Death Defying Acts was financed through the Australian Film Finance Corp., BBC Films and Myriad Pictures. After it was completed, The Weinstein Company bought the film after viewing a promo reel at the American Film Market, paying a reported $5.5 million for limited distribution rights. Myriad Pictures had already sold distribution rights in the U.K. to Lionsgate.

Death Defying Acts had its world premiere at the State Theater in Sydney Australia on March 10, 2008. A VIP after-party was held at the Zeta Bar at the Sydney Hilton. The film never saw a wide theatrical release in the U.S. Instead, the film played for only one week in two theaters: the Landmark’s Sunshine Cinema in New York and Manns Chinese Theater 6 in Hollywood (where I saw it on July 11, 2008).

The film actually received a good review in the Los Angeles Times, which stated; "Death Defying Acts is far more diverting and well crafted than its promotion-free release campaign might suggest. What the film loses in momentum as the romance takes over, it gains in sex appeal as its two attractive actors make their own kind of magic."

Death Defying Acts wasn't entirely "promotion-free". There was a novelization written by Greg Cox released by Pocket Books (left). This was only the second time a Houdini film was novelized (the first being The Great Houdinis in 1976). A CD soundtrack of the score by Cezary Skubiszewski was also released, and marked the first time a Houdini movie soundtrack made it into stores.

Death Defying Acts was released on DVD on October 28, 2008. The DVD packaging wisely carried a new subtitle, "Houdini's Secret". In some territories the title became Houdini's Death Defying Acts. The DVD includes commentary by director Gillian Armstrong and producer Marian MacGowan, and a Making Of documentary. A Blockbuster Exclusive DVD contained a short documentary, Houdini: The Man Behind The Magic, featuring the stars and filmmakers discussing the real Houdini.

Death Defying Acts is an interesting addition to the Houdini film canon. While maybe not the Houdini film we wanted for the 21st Century, its sincerity makes up for its flaws.

Death Defying Acts plays the Chinese 6 in Hollywood in 2008.

Also enjoy:

• HOUDINI (1953)
• The Great Houdinis (1976)
• Young Harry Houdini (1987)
• FairyTale: A True Story (1997)
• TNT's HOUDINI (1998)

Sony's Houdini project gets a writer and a familiar plot

Looks like one of the five competing Houdini projects in Hollywood is getting a writer. The Hollywood Reporter reports that screenwriter Scott Frank (Minority Report, Marley & Me) is in talks to write the Houdini movie set-up at Sony/Columbia Pictures. That's the good news.

The bad news is some plot details have been revealed, and it appears Columbia is heading down the well-trodden road of fiction instead of fact. According to the article, the film "will center on Harry Houdini‘s attempts to discredit a beautiful spiritualist, although he becomes obsessed with her and starts to believe she is actually the real deal."

So, basically, it's the same plot as Death Defying Acts. And we all saw how well that worked out. Ironically, The Hollywood Reporter says Columbia was convinced to revive the Houdini project by this "fresh take."

I confess, I'm pretty disappointed. I really hoped this film was going to be more of a true biopic, which would have separated it from the other projects, all of which are fictional takes. I'm also disappointed that most of the current Houdini projects in development focus on his spirit debunking instead of his career as a death-defying escape artist.

Jimmy Miller will produce through his Mosaic Media production company. Francis Lawrence (Water for Elephants) is attached to direct.

UPDATE: I now have it on pretty good authority that this plot description is incorrect. However, the plot that I heard (which I'm not at liberty to reveal) is even more fanciful and fictionalized.

The women who have played Bess

We end our special weekend long Bess Houdini birthday celebration with a look at how the great lady has been immortalized on stage and in film. Here are seven actresses who brought our Bessie back to life.

Janet Leigh

Janet Leigh (Houdini, 1953): What can one say about Janet Leigh, other than she was every bit as glamours as her co-star and real-life husband, Tony Curtis, and that's saying something! But did she make a good Bess? Well, for starters, Janet Leigh is a blond-haired, blue-eyed, curvaceous bombshell. The real Bess Houdini had dark hair, dark eyes, and was unusually small and slight of build. But, hey, the 1953 HOUDINI was hardly a biography that sought realism. Instead, this much-loved movie strove to capture the drama and glamour of the Houdini-Bessie story (and make no mistake, the movie is as much about her and him), and in that sense Janet Leigh is a perfect Bess.

When asked about the real Bess in a 1995 interview in MAGIC magazine, Janet Leigh said, "I think she was strong. Completely believing in him and helping in all ways. She obviously truly loved him. It was a great love story, as far as I could determine. At least that's what we tried to make it."

Judith Bruce (Man of Magic, 1966): Judith Bruce played Bess in the 1966 London stage musical, Man of Magic, where she received equal billing with leading men Stuart Damon (Houdini) and Stubby Kay. Bruce appears to have been one of the few highlights of the production, which closed after only 135 performances. Said one review: "At least Man Of Magic provides an opportunity to enjoy Judith (previously Judy) Bruce, one of the lost stars of the British musical theatre, understudied in the show by her sister Lucy Winters. Bruce, who during rehearsal balked at some of the frightening stunts she was asked to participate in (Fielding pooh-poohed her objections, but demurred after taking her place under a giant sawing pendulum) has a glass-edged attack in her opening number 'Floral Sisters' (with a sassy Gaye Brown), and brings her rare quality to everything she does, even if her three solos are unworthy of her."

Sally Struthers

Sally Struthers (The Great Houdinis, 1976): As much as I love Janet Leigh, I actually think Sally Struthers delivered the best performance as Bess, and probably came as close to capturing the real woman as we will ever get. Struthers seemed to embody the eerie combination of little girl and dark woman that Bess Houdini really was. This is because a better picture of Bess was starting to emerge in 1976. So in The Great Houdinis, we get a strong-willed, showbiz savvy Bess, dealing with always being the second most important woman in her husband's life. Along the way she develops a taste for alcohol and throws out more than a few curse words. Check. And while it’s up for debate how much open tension (if any) existed between Bess and Mama, I think anyone who knew Bessie Houdini would recognize her in Sally Struthers. It's a strong performance and an honest and empathetic tribute. And as Minnie says at the end of the film, "I believe the son-of-a-bitch loved her."

Viviane Thomas

Viviane Thomas (Houdini - A Circus Opera, 1979): Viviane Thomas played Bess when the Dutch production, Houdini - A Circus Opera, when it had it's U.S. debut at the Aspen Music festival in August 1979. Unfortunately, the reviews didn't have much to say about Thomas, instead they focused on Houdini, who was played by three different actors in the course of the evening; tenor Jerold Norman, dancer Daniel Lordon, and escape artist Mark Mazzarella (only 19 at the time). It is noted that at the end Bess gets to sing a dramatic solo number to her husband's departed spirit, saying that "Death is the door from which you will never escape." Door? They couldn't come up with a better metaphor than Door? Maybe something was lost in the translation. Jenny Veeninga played Bess in the original Dutch production in 1977.

Stacey Edwards

Stacy Edwards (Houdini, 1998): Each actress who has played Bess needs to accommodated themselves to the tone of the film, and I think Edwards does this marvelously in TNT's HOUDINI. Edwards gets to play both the sunny-sided Janet Leigh version as well as the later more tormented Sally Struthers take. But what Edwards brings that Struthers and Leigh didn't was a Bess who has showbiz ambitions of her own. Suppressing these dreams become part of her inner demons. That's a new aspect to Bess's character that could indeed be an accurate new insight.

Performance wise, Edwards is superb. She especially knocks it out of the park during the final scenes when Houdini comes back to her (or does he?). In abilities, Janet Leigh and Sally Struthers matched the actors who played their more famous husband (no small task when considering the charisma and acting chops of Tony Curtis and Paul Michael Glaser). But in Stacy Edwards' case, I believe she's the first Bess to surpass her Harry.

Kim Lores

Kim Lores (The Great Houdini, 1999): Chicago native Kim Lores played Bess on stage in the 1999 London Theater Works production of The Great Houdini with the great Jim Bentley. Lores and Bentley recreated several Houdini effects during the course of the show, including, as you can see on the right, Metamorphosis.

This was one I was fortunate enough to see when it played The Stella Adler Theater in Hollywood. From what I recall, the attractive Ms. Lores did a terrific job as Bess. In fact, I think by the time the evening ended, I had developed a Janet Leigh-level crush on her. How could I not? She was Bess!

Mystery Bess

Unknown actress (Death Defying Acts, 2008): While Bess does not appear in the latest Houdini movie, Death Defying Acts, her photograph does. Oddly enough, the filmmakers elected to use a photo of an unknown actress instead of a photo of the real Bess. So who is this mystery Bess? Afraid I don't have the answer. Do you?

My apologies to any other actresses who didn't make the list. These are the performances that I'm familiar with, but I'm certain there are scores of other Bessie's out there, particularly on stage. Please feel free to post any missed names and performance in my Comments.

This weekend we are Wild About Bess.

UPDATE:

Kristen Connolly

Kristen Connolly (Houdini, 2014): The latest actress to play Bess is Kristen Connolly who starred in the 2014 Houdini miniseries opposite Adrian Brody. Connolly is a beautiful and talented actress who had to work against screenwriter Nicholas Meyer's surprisingly chauvinistic script which presents Bess as ill-tempered and dim. Much is also made of Bess' pot-smoking and alcohol use in this dramatization, and at one point the filmmakers wanted to make her Irish (!). Despite this, Connolly is still able to shine, and in full costume and makeup, she truly channels Bess Houdini.

The alleged loves of Harry Houdini

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Death Defying Acts arrives in the East

Check out the attractive cover art for this multi-territory Chinese DVD release of Death Defying Acts.

Released to theaters in July 2008, Death Defying Acts starred Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Scottish psychic. While it is an entirely fictionalized episode in Houdini’s life, it’s a decent movie with excellent production design and performances.

Death Defying Acts released on DVD in the UK

Death Defying Acts is released today on DVD in the UK by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Priced at £15.99, the region 2 DVD features an anamorphic widescreen (1.78.1) transfer, Dolby Digital 5.1 audio and cast interviews.

Death Defying Acts stars Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Scottish psychic. While it is an entirely fictionalized episode in Houdini’s life, it’s a decent movie with excellent production design and performances.

Death Defying Acts can be purchased now at Amazon.co.uk.

UPDATE: The DVD is now on sale for only £3.99!