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

Cottingley Fairies photos sell for $26,674 at auction

CNN reports that two photographs which famously fooled Sir Arthur Conan Doyle into believing in fairies sold at a UK auction for £20,400 ($26,674), more than ten times their estimate.

The images of the "Cottingley Fairies" were taken by 16-year-old Elsie Wright and her nine-year-old cousin Frances Griffiths. The girls used hat pins and paper cutouts to stage the scenes near a stream in Elsie's garden. The photos caused a sensation in 1919 when their mother presented them to the Theosophical Society in Bradford as genuine.

A photo that shows Frances surrounded by four fairies sold for £15,000 ($19,620). The other showing Iris with a Gnome fetched £5,400 ($7,062).

Chris Albury, senior auctioneer and valuer for Dominic Winter Auctioneers in Cirencester, England, said the photographs "are surprisingly rare and much sought after." He added: "These two photographs are from 1917, but were likely printed for sale in 1920, to be sold at theosophical lectures advocating a belief in spiritualism."

In 1983 the elderly Elsie and Frances confessed that the photographs had been faked.

The 1997 film FairyTale: A True Story portrayed Houdini (Harvey Keitel) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Peter O'Toole) investigating the Cottingley Fairy phenomena. But in real life, Houdini was never involved in the investigation.

Fairy Photo: Dominic Winter Auctioneers.

Related:

• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• FairyTale: A True Story (1997)
• FairyTale now streaming on Netflix

FairyTale now streaming on Netflix

The 1997 movie FairyTale: A True Story is now available for streaming on Netflix. The movie features Harvey Kietel as Houdini and Peter O'Toole as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle investigating the infamous Cottingley Fairies phenomena.

If you've never seen the movie, it's well worth watching. It features wonderful performances by its two young leads, and also what I think is the most accurate portrayal of Houdini on film (maybe the only accurate portrayal). Actor Harvey Keitel strove for authenticity. He even spent time with Dorothy Young, who was last living person to have performed with Houdini, and from her learned how Houdini moved and spoke. I expect he also studied Houdini's silent films, because in many parts of the movie he appears to be almost mimicking Houdini's body movements.

The clip below shows Keitel nicely channeling Houdini with actress Florence Hoath.

CLICK HERE TO STREAM 'FAIRYTALE' ON NETFLIX

Thanks to Mark Willoughby for the alert.

Related:

• FairyTale: A True Story (1997)
• Dorothy Young remembers her days with Houdini
• The real story of Houdini & Doyle

Skirball screening FairyTale and The Great Houdinis in June

As part of their special programing for Houdini Art and Magic and Masters of Illusion exhibitions, the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles will present free screenings of FairyTale: A True Story (1997) on Tuesday, June 7 at 1:30 p.m., and The Great Houdinis (1976) on Tuesday, June 14 at 1:30 p.m. The Great Houdinis will be screened from a DVD.

For more information on the exhibitions and upcoming programs, visit the Skirball Cultural Center's official website.

FairyTale: A True Story (1997)

Harvey Keitel as Houdini. That's exciting! Harvey Keitel as Houdini in secondary role in a movie about two little girls and fairies? Less exciting. Nevertheless, that's the reality of FairyTale: A True Story, an underrated family film that was released on October 24, 1997 by Paramount.

Produced by Mel Gibson's ICON Entertainment and Wendy Finerman Productions, FairyTale: A True Story–originally titled One Golden Afternoon–tells the true story of Eisle Wright (Florence Hoath) and Frances Griffiths (Elizabeth Earl) who fooled the "experts" with photographs of paper cut-out fairies they claimed were real. Their greatest champion was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote an entire book in support of their pictures, The Coming of the Fairies. Looking at the photos today, it's astounding to think anyone took them seriously.

Houdini was never involved in the Cottingley investigations as depicted in this film, but his inclusion makes for good drama and a counterpoint to Conan Doyle, played here by the great Peter O'Toole. The film strives to be similar in tone as other '90s hits like A Little Princess and The Secret Garden. Unfortunately, the filmmakers elect to show the real fairies within the first ten minutes of the film. I think it would have been far more effective to have held off until the very moving final scene. But this isn't a review per se. We're here to talk Houdini!

FairyTale wasn't Keitel's first encounter with the master mystifier, something that was revealed by director Charles Sturridge. Keitel was originally set to play Houdini in the 1981 movie, Ragtime (the small part was ultimately played by Jeffrey DeMunn). So when Keitel came to the project, he had already done quite a bit of research on Houdini.

As part of his ongoing research, Keitel consulted with Dorothy Young, who worked as an assistant in Houdini's full evening show in 1925. Says Dorothy, "He sent his limo down for me to go up and have dinner with him, and I did Houdini's entrance for him about twenty times, and he studied the mannerisms." UK magician Simon Drake is also credited as "magic advisor to Mr. Keitel." His research appears to have paid off. In a review of the film for the L.A. Times, Kevin Thomas said, "Keitel is flat-out perfect for Houdini, intellectually and physically."

Keitel does make a good Houdini. I like that he plays a more low-key, kinder magician, showing more keen intelligence than bluster. The temptation of many is to play Houdini as always stern and intense, but Keitel is quick with a smile, which matches what we see of the real Harry in newsreels. He's also not out to expose the girls, as might have been the obvious way to go here. Instead, he subtlety encourages them to keep their secrets, as all "masters of illusion" do.

Wardrobe also helps Keitel put his Houdini across. The suit he wears through much of the film is a faithful reproduction of an outfit we see Houdini sporting in several publicity photos from period, right down to his elaborate lapel pin (which here appears to be a small pocket watch). However, for some reason, the filmmakers felt it necessary to give the actor a huge fake hawk nose, which is terribly distracting.

The film opens with an impressive recreation of the suspended straitjacket. Not only is the staging reminiscent of newsreel footage of Houdini doing the actual escape, but specific newsreel shots are authentically recreated. We also get to see Houdini's dressing room table with tribute card to Mama.

It's become almost a requirement that any movie featuring Houdini as a character must reenact his Water Torture Cell, and FairyTale is no exception. It's a pretty good reproduction at that, although the stage design is much more elaborate than what Houdini would have ever used.

Production designer Michale Howell explained his approach. "I wanted to show the intensity of the showmanship and how that was part of the creating the sense of mystery. There's the idea of danger. There's this big storm backcloth and all the water. It's much colder and frightening. Then among all that blue and the black and gray, there is this big red devil in the background that comes out of the sky."

Another treat for Houdini fans is the inclusion of Jim Collins played by Jason Salkey. While Franz Kukol could be spotted in The Great Houdinis (played by Patrick Culliton), this marks the first time Houdini's most trusted assistant and chief mechanic has been portrayed on screen. Bess, unfortunately, is absent. Producer Mel Gibson appears at the end of the film in an uncredited cameo.

FairyTale: A True Story seemed to not only slip under the radar of movie goers in 1997, but of magic enthusiasts as well. You'd think Harvey Keitel as Houdini would have drawn more attention? But Houdini really isn't the star of this film, and only months before FairyTale was released there was the announcement of a new, big budget Houdini movie to be directed by Paul Verhoeven and, possibly, starring Tom Cruise. That film never happened.

FairyTale is a sweet, well-made family film with two terrific performances by the young leads and a memorable Houdini in Harvey Keitel. Happily, it's also a film that can easily be discovered (or rediscovered) on DVD.

Three tricksters

One of the real Cottingley faire photos

Also enjoy:

• HOUDINI (1953)
• The Great Houdinis (1976)
• Young Harry Houdini (1987)
• TNT's HOUDINI (1998)
• Death Defying Acts (2008)