How would you like to spend the 100th Anniversary of Houdini's death at a séance inside his actual house? For the first time in over 50 years, a series of séances will be held inside Houdini's private New York home (278) on Halloween. Click the ad below to go to the dedicated website houdini.nyc for more information and to purchase a ticket. Participation is very limited.
I am honored to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime event. I will be giving a short Houdini presentation at each session. So you know, this is not a show. This is a legitimate attempt to contact Houdini using psychic medium Jodi-Lynn, who greatly impressed participants of The Official Houdini Séance in 2022. This is a black-tie affair in the epicenter of Houdini's world. If Houdini was ever going to come back, I think this will be the time and place!
The event is being organized by magician Reynold Alexander and the homeowners. All proceeds benefit cancer research at the Anandasabapathy Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine and the restoration and preservation of Houdini's House.
CONCLUDING my scene-by-scene dissection of Houdini (1953) on this, the 99th anniversary of Houdini's death. Last time, Harry agreed to cut his Pagoda Torture Cell from his Halloween show. But can he resist giving the audience "more?"
Chapter 24: The End
It's Halloween!
Houdini has returned to the stage and is giving the audience thrills that made him famous. We drop into the full evening show as Houdini escapes from a barrel. Applause greets Harry's appearance from the cabinet. By the way, the Halloween imagery we see on the stage is accurate. Houdini used Halloween-like iconography during his final tours (see this poster).
We then move quickly to the next escape as Otto announces, "Houdini has been challenged to escape from a steel straitjacket." For some reason, Otto is the one who does all the talking onstage. This is certainly not accurate, but I like how it harkens back to the buzzsaw scene at Coney Island.
Two men in the audience come forward with the steel jacket. (If anyone knows the names of these actors, I'd love to hear it.) This scene is a favorite as the steel straitjacket has become iconic in its own right. Dunninger provided the prop and claimed it was used by Houdini himself. But I've found no evidence of this. By the way, "Here goes the coat again," is something the real Houdini would sometimes say onstage.
As always, the magic is performed for real in a single shot. Under the cover of his cape, Houdini/Tony Curtis is free in less than a minute. "Better luck next time," he says to the stunned men. It's great stuff, but I don't love the decision to lay in sound effects during his escape. Also, if you have a keen eye, you will see that part of the gaff is exposed as Houdini hands the jacket back to the men.
Houdini is then brought his traditional magician's cape and top hat, two things the real Houdini never wore onstage, but it neatly evokes his stature as THE Master Magician. He then gives his farewell address:
"You're really a wonderful audience, and I do want to thank you for this heartwarming welcome you've given me on my return to the stage. I do hope I pleased you, and that you'll be coming back to see me again and again. And each time you do come back, I promise you bigger and better thrills. Good night, and thank you very much."
As Houdini leaves the stage, the audience begins to shout for "more." Mixed into the applause are some shouts, "What about the Torture Cell? Why don't you do what you promised?" Houdini hears this as he heads into the wings. "Don't listen to them, they are never satisfied," says Otto. Houdini then steps into a nice close-up and says, "I can't." He tells Otto to, "Get the Torture Cell ready."
Houdini dashes into his dressing room and quickly prepares for the encore. He turns sharply and collides with the blunt handle of a prop sword. Right in the appendix! He collapses in pain. This is our substitute for the famous punch from J. Gordon Whitehead, who was still alive when this movie was made. I've heard it said that this is why the filmmakers decided not to dramatize the punch incident itself.
In the auditorium, the curtains re-opens on the bubbling Pagoda Torture Cell as the orchestra plays an ominous waltz. Bess dashes from her box as Houdini appears on stage in his bathing suit. The men who just challenged Houdini are invited back on stage to assist, but this time there is no levity. The mood is as somber as a funeral.
As Houdini is secured in the stocks and raised above the cell, we intercut with Bess, trying to get to the stage, but the doors are locked. She bangs on the glass, but cannot be heard. Back on stage, Houdini takes several deep breaths, then he goes down into the cell as the clock and Otto begin to count off the seconds.
We have some nice Houdini POV shots of the audience through glass. But how I wish these shots were upside down! (See below). Interestingly, the curtain does not conceal the cell entirely; it only conceals the top. There is some evidence that Houdini did perform a version of the Water Torture Cell that was partially visible to the audience.
Having given up on the stage door, Bess now runs around to the front of the theater and enters through the main doors. Meanwhile, things on the stage are not going as planned. Houdini seems unable to maneuver in the confined space. He grits his teeth and appears to grow frantic. That's when Bess appears in the back of the house, just in time to see her husband fall limp with a stream of bubbles flowing from his mouth. Bess screams.
Otto then uses a fire axe to smash the cell glass in a spectacular shot. It appears actor Torin Thatcher is doing this himself, which seems pretty risky. Houdini's limp body is dragged from the cell as pandemonium erupts and the curtains close.
As Houdini is lying on the stage, Bess appears at his side. Houdini coughs and says weakly, "I'll come back, Bess. If there's a way, I'll come back. I'll come back."
Wait a minute!
Time out. The number one criticism of Houdini (1953) is that it depicts Houdini dying in his Pagoda Torture Cell. But that's not what happens here. If Houdini can talk, he's not drowned. He's alive and, presumably, he will now go to the hospital, where it will be discovered that his appendix has ruptured. So he will die in the hospital due to the results of a ruptured appendix, just as he did in real life. All we saw here was an accident, which is not entirely fictional. Houdini did have an accident in the Water Torture Cell during his last days, although not as dramatic as the one depicted here.
The entire premise of this series is that when you put each scene of this movie under the microscope, it is actually far more accurate than it is given credit for. This biggest "inaccuracy" and is actually the best example of this. And it is the last.
Okay, back to the movie.
"I'll come back, Bess. I'll come back."
Of course, this is a reference to the pact Houdini and Bess made that if it were possible to come back from the dead, he would try to do so. As Houdini repeats his promise, the camera moves away, traveling like a ghost past onlookers who seem frozen in place -- frozen in time. The camera drifts into the backstage area and settles on an old but familiar poster of the young Houdini from "Schultz's Dime Museum," and we understand just how far he has come and how high he has risen in this mysterious world of magic. Over this image appears: "The End."
There are no credits; just a repeat of the Paramount logo. Then fade to black.
Here's a standing ovation for the greatest Houdini biopic of them all. Houdini (1953). May it live forever!
It was 99 years ago today that Houdini gave his final performance at the Garrick Theater in Detroit on October 24, 1926. Here is a review of that show that ran in the Detroit Free Press the following day. The reviewer, Philip N. O'Hara, was unaware of the drama that was unfolding backstage. But it's clear from his review that not all was right that night. A remarkable and, yes, somewhat spooky review in hindsight.
Houdini was booked for two weeks at the Garrick, but only played this one day. By the time this review appeared, he was at Grace Hospital fighting for his life.
Duffy Hudson brings his Houdini one-man show to the Palmdale Playhouse in Halloween with Houdini: The Life and Work of the Great Harry Houdini, October 31, 2025.
Join us for a mesmerizing one-man show that brings the legendary escape artist to life! The Great Houdini takes center stage to recount his rise to fame, his lifelong fascination with magic and the death-defying feats that made him a legend.
Don't miss out on an unforgettable evening of magic and mystery!
The Official Houdini Séance will be held this year at House of Magic in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The seance is open to the public, but seating is limited. An old-fashioned spook show will precede the seance. Below is this year's press release.
Nearly a century after Harry Houdini’s death, a group of magicians, historians, and spiritualists with gather in Pennsylvania to attempt what the famed escape artist once promised: Can the dead return?
The Official Houdini Séance will be held at 10 pm on October 31, 2025, at The House of Magic in Glenside, PA.
Fifteen days after performing at the Chestnut Street Theater in Philadelphia, Houdini died on Halloween in 1926 at Grace Hospital in Detroit at 1:26 pm, the result of peritonitis. Before his passing, he promised that if communication from the beyond were possible, he would find a way to prove it.
After his death, Houdini’s widow Bess held annual séances for ten years, culminating in a nationally broadcast attempt from the rooftop of the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood in 1936. Declaring, “Ten years is enough to wait for any man,” she ended her public efforts, but others have continued the tradition.
“Houdini told his brother that if he were able to return in a material way, he would open a unique set of handcuffs,” said séance director Bill Radner of West Springfield, MA. “Those handcuffs, along with other Houdini memorabilia, will be placed on the séance table this year.”
The séance will be led by trance medium Scott Wells of Ft. Worth, TX, with participants hoping for a breakthrough unlike any before.
“We are a very determined group,” Radner added. “We look forward to making contact this year.”
For more Official Houdini Séance information, please contact Bill Radner, 413-531-3333 or email rendar1@aol.com.
While Houdini never performed in Glenside, he did appear with the Welsh Bros Circus for three memorable days in nearby Norristown (covered in Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini, 1897-1899). And, of course, Philadelphia was a major Houdini city where he appeared many times. So I'd say his spirit is in the air!
You can purchase tickets for The Official Houdini Séance 2025 at the House of Magic website.
Thanks to Ken Hallgring and Tom Boldt for the alert.
The famed Winchester Mystery House in San Jose is offering several special "Festival Fright Nights" tour experiences in October, including one themed to Houdini. Here are the details:
Can the Dead speak to the Living? Witness a diabolical secret hidden within an astounding display of magical arts, as legendary magician Harry Houdini mysteriously disappears before a séance rehearsal at Llanada Villa. Surrounded by magic memorabilia and props infamously used to disprove the existence of spirits, Houdini’s assistant invites several lucky participants to the séance table for the ultimate demonstration of staged paranormal trickery. Of course, Llanada Villa is no ordinary stage… and this is no ordinary séance. When avid spiritualist Sarah Winchester departed from the mortal realm, the ancient supernatural forces long kept at bay beneath her beloved home grew restless, waiting for a fresh voice to call out in the dark. Tonight, Houdini’s voice will challenge the unknown, all in the name of magic; if seeing is believing, even the toughest nonbelievers may leave this exclusive performance questioning.
You can book the "Do Spirits Return?" experience via the Winchester Mystery House official website. It will be available through November 1st.
Thanks to Laurie Sippel and Bruce Averbook for the pic.
It was 49 years ago today that I first saw Houdini (1953), and it changed my life. What better day to continue my scene-by-scene dissection of the movie. Last time, Harry became an American sensation. But has he gone too far...
Chapter 18: Under the Ice
The following scenes are linked as one sequence, so I will treat them all in one post. This is arguably the most memorable sequence in the entire movie. It's certainly the most harrowing! But did any of it ever happen? Let's dive in.
We open with a procession of bellboys delivering buckets of ice to Houdini's hotel room. A strategically placed sign informs us this is Halloween Eve. The bellboys go into Houdini's bathroom and empty their buckets into the tub where Houdini lies in freezing water under a mound of ice. Otto tells the curious bell captain (Mike Mahoney) that Houdini is "going to jump into the Detroit River tomorrow."
Detroit? Halloween? This is starting to sound ominous.
Houdini in a tub of ice is a strange sight but a perfectly accurate one. Houdini did take extremely cold ice baths to prepare himself for his outdoor water escapes. However, Houdini did them at home under the watch of his doctor brother (Leopold) instead of in a hotel room. It's also unlikely that Houdini's baths had this much ice, but it's a great visual.
A flustered Bess enters and is taken aback by the entire scene. Notice Bess is dressed in all black -- a widow before the fact. She pulls Harry from the tub (or, rather, she tells Otto to pull him from the tub) and tells him the Detroit River is frozen over and he will have to cancel the stunt. Harry looks to Otto, who says casually, "We'll cut a hole in the ice."
Once again, we see Otto as a dark enabler, finding ways for Houdini to push into the higher realms of magic and death defiance. Bess is mortified by the idea, but Harry is delighted and even jokes about it. "If I had you with me under that ice, I bet we could set a new record." But then Bess cautions him that tomorrow is Halloween. "That's not your day." Houdini steels himself and says, "To me, it's just another Thursday."
This is a significant moment and a big change in Houdini's character. In his youth, Harry recognized the role fate played in his life, telling Bess, "Something strange always happens to me on Halloween." Now Bess is warning him that fate may be trying to send him a message. But Harry ignores them both.
Is his skepticism due to hubris, or has he simply outgrown his youthful beliefs? The real reason may be expressed in his line, "The theater has advertised it for weeks; I can't back out now." He doesn't want to disappoint his audience. But we can't help but feel Houdini is entering into a stunt that is reckless in more ways than one.
We now dissolve to a beautiful shot (or rather, a beautiful matte painting by Jan Domela) showing the frozen Detroit River and what is, presumably, the Belle Island Bridge. Despite Otta saying Houdini would "jump" into the river, we see he's being manacled and locked into a steel box. Technical advisor Dunninger provided this box and claimed it was used by Houdini himself. However, there is no record of Houdini ever using a steel case for his overboard box escapes. (This box survives and is today displayed at the Laurel Canyon Houdini Estate.)
A construction crane hoists the box up and out over the bridge. But as it is being lowered, the chain breaks and the box plunges through the hole in the ice with no safety line attached. This was all staged in the water tank on the Paramount backlot, and it's sensational!
While panic ensues on the surface, we see the steel box land on the river bottom. After a moment's beat, Houdini emerges from behind it. This is similar to footage of the real Houdini escaping from an underwater box in The Master Mystery and Terror Island. This isn't by accident. The filmmakers had access to a print of Terror Island in the Paramount archives and studied it. Houdini producer George Pal even showed the scenes back to back on the television show You Asked For It.
Houdini swims to the surface only to find that he has been swept downstream under the ice sheet. He can not find the exit. He is trapped under the ice! He swims with growing panic until he finds a pocket of air. He takes a few merciful breaths, then plunges down and continues his search for the hole. This is every bit as frightening as it sounds!
Meanwhile, on the surface, Bess tells Otto, "I know he's in trouble. He should have been out by now." Otto orders hooks to be dropped into the water. The hooks snag the box and haul it to the surface. But when the box is opened, Houdini is not inside. Bess faints as Otto orders the lines dropped back into the water in the hopes that "he might see them."
We dissolve to several minutes later when it is clear Houdini has not been found. Reporters are leaving the scene with one saying forlornly, "Guess we got a headline." Another dissolve takes us to Otto, now standing alone by the hole in the ice, waiting for a miracle as the cold wind blows his coat. A magnificent shot.
Okay, a quick fact check. Houdini did jump handcuffed from the Belle Island Bridge in Detroit in very cold temperatures in November 1906. But the river wasn't frozen. Houdini himself created the myth of being trapped under the ice. When Houdini (1953) was made, the story was believed to be true. It's in the Harold Kellock book, Houdini: His Life Story, on which this movie is based. It wasn't until 1959 that the true facts of the Belle Island Bridge jump came to light. So we can't fault the filmmakers for including this and embedding it into people's minds to this day. It's just so dang powerful!
Too bad Houdini is dead and our story is at an end.
Over the Halloween week, I had the pleasure of appearing on two of my favorite podcasts. First up is our friend Scott Wells and his very popular The Magic Word Podcast. Scott is now uploading his podcasts to YouTube, so if you can stand watching me, that is embedded below. But you can also get and subscribe to The Magic Word Podcast audio only at the official website or via your preferred podcatcher.
I also stopped in for a Halloween chat with my great pals Brian and Lauren at Transatlantic History Ramblings. Same drill. You can listen on their website or subscribe via a podcather. Brian wants me to warn folks that the first section of the podcast, in which he and Lauren discuss issues of the day, is NSFW. My interview starts at 36:00.
It was 100 years ago today on October 29, 1924, that Houdini gave his spiritualism lecture at the Victory Theatre in San Jose, California. This was Houdini's only visit to the city. A review of the lecture in the San Jose Mercury News began:
A missionary with a message of sanity and common sense, Houdini, a powerfully built little man in a dress suit, left no doubt in the minds of an audience at the Victory theatre last night that so-called mediums are despicable frauds. It was a wonderful evening's entertainment, the best San Jose has offered in a long time.
During the lecture, SAM member Fred P. Faltersack came onstage to assist Houdini in demonstrations. Faltersack worked at the nearby Winchester Mystery House, the world's most vivid example of how belief in spiritualism can overtake a person's life. After the lecture, Faltersack gave Harry and Bess a midnight tour of the sprawling property. Houdini was reportedly impressed with Mrs. Winchester's seance chamber. The next day, Houdini and company left for San Fransisco.
I recently took a quick trip to San Jose and had a chance to visit the various Houdini locations in the city. There's more than you might think!
First up was the site of The Victory Theatre at 45 N 1st Street (the address later changed to 57 N 1st). The Victory later became a movie theater and was renamed The Crest. In October 1953, it played the Tony Curtis Houdini biopic. So I guess Houdini returned after all! It's fun to think that someone who saw Houdini at The Crest may have also seen the real Houdini there in 1924.
The Crest remained a popular San Jose cinema until 1965, when it burned to the ground. The fire was attributed to two teenage boys. The theater was never rebuilt.
Today, the site of the Victory/Crest is a parking lot. Ironically, an escape room currently sits at the end of the block.
Just one block over from the Victory is the site of the Empire Theater at 23 N 2nd Street. Hardeen appeared here twice in July and November 1908. The theater closed in 1926. Today, an attractive building stands on the spot, but it's unclear if this is the original theater building. (I don't think it is.)
San Jose Mercury, Nov 17, 1908
Not far from the sites of the Victory and Empire is the still-active Jose Theater at 62 S. Second Street. The Jose's vertical sign once hung outside the Victory/Crest. It was moved and re-lettered after the Victory's destruction in 1965. Theater lore holds that Houdini performed here, but I think it's being confused with the Victory. However, Terror Island played here in 1920, so it still qualifies as a Houdini location to me!
Evening News, June 11, 1920.
San Jose once again became the center of Houdini activity when the PCAM (Pacific Coast Association of Magicians) held its annual convention at the Civic Auditorium in July 1938. Bess was an honored guest and featured in their big show inside the Mongomery Theater. Here, on July 21, 1938, it was proclaimed that Halloween would henceforth be known as National Magic Day in honor of Houdini.
Evening News, July 19, 1938.
The San Jose Civic Auditorium and Mongomery Theater still stand today. So does the Hotel Sainte Claire (today the Westin), where Bess and Ed Saint stayed during the convention. The hotel sits just across the street from the Auditorium at 302 South Market Street.
Finally, the Winchester Mystery House still stands and is a very popular San Jose landmark and tourist attraction. They are proud of their Houdini connection. In their archives, they have a 1924 newspaper clipping that Houdini signed and sent to the house after his visit. A large Houdini poster also hangs in one of their dining rooms.
George Hardeen at the Winchester Mystery House in 2024.
There was a plan to hold a Houdini Seance at the Winchester Mystery House during the 1938 PCAM convention to be attended by Bess and conducted by Ed Saint. The seance was announced in newspapers and magic magazines. But it never happened. In 1976, a local SAM chapter held a 50th Anniversary Houdini seance in the house.
Genii, July 1938. The seance never happened.
This week, Houdini seances will be held in Appleton, Scranton, Las Vegas, Chicago, and more. But if you ask me, I think this year Houdini's spirit can be found in San Jose!
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