Chapter 23: A man in love with death
The entire premise of this series is to show how Houdini (1953) is more accurate than it is generally given credit for, and that nearly every scene contains embedded within it some real Houdini history. Now we come to a scene that contains no Houdini history whatsoever. It is entirely fictional. And it's my favorite scene in the film. It's just a beautifully written, directed, and performed piece of peak Hollywood cinema. So let's glory in it!
We open with Houdini walking down the street in front of the theater. He passes the large poster advertising his Pagoda Torture Cell, then heads for the backstage entrance. Dissolve to Houdini walking onto the stage of the empty theater. He approaches the finished Pagoda Torture Cell. He turns on a bubble effect, a perfect way to communicate its completion.
For the record, the real Water Torture Cell had no bubble effect. But maybe it should have! It looks pretty cool. When the real cell was displayed at the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame in Canada in the 1980s, a fish tank was placed inside to give it this bubble effect. However, the tank leaked, causing damage to the cell.
Houdini stands back, admiring his masterpiece. That's when he hears clapping. It's Bess, sitting far back in the seats. "I didn't want you to be without an audience," she says coolly as she continues to deliver a slow, mocking clap. The scene continues:
Harry: Cut it out.
Bess: Why? It's what you live for, isn't it?
Harry: What do you want me to do? The theater's sold out for tomorrow night.
Bess: Wherever you go, the theater will be sold out.
Harry: You make it sound like it's something terrible.
Bess: It is. People paying a dollar to see a man in love with death.
She resumes clapping.
This beautifully written exchange is shot in two single shots, further separating the characters. After a further exchange, Bess gets up to leave, but Harry calls out for her to wait.
We then get an extraordinary single shot. We're behind Bess as she stands, and can see all the way to the stage where Harry and the Pagoda Torture Cell stand. Harry grabs his coat, dashes off the stage, down the stairs, crosses the front row, and comes up the aisle directly towards Bess. As he nears, he throws his coat into the seats, grabs Bess by the shoulders, and turns her into a perfect profile two-shot, with the Pagoda Torture Cell visible on the stage behind them. They then deliver their dialogue with building emotion. In the end, Harry admits that without Bess, he wouldn't want to go on and agrees to "cut it out of the act."
If this were a modern movie, this would have been done in a series of shots. Heck, some modern directors would have covered it in several dozen quick cuts (you know who you are). But here, it's all done in one perfectly composed and perfectly performed shot. Yet there is no loss of momentum. In fact, the tension only heightens as Houdini nears Bess, and we see the determination on his face. And then for the actors to complete an entire page of dialogue is even more impressive. I'm amazed Tony Curtis isn't out of breath!
For many years, I wondered what theater this was filmed in. But recently, collector Ken Trombly showed me a collection of rare behind-the-scenes set photos, and I can now confirm that this wasn't a real theater at all. It was all built on a Paramount soundstage. In fact, all of Houdini (1953) was shot on the Paramount lot in Hollywood.
The final beat of this sequence is something I think many people forget is even in this movie. In fact, it's unclear whether it belongs to this scene or the following sequence. It seems to sit strangely on its own. But it is critical.
In Houdini's dressing room, we see Otto giving Harry a massage. Harry winces when Otto touches his stomach. Otto questions him about the pain, and Harry assures him, "It's nothing. It comes and goes." Otto suggests it might be his appendix. After first brushing it off, Harry agrees to have it checked out "after the tour."
In 1911, Houdini was diagnosed as having broken a blood vessel in his kidney. He suffered intermittent pain for the rest of his life. On one level, we could see this as a reference to that injury ("comes and goes"). However, the suggestion of it being his appendix is a different matter. Appendicitis is not something that comes and goes, and it's not something that should be delayed.
We are now back in the realm of real Houdini history. Famously, we know Houdini was suffering from appendicitis in the final days of his tour. We know Houdini delayed treatment, believing the pain in his stomach was caused by a punch. Therefore, the phantom pain here is vital to understanding what happens next.
It's the grand finale of Houdini (1953) and our series, but I will save that for Halloween.
