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Showing posts with label Myths. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Myths. Show all posts
Monday, February 23, 2026
LINK: Dunninger tells dramatic stories about Houdini’s Death
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Sunday, September 14, 2025
America: A History: Who is Harry Houdini?
Last month, I had the pleasure of being a guest on Liam Heffernan's America: A History podcast. Click below to listen on Apple or the website.
By the way, Liam says in his intro that Houdini "allegedly" went over Niagara Falls in a barrel. I had told him that was not true, and we had planned to debunk it in the course of the interview. But we never got around to it!
Friday, March 21, 2025
Deconstructing Houdini '53: Come in, spirits
Continuing my scene-by-scene dissection of Houdini (1953). Last time, we discovered what Houdini had been doing in seclusion for two whole years. Now, we join him in his strange quest to reach the Beyond...
Chapter 21: Come in, spirits
Most people fault Houdini (1953) for creating the myth of (spoilers!) Houdini dying in the Water Torture Cell. But the far more pernicious myth to come out of the film is the idea that Houdini's mother's death is what led directly to his involvement in spiritualism. The truth is Houdini's interest in spiritualism goes all the way back to the beginning of his magic career, and his crusade against fraud mediums came ten years after his mother's death. As far as I know, he did not attend any seances immediately after her demise.
However, his mother's death provides such a perfect narrative link to spiritualism that screenwriter Philip Yordan fused the two, and later screenwriters and documentarians all followed suit. Thus, the idea is still ingrained in the minds of the public today.
Having got that bit of business out of the way, let's go to a séance!
We drop into the scene mid-séance as Harry, Bess, and reporter Simms sit around a table with an unnamed medium played by Mabel Paige. She intones, "Come in, spirits. Come in, spirits." And they do! Spirit hands, a tambourine, and a spirit trumpet all float through the air. A veiled entity whips past the sitters. Mr. Simms looks ready to bolt, but Bess tells him to remain steady.
Suddenly, the French doors burst open, and the spirit of a woman floats just outside the window. The strains of "The Golden Years," which we first heard when Harry and Mama danced in Germany, mysteriously plays in the room. This manifestation is the grand finale as the medium wavers and then faints, her head falling atop the table with a thunk.
After the lights come on, the attendees discuss what they saw. Bess says the spirit in the garden "did bear a resemblance to Mama," and Houdini notes that the waltz they heard was his mother's favorite song. The medium tells them they are fortunate, as most first sessions produced nothing. "It usually takes several before the receptive vibration is established."
I always found it amusing that they only discuss the music and apparition in the garden and not the far more baffling manifestations that preceded this. Of course, those were done via optical effects in post-production. I would be interested to know if they even appear in the script. They may have been added after the fact to provide the séance with some more spooky thrills.
The French doors burst open again. This time, Otto comes in holding a man, Kit Guard, who has the "Mama" spirit apparition on his head. Houdini then pulls a microphone down from the chandelier. He then fishes under the table with his foot until he finds the trigger that starts the music, which is supplied by a phonograph hidden in a chair. Busted!
A bemused Simms asks Houdini if all mediums are fakes. Houdini quickly answers, "No, I'm sure there are those who are sincere and believe what they're doing. I just haven't found them yet."
This sentiment isn't too far from Houdini's real statements. However, I sense this line is in the movie to head off potential controversy. If so, it worked. As far as I know, Houdini (1953) did not draw any ire from the Spiritualism community.
As they depart, the medium looks to her accomplice and whacks him hard, barking, "Take that thing off!" Funny.
So did this kind of thing happen? Absolutely. However, it happened far less than most people think. While Houdini attended hundreds of séances, he rarely exposed mediums on the spot. He would generally thank the medium but say that he hadn't seen anything "evidentiary" and depart. However, there were a few high-profile exposés that did play out on the spot and drew headlines as a result.
Speaking of headlines, we now get Montage #3, beginning with the "What's become of Houdini?" layout now filled in with his spirit exposures. Notice there are dates visible on these newspaper pages. The first is dated March 2, 1922, which is pretty accurate to the start of Houdini's public activities related to Spiritualism.
If you look closely, you can see three illustrations from Houdini's Margery pamphlet on the page below. So, technically, the famous Margery does appear in Houdini '53!
We then see a headline touting Houdini's $25,000 challenge for proof of contact with the spirit world. This one is dated August 28, 1924, and is generally accurate, although Houdini's personal bounty was $10,000.
We end with a headline in Billboard dated September 11, 1925: "Houdini Returns to Magic: Goes on Tour." Notice the cigar in the astray and the shadow of the telephone, suggesting this is the desktop of a showbiz bigshot. Martin Beck or E.F. Albee maybe?
While the date here is accurate to the launch of Houdini's first "3 Shows in One" tour, spiritualism remained a big part of his life and act. But as far as Houdini '53 is concerned, his time among the spirits is now over.
Want more? I have a special epilogue to this installment on my Patreon. Click below for a quick trip to the afterlife.
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
David Blaine will give up stunts at 52, like Houdini
"Harry Houdini, who has always been my favorite and a big inspiration for so many things, died when he was 52," says David. "I've always thought 52 should be the mark, you don't want to push until the point that you break. So I have a few more years of pushing and then I'm going to shift to what people like to see me do more, which is just magic and bringing that to kids in hospitals, which I love doing."
He also revealed that he is currently planning his final stunt. "There's one that's a culmination of everything I've ever done that I'm obsessed with but it's a pretty over the top ambitious idea, so I'm trying to put it together, and it will be my last one."
As we know, David frequently states in interviews that Houdini died in his Water Torture Cell. This time he parsed it somewhat, saying, "[Houdini] had done the water tank, collapsed on stage because he didn't want to disappoint the audience even though he had severe stomach pains and then he was rushed to the hospital and died."
You can listen to the entire interview on Spotify.
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
The Haunted Mystery of Waterbury's Palace Theatre
Here is a very well-researched video from Dr. Daryn Reyman-Lock at the Barnum Museum exploring the story of Shirley the Elephant and Houdini's connection to the Palace Theater in Waterbury, Connecticut. I'll let you discover it yourself by clicking below.
Be sure to give the video a Like. For more, check out the Barnum Museum on YouTube and its official website. After all, Houdini was an admirer of Barnum!
Friday, December 13, 2024
My thoughts on Disney's Houdini project news
I know I'm on a holiday break, but I felt I had to drop back in to comment on the news of a Houdini project in development at Disney. According to a report at Deadline, Becoming Houdini is a "spy thriller" about "Houdini’s undercover work for his adopted homes of Britain and America."
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Here's the comment I've left on the story. It doesn't appear to have been approved, so I will share it here. Feel free to quote, copy, or steal:
While Houdini was friendly with law enforcement and did advise police at times, the idea that Houdini was some sort of super spy is an idea that has little grounding in fact.It is true that Houdini was friends with William Melville of Scotland Yard, who is said to have operated an informal, early version of British Intelligence. Houdini appears to have provided Melville with two "reports" while he was in Germany in 1900 and 1902. Does that make him a spy? Kinda! But that's it. Everything beyond this is pure speculation, with no secret missions, assassins, and no connection to U.S. intelligence whatsoever.Houdini had a brilliant career as the world’s foremost magician, escape artist, and debunker of fraudulent spirit mediums. It’s a shame to see Disney forgoing his fascinating real life in favor of salacious pseudo-history that is more the stuff of the History Channel.Good title, though!
It might not be all bad. The article states that the film is "set to be written by Michael Finch and Alex Litvak," which means this was likely just a pitch sale and a long way from becoming an actual movie. Plenty of time for them to find a better approach.
Okay, back to the hot tub.
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Saturday, November 16, 2024
Deconstructing Houdini '53: Under the Ice
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.
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Breaking the ice in 1959
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| Detroit Free Press, Aug. 2, 1959. |
Ironically, this article ends with a new myth about how Houdini may have escaped from the Mirror Handcuffs. It's Houdini myth whack-a-mole!
Of course, the best depiction of the under-the-ice myth is in the 1953 Houdini biopic starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. Coincidently, that sequence is the topic of the next "Deconstructing Houdini '53," which I will be posting this Saturday.
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Tuesday, October 15, 2024
The Legend of Houdini with Greg Chapman
Magician Greg Chapman will debut his new show, The Legend of Houdini, at Alvechurch Village Hall in Birmingham, England, on October 23, 2024. Below are details.
Even though Harry Houdini passed away nearly 100 years ago, he remains one of the most famous magicians the world has known. This is mostly because Houdini, as well as being a respected magician and escape artist, was above all a wonderful self publicist.Never one to let the truth get in the way of a good story, especially one about himself, Houdini created his own legend.Now, modern magician and escape artist Greg Chapman (creator and performer of The Non-Psychic ‘Psychic’ Show and writer of Greg and Felicity’s History of Magic) is taking to the stage with a new show, in which he performs effects and escapes inspired by Houdini, and shares some of the stories, both true and… exaggerated… that make up The Legend of Houdini!£1 from every ticket sold for this show will be donated to Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center, Costa Rica.
You can purchase tickets at Ticket Source.
Greg will be touring The Legend of Houdini throughout the UK. You can see a list of upcoming shows HERE.
Thursday, November 30, 2023
The enduring mystery of David Blaine
I'll just share this here without much comment. It speaks for itself. I was perplexed when David said this back in 2018, and I remain perplexed that he's still saying it today.
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David is an admirer of Houdini, so he must know this isn't true, right? Or could the drama of the Tony Curtis movie somehow be stuck in his head? I guess David Blaine is just doing what David Blaine does best. Baffling us!
Thanks to Dave Thomen for this clip.
Related:
- Is David Blaine reviving a Houdini myth?
- David Blaine's Beautiful Struggle started with Houdini
- The biggest myth
Thursday, August 10, 2023
Hungry for an unseen Houdini image?
I've shared to Patreon today a photo of Houdini like you've never seen him before. Click below and gobble it up!
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Houdini freezes the Detroit river in 1912
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| The Washington Post, Feb. 11, 1912. |
While I've not done an exhaustive search, I believe this might be the first mention of any bridge jump into a frozen river through a hole cut in the ice. Here it's the Belle Isle bridge in Detroit in 1906. That was a real jump, but the river was not frozen nor was it Christmas day. Still, this appears to be the genesis of the famous myth of Houdini being trapped under the ice of a frozen river.
Houdini would tell that story in full for the first time (as far as I know) in an article he wrote for the September 1918 issue of The American Magazine called "The Thrills in the Life of a Magician". But now he relocates the action to Pittsburg and doesn't provide a specific date. It's also become an overboard box escape instead of a handcuffed bridge jump.
The dramatic story was picked up by newspapers at the time, including the Boston Sunday Post below (click to enlarge):
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| Boston Sunday Post, Sept. 1, 1918 |
Houdini told the tale again in his 1919 article for Hearst's magazine, "Nearly Dying for a Living". But it's interesting to note that this story, as with other Houdini mythology, does not appear in any of his pitchbooks. It seems to me that Houdini made a distinction between disposable media, such as newspapers and magazines, and what he considered to be the official record. His pitchbook does record that he had to "break through the ice" during a bridge jump in Breman, Germany, which is likely true. That jump was made during a snow storm.
Later biographies made no such distinction, and the full under the ice drama became part of the official record with the publication of Houdini His Life Story by Harold Kellock in 1928. Interestingly, Kellock moves the action from Pittsburg back to the Belle Isle bridge in Detroit in 1906.
Then, of course, the 1953 biopic Houdini starring Tony Curtis dramatized the incident (beautifully) and cemented it in the minds of the public. In the movie the location remained the Detroit river, but the day was changed to Halloween(!). Also, as in Houdini's telling, it's an overboard box escape.
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| Houdini (1953) |
The first doubt was cast on the story by William Lindsay Gresham in his 1959 biography Houdini The Man Who Walked Through Walls. Ironically, Gresham had been one of the recent propagators of the myth, publishing an account with fresh embellishments in SAGA magazine the previous year. But Gresham credited Robert Lund with tracking down the original newspaper accounts of the Belle Isle stunt and calls out the inconstancies, namely that the Detroit river was not frozen. He writes:
The river was not frozen over, Houdini had a rope tied around him all the time, he got out of two pairs of cuffs and was picked up by a boat! As for escaping from under the ice—as Tom Sawyer would say, "He just let on he done it."
The story largely disappears from Houdini books after that.
However, Hollywood doesn't let the truth get in the way of a good story, and the full under the ice drama was resurrected in the 2014 Houdini miniseries biopic starring Adrian Brody, this time relocating it to the Eads bridge in St. Louis. But by this point no one was fooled.
It's fun to see how this all appears to have started in Houdini's mind back in 1912 as a way to add some color to an interview. He understood what reporters wanted!
Clipping source: Newspapers.com.
Thursday, May 5, 2022
"The New Houdini" and an old myth
As far as I know, the myth that Houdini died in his Water Torture Cell began with the 1953 Houdini biopic starring Tony Curtis. But the myth was carried forward by a public who didn't know any better, and by magicians who should. Below is what might be one of the first examples of the latter.
Here we see someone billing themselves as "The New Houdini" performing "The Death Defying Act That Ultimately Took the Life of The Great Houdini." The poster artwork, showing two axe-wielding assistants hacking at the cell's glass, is actually pretty impressive. The performer himself is in the foreground with his feet up in stocks above what I think is the partially water-filled tank below.
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| Click to enlarge. |
I don't know anything about this performer, and I don't know anything more about this photo. In fact, I'm not even sure where I got it. (If this belongs to you, let me know, and I will credit it.) I'm also assuming this photo is post 1953. But if this pre-dates the Curtis movie...well, that would be very interesting.
Check out the links below for some other times the myth of Houdini's Water Torture Cell demise was presented as fact.
UPDATE: Looks like we have the answer as to who the performer was here.
Sunday, October 31, 2021
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
Saturday, August 7, 2021
Review: Man Vs History Vs Houdini
Instead of a standard biography or rehash of the well-trodden spy and murder conspiracies, this episode tackles two specific claims, both rooted in reality, of how Houdini may have accomplished his feats. This first is Houdini's own claim that he dislocated his shoulders to escape from a straitjacket. The second is the recently uncovered claim by Hardeen that a bullet in his brother's hand allowed him unique dexterity in slipping off handcuffs.
Lepp's investigation brings him to Houdini collector Roger Dreyer and escape artist Matt Johnson. The interview with Roger gives us our first look inside his new Houdini Museum. Lepp also consults with a hand specialist, Dr. Daniel Osei, regarding Houdini's famous bullet injury.
Matt Johnson performs a suspended straitjacket escape at the Garret Mountain Reservation in New Jersey. I'm happy to report that he puts the jacket on as Houdini did and does not cheat it with a straitjacket fail. Good work Matt!
Lepp ultimately concludes that both claims are likely more showmanship than fact. He also quotes Houdini himself as saying, "I can dislocate my shoulders. But I do it the more complicated way without dislocating my shoulders."
Overall, the show was well researched with nice use of photos and film footage. If I had any complaint it would be that the episode wasn't all about Houdini. There is a second segment about Annie Edson Taylor's plunge over Niagara Falls in a barrel. However, this was pretty interesting in itself, and there is a Houdini-Annie connection which you can read about HERE.
Related:
No doubt this episode will repeat on HISTORY. But you can also stream it at the Man Vs History website or purchase it at Amazon Prime Video.
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Wednesday, June 9, 2021
Who Is Houdini? (Photoplay, June 1920)
Last night I stumbled on The1920sChannel on YouTube, and by coincidence they had just uploaded a video related to Houdini. In it they read a profile of Houdini in the June 1920 Photoplay magazine. I like how the reporter talks about meeting Houdini at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA. As we know, Houdini stayed there in November 1919 while filming the underwater scenes for Terror Island at nearby La Elliotta Springs. (The Mission Inn is still there and even has a drink named after Houdini.)
Houdini certainly dishes out the mythology here, putting fresh spins on some of his old origin stories. Notice how the convict in cuffs is now "the son of a prominent banker" (just another reason to doubt the whole locksmith episode). And I've lost count of how many versions there are of how he and Bess met. But the idea of Houdini, Hollywood Star, spouting this stuff while sitting in the sunshine at the Mission Inn...it's just so good.
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