![]() This is presumably the 1936 final Houdini seance which was held on the roof of the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood. The framing device for HOUDINI is a live radio seance. But it is nice that part of the dramatic arc for Theo in this film is to forgive his older brother for stealing the spotlight, and it's effective when he "exposes" the final Houdini seance just as Bess is starting to believe. This film also sets up a class division between the two, with Houdini performing before royalty and Hardeen performing at a Union Hall. "It would be just too confusing two Houdinis," Harry tells him. Here Houdini creates "Hardeen" as a way to repress his brother's own magic ambitions. But as with Houdini's relationship with his mother, the filmmakers twist the brothers relationship for their own dramatic needs. Hardeen gets a larger role in HOUDINI than he's ever had in any biopic. Even Houdini’s authorship of The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin is given a mention. Jim Collins (Karl Makinen) and Martin Beck (George Segal) play their critical rolls in Houdini’s life and career. We also get to see the death bed promise young Ehrich makes to his father. In HOUDINI we see them come together as fellow performers Bessie as part of the Floral Sisters and Harry performing with brother Theo as The Houdini Brothers (okay, they were “The Brothers Houdini,” but that’s a quibble). It's the first Houdini film to give an accurate account of how he and Bess met. While Houdini takes plenty of dramatic license (Houdini’s mother never kissed or held him?), it still does a good job of weaving in Houdini history. But as Bessie says in the film, “I fell in love with Ehrich Weiss. Of course, it also makes him less likable and more alienating. Certainly in this way Schaech’s manic and abrasive Houdini is far different from Tony Curtis or Paul Michael Glaser. Notably, HOUDINI is the first Houdini biography to tackle and dramatize the issue of Houdini’s egotism. Production design is magnificent, as is the musical score, and while not the best of the Houdini biopics, it has much to recommend it. Shimada also makes a cameo appearance as a street magician. HOUDINI, which was filmed under the title, Believe, stars Johnathon Schaech as Houdini, Stacy Edwards as Bess, and Mark Ruffalo as Theo (Hardeen). The network even broadcast two “encore” presentations immediately after the debut. The film was supported with strong advertising, making the broadcast a cable television event. ![]() Also included is a history of the production, reviews, and rare photos of the real Houdini in action.On Sunday, December 6, 1998, writer/director Pen Densham (who produced the 1979 documentary, Houdini Never Died) realized a dream when his cable film HOUDINI aired as a “TNT Original” movie. But what was fact and what was fiction? Was Houdini really a spy? Did he have an affair with Lady Butler? In this illustrated primer, Houdini historian and blogger John Cox (takes up the challenge and separates Fact from Fiction in the HOUDINI miniseries. Written by Nicholas Meyer and starring Adrien Brody, it promised to tell the “cradle to grave” story of Houdini’s amazing career. In 2014 the HISTORY channel aired a new biopic about the world’s most famous magician and escape artist, Harry Houdini. I've also packed it with photos from the miniseries and some uncommon shots of the real Harry. broadcast (History) version and the Extended DVD (Lionsgate) version, as well as something entirely new a never before published history of the production with facts and behind-the-scenes images that you will not find anywhere online (what I show on page 9 is especially awesome). Fact Checking HOUDINI The Miniseries is a printed version of my popular Houdini miniseries "Fact Check" posts from last year. Today I'm excited to offer the first printed publication of the WILD ABOUT HARRY Press (yes, that's still a thing).
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