An 8mm print of Houdini's movie
The Man From Beyond sold
on eBay today for $50.00. Interesting to see a Houdini movie on actual film. The seller, Fantasma Magic, describes this as "extremely rare" and says the print canisters are labeled: "Drama... Studio Unknown... Man From Beyond... Houdini &
Nita Naldi reels 1-6".
Back in the days before video, 8mm was a popular consumer format. An 8mm print would have been the only way most magic buffs could see this Houdini film. In the February 1970 issue of
Genii, Houdini collector Manny Weltman ran this advert. I'm wondering if this is one of those Weltman 8mm prints?
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| Genii, February 1970 |
Ironically, the film cost more in 1970 than it sold for today. This is a rare case of something Houdini related actually going
down in value.
Speaking of good old fashioned celluloid, it's projected that distribution of motion pictures on film will cease in the U.S. by the end of 2013 and worldwide by 2015.
UPDATE: I recently found this ad in the December 1954 issue of
Home Movies magazine that offers
The Man From Beyond on 8mm "to the public for the first time."
my father had all the move of Houdini, he used to watch them all the time, the fire marshall came in told them to throw them out because highly flamible.
ReplyDeleteYep, that's a story I've heard and it kills me to think what went out in the trash that day. :s
DeleteI can only imagine what a 8MM print of The Grim Game would go for, or complete print of Terror Island or The Master Mystery. We lost a lot that day in the trash but it makes for an interesting story. The search for lost film footage continues.
ReplyDeleteI am the happy winning bidder and I'm looking forward to getting it in the Mail. I do believe that even though it is just a print, it will increase in value cross market wise for both the film historians / collectors and the magic / escape collectors.
ReplyDeleteJonathon Bryce
Yes, I think you could be right about that, Jonathon. Congrats on the buy!
DeleteIt’s been over 10 years since I purchased this film on eBay. There was some damage to the film that needed to be repaired. I took it upon myself to repair the print, which meant I had to learn a lot about splicing and cementing film. I am happy to report that after 12 years of work (on and off), I finally hosted a screening of “The Man From Beyond”.
ReplyDeleteTonight was one of the greatest moments of my life, watching Houdini escape from wet sheets, scale the sides of buildings, dangle from High Toms in the New Jersey Palisades, and brave the rapids of the Niagara River…on film, not tape or dvd…but actual FILM.
This was indeed a print put out probably in the 50’s or 60’s, but it was still exhilarating to watch the film the way it was intended to be seen. To hear the clatter of the projector, to see the flicker of the image, and to kick back and enjoy early cinema.
This has been a wild ride! Now to find more Houdini 8mm (or 16mm…)!
Jonathon Bryce (thehatandhareacademy)