In 1921 the only way to see Houdini was at the cinema. Fortunately, this was not difficult. All three Houdini movies were still playing in theaters across the country with his latest offering, Terror Island, continuing to open in new markets.
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You will be able to enjoy the story of Houdini in 1921 in my upcoming book(s).
Wow, what a way to kick off 2021. Bravo, my friend!
ReplyDeleteThanks man! I was excited to be able to include your Man From Beyond rapids discovery, so thank you. :)
DeleteHear, hear, Joe! Bravo! I always learn new things about HH in John's New Year deep dives. When he mentions the Austin Powers similarity to the reincarnated girlfriend, I was stunned not to have noticed the similarity to Man Fromom Beyond.
ReplyDeleteWoody Allen's "Sleeper" is maybe an even better example, but I figured people were more familiar with Austin Powers these days. The frozen man idea has appeared in many films. Was The Man From Beyond the first? I think it may be.
Delete"Sleeper" is a hilarious classic. Who can forget the "orgasmitron" device and Allen's reluctance to let it go? I also think Beyond may have been the first to use the suspended animation idea into the future. It was also used for the Captain America superhero character where he goes into a deep frozen hibernation after WWII. What was the source for the Boston elevated train jump? According to Silverman HH slipped and fell on ice on two occasions.
DeleteCaptain America, of course.
DeleteThe source of the ice slip was Silverman. His source was a January 11, 1922 Boston newspaper, but it must have happened this last week in December '21 as HH was in NYC by January. The second ice slip was in NYC at the end of 1925 or early '26, I believe.
John, this is really splendid! Truly a great start to the New Year. Beyond your usual meticulous research, your writing just gets better and better. Thanks so much for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tom. I really appreciate you saying that. This one might be a little too long for online, but I approached it more like a book chapter, which is where my mind is going these days. I didn't leave anything out. I do think think this has the most new information of any of these deep dives. The events of 1921 barely gets a mention in most bios.
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