As we know, Houdini stepped away from movie making after he completed The Man From Beyond and Haldane of the Secret Service in 1921. So the idea he'd consider a return in 1925 is pretty interesting. It's also interesting to see the name of Arthur B. Reeve, who co-wrote The Master Mystery and Houdini's Hollywood films.
In 1923 Houdini told the L.A. Times he planned to adapt his book Miracle Mongers and Their Methods into an "out-and-out stunt picture" following his Keith's vaudeville tour. This item appeared the Monday after he completed that tour. So could this signal the start of that process?
Unfortunately, I've found no other mention of this in any other paper nor any follow-up. So this could just be wishful thinking on the part of E.S. Manheimer, who appears to have been an independent producer with J.W. Film Corp in New York. Nevertheless, I like finding oddities like this and thought I'd share as you never know when we might find another piece of the puzzle.
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Hmm, very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I would think your educated guess re. "Miracle Mongers" may be correct. You know how long it takes to go from idea to execution in the movies, and after the financial losses with his films, he likely wouldn't plunge into something that didn't have some kind of platform, such as that book.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if there is an Arthur B. Reeve archive somewhere. The answer could be in there. Maybe even an unmade Houdini script!
DeleteI also think there's a good chance this is a whole lot of nothing.