TODAY marks the 69th anniversary of Houdini's premiere at the Des Monies Theater in Iowa on June 25, 1953. So what better day to continuing my scene by scene dissection of the classic biopic and one of its most iconic scenes...
Chapter 8: Magicians' Dinner
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Who wished they can present the straight jacket in this manner? I had a friend that tried it, but without the mirror ball, it just didn't have the same impact.
ReplyDeleteIn the end it did kill him. Harry committed the mortal sin of buying into his own legend. He waived off medical attention until it was too late to save him.
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing out the character who looks like Blackstone, I've always thought the same thing. Though Blackstone wasn't the last of the Golden Age, as Dante was still alive. (though Dante hated Houdini, lol) David Copperfield in his Escape From Alcatraz Special did a very similar Strait Jacket Escape by barely moving his body and having his arm peak out from the lower part of the jacket, clearly a tribute to the movie. Also loved seeing Bill Larsen on the screen, but did not like how they 'faked' the ending, totally not needed. Years ago, when I was President of my local magic assembly, I wanted to recreate the 'Strait Jacket Contest' for our club members. But finding a bunch of available jackets was impossible. So we did the escape contest with Vintage Handcuffs. I put all the keys in the bowl, along with a dozen others, and the first to find the right key and open their cuffs was the winner, lol. It was a lot of fun. BTW, enjoy your breakdown on the movie very much.
ReplyDeleteOh, right, Dante! I forgot all about him. I will tweak that. Thanks Dean!
DeleteBut, Dante passed away in the early 50s and Blackstone died in the mid 1960s, so he was the last from that Golden Age.
DeleteRight! And Dante was retired when this movie came out. I believe Blackstone was still performing?
DeleteGreat deconstruction, John - one of your best. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks! This is an important sequence so I knew it needed some extra attention. Glad you enjoyed.
DeleteBTW, I pretty sure I'm using the work "deconstruction" incorrectly. I'm not sure I'm really deconstructing in the strict sense of the word. I'm really dissecting. But I don't like pairing the word dissecting with Houdini/magic. So...
John, I think you're doing a smash up job of "unpacking" Houdini '53. I was going to wait until the weekend but couldn't resist and had to read it before hand. Can't wait to read what's next.
DeleteThanks, Khadi. I do like the word "unpacking." :)
DeleteAlthough if alive I think he would disagree I believe this is Tony Curtis's best movie
ReplyDeleteIn the final years of his life Tony appeared at several special screenings of his work, and it was always Houdini or Some Like It Hot. I love that, in the end, Houdini was one of the movies that represented him and his career. He seemed to enjoy it as well as he always had great memories to share. It's certainly a crowd pleaser!
DeleteWould have loved to have been at one of those screening!
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to attend one at the old Million Dollar movie palace in downtown LA and one at The Magic Castle. Great times. I covered the Castle one HERE.
Deletei was in my 30s when i first saw this movie. i didn't much like it then but these "deconstructions" are turning me into a fan.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to hear that! Thank you, Wench Whisperer. :)
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