Sunday, September 7, 2014

The Magic Detective Show Season 2 Ep 3

It's time for another episode of the weekly, or semi-weekly, Magic Detective Youtube Show, the five minute online magic history show. This week, I share a new acquisition with you, a piece of apparatus that comes from the book Modern Magic by Prof. Hoffmann. Also, I share one of the large statues from the collection of magician figures! In the coming weeks, I hope to share material from the various Prof. Hoffmann books, as well as Greater Magic, the Tarbell Course and more.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

The Houdini Miniseries-A Tale of Two Movies


I'll begin by throwing all my cards on the table.....This is the movie that could have been and should have been the greatest Houdini movie of all time. I think all of us in the magic community had very high hopes, maybe too high. With the History Channel's track record of fine productions, we certainly expected to get a quality film. Did we? Read on.

As far as acting, set design, costuming, cinematography, all very well done. Some of the attention to detail was incredible, like the recreation of Houdini Posters with Adrien Brody's image.  As far as the story, that's where the wheels come off. The story on Night 1 was so full of errors and fabrications I was truly stunned. But then Night 2, though it still had a few errors, the movie was so much closer to the true story. It was almost as if they had been written by different people.

I'm puzzled by the copying of material from the Tony Curtis/Houdini movie. That movie was mostly fabricated, but still fun. And a number of the elements of that movie find their way into this movie. For example, the wedding night/bedroom scene where Houdini has his wife climb into a box. In the Tony Curtis movie Bess gets into a sawing in half box. In the Adrien Brody movie, Bess gets into a trunk, and it's a little unclear why.

The Original Under Ice Scene
Later in the film there is a bathroom scene where Houdini is in a tub of ice, this is straight out of the Tony Curtis movie. And the whole under the ice escape scene is borrowed as well. In Tony Curtis movie Houdini claims he heard his mother's voice and that is how he found the hole in the ice. In the Adrien Brody movie, same thing. The only difference was in the Curtis movie it was the Detroit River and a packing case escape. In the Brody movie, it was the Mississippi and a Bridge Jump.

There seemed to be less borrowing of ideas on Night 2. But there was some real glossing over of things, like Houdini's film career. It was there and gone very quickly and didn't get the amount of air time it deserved. His exposure shows were not even featured. They did show him at seances proving the mediums were faking things, but that's where it stops. In real life Houdini added the exposure of mediums to his show and from all accounts it was loved by audiences. OH and Theo, man he got the crap end of the deal, almost no air time. As for Houdini's other siblings, not a word.

Then there were some real gems in the movie as well. The scene with Houdini and his doctor near the end, wow. The scene with the Lady Doyle Seance was really quite enthralling. The scene featuring the Cannon Escape, excellent.

So where does that leave me? I didn't really like Night 1 at all. But Night 2 I really enjoyed. Now, please understand, I was watching night one through the eyes of a magician and Houdini historian. Night 2 my expectations were lowered and to my surprise, Night 2 was really quite good except for one thing. I felt a little disappointed when the movie didn't run the full two hours. I understand there is close to 30 minutes of additional footage on the DVD, but I would like to have seen it tonight.

Despite the fact I didn't care for the first nights showing, I can tell you I was in the minority. The movie had huge viewership and those are average everyday lay people.

The Houdini Bloggers saw their number of views shoot up greatly. I think John Cox with WildaboutHoudini.com was in first place hands down with 50,000+ views. I had around 10,000 views and Tom Interval reported he had an increase but didn't reveal any numbers. I'm sure the other Houdini bloggers also saw an increase of traffic on their sites so that is good.

OH, last night before the movie aired, there was an episode of Pawn Stars where Gay Blackstone was featured trying to pawn one of the original(?) Blackstone Vanishing Cages. My article on the Vanishing Bird Cage received 2000 views last night.

I spent a couple hours at lunch today with a friend who couldn't stop talking about Houdini and he is not a magician. Again, great sign. I'm really looking for all the positives from this movie at this point. I'm very grateful for the History Channel for putting this movie together, for the incredible Houdini-like publicity campaign and for all the magic-tie in commercials. The marketing department at A&E did a great job.

Yes, the movie could have been better, but it was not a total loss. Night two did a lot to salvage the movie from a magic history perspective. Remember, the History Channel wasn't making a Houdini Documentary, nor were they making this movie for the magic community. This was for the lay people and by all accounts the lay folks LOVED IT! The movie can only be good for magic and for Houdini's memory. As far as the falsehoods, well that's why the Houdini historians are out there to correct the record.

Finally,  WWHT? What Would Houdini Think? I tend to think, with the exception of a couple scenes, he would have loved the movie. Afterall, he was the original fabricator of Houdini stories!!!!!

Now in the words of Bess Houdini, "The Zero Hour Has Past....I now reverently Turn Out the Light...Good-Night Harry."

UPDATE: Watch for an upcoming issue of The Linking Ring because I took this article and expanded on it for the magazine.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

The 30 Days of Houdini Celebration is Now Complete

Well, looks like I pulled it off. 30 Days of articles on Houdini. And actually, there were more than 30
articles. Sure, some were fairly light fair, but I also gave some meat in the mix. It sure was fun and it sure put my Houdini skills to the test, both as a researcher and actually as an escape artist. You see, there was something you didn't get to see. During the filming of The Magic Detective, I did a multi-handcuff escape. There were 8 pair of cuffs on my wrists and a pair of thumbscrews clamping my thumbs down. I have not done an actual escape for several years because I had an unusual injury (not related to escaping) that resulted in me being on blood thinning medication. So escapes were out.

But I picked it back up for this one time. I must tell you it felt pretty good and was also a little painful. The darbies I have are really too small for me now and dug into my wrists. The escape went really well. Later in the evening when I went to edit the footage I discovered the handcuff escape was not there. In fact, more than half of the video footage I shot was missing. I apparently must have forgotten to shut off the camera after one of the sequences and then every time I went to shoot a new one, I was actually turning the camera OFF! ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGH!!!

I would have reshot it, but instead chose to let you see the Steel Straitjacket routine from my old Underground Magic Theatre. I'm going to save the handcuff escape for a later date. You see, this is not the last of my Houdini Marathons. I have had plans for some time to do a number of them. The next one will begin sometime in the Spring and will be VERY different from this one. So keep your eyes and ears open for news.

To complete the month, below is the 4 minute trailer for tomorrow's History Channel 2 Part HOUDINI Miniseries. Thank you for reading my 30 Days of HOUDINI and enjoy the trailer and tomorrow, let's all hope for a Fantastic Night of HOUDINI MOVIE MAGIC!!!!

To check out all the 30 Days of Houdini articles, follow this link http://www.themagicdetective.com/search/label/30%20days


The Magic Detective Show Season 2 Ep 2

A special treat for the 30 Days of Houdini is a new episode of The Magic Detective. The show is a semi-regular weekly video blog on magic history, typically the episodes run about 5 minutes. This episode has two Houdini items and then finishes with an ESCAPE.

My interest in magic began with the Tony Curtis Houdini movie and one of the things that always stuck out to me in that movie was his Steel Straitjacket. I thought it was such a cool looking prop and a little over ten years ago I had to opportunity to have one made. My jacket routine evolved over time from the type of routine done in the movie to more of a true escape. The current version, is more intense than the one on this video, but I thought you might like to see it just the same. Enjoy!


HOUDINI In Washington D.C. 1906

The Sunday Star, Washington D.C. Sept 16, 1906
I have spent a lot of time following Houdini's footsteps while he was in the Nation's Capital, mainly
because I live in this area and can occasionally go down and check out sites for myself. Houdini was in town in January 1906 and had a very successful run. It looks as though demand for Houdini was pretty high because he was back in September for two weeks.

This time performing at Chase's Polite Vaudeville Theatre. Search as I have, I've been unable to turn up a photo of Chase's theatre. However, to the right is a program from Chases. The building has long been torn down. However, it was a very popular location during Houdini's time and he was in town doing his Straitjacket, Handcuff and challenge escapes.

Houdini began his run on Sunday September 16, 1906 featuring a standard stuff from his repitiore, but let's face it, his standard material was quite exciting. In one escape demonstration he was handcuffed with a half dozen pair of wrist and leg irons. During another sequence he was tied to a chair with several yards of rope by members of the audience. The final demonstration was his first challenge of the week. This is what the Evening Star Newspaper reported, "Possibly the most pleasing of his demonstrations was the simple manner in which he opened a pair of antique handcuffs from Greece, furnished by Andrew Alexaids, a local Greek interpreter, and an old-time pair of slave handcuffs. He freed himself from these manacles in full view of the audience, the slave-era handcuffs yielding when simply tapped on the floor."

September 17, 1906 the newspaper ad for Chase's says "Houdini-The World's Handcuff King and Prison Breaker, IN NEW AND SENSATIONAL ESCAPE FEATS AT EVERY PERFORMANCE. Police and Public Challenged to Test His Never Defeated Power." Also at the bottom of the ad it says that Houdini has been re-engaged for next week, so he'll be staying over an extra week.

September 18, 1906 the newspaper ad reads "Houdini Challenged! TONIGHT HE WILL ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE FROM A MURDEROUS MANIAC'S STRAIT-JACKET ...... CAN   HE  DO  IT?

September 19, 1906 the newspaper ad reads "Houdini's Greatest. Tonight he will attempt the most difficult handcuffs ever used to challenge him. Will he free himself???

September 20, 1906 the newspaper ad reads "HOUDINI IN A BAG! Challenged by Killian & Co., paper box manufacturers, Houdini will tonight try to escape from a big paper bag. Can he?" So far the week has been fairly normal material for Houdini. The Paper Bag Escape is something he would repeat in other cities.

September 21, 1906 the newspaper ad reads "HOUDINI BOXED UP Tonight he will attempt to escape from a packing case made by the packers of S. Kann, Sons & Co., Will he succeed?"

September 22, 1906 Houdini offers a twist on an earlier escape. Here is what the newspaper ad read, "HOUDINI IN A BAG No.2 Tonight he will try to get out of a paper bag tied at both ends. Will he do it? Come and See!"

September 23, 1906 marks the beginning of the second week. An interesting thing takes place. Because Houdini has been drawing so many people to his shows, the theatre has decided to open up the wings on the stage and ad chairs there! These seats come at a premium. In addition the newspaper ad for Sunday Sept 23, changes it's look at lists all of the weeks challenges.

There are articles in two different papers featuring Houdini in addition to the newspaper ads. One of the articles mentions that there will be a challenge escape at every performance in addition to Houdini's usual program of handcuff releases.

September 24, 1906 the newspaper ad reads, "HOUDINI's ORDEAL. Tonight he will attempt to escape from a maniac murderer's strait-jacket in full view of the audience. A thrilling event. Can he get out?" The following day another paper ads this report about the Sept 24 performance, "Last night he submitted to the demands of an insistent challenger who presented a manacle different from the regulation pattern required in the act. It took some minutes longer than the usual for Houdini's performance, but when he emerged from his cabinet, both hands were free."

September 25, 1906 the newspaper ad reads, "HOUDINI IN A CASE. Tonight he will attempt to escape from the Saks & Co., packing case, which will be constructed on the stage in full view of the audience."

September 26, 1906 the newspaper ad reads, "HOUDINI JACKETED Tonight he will attempt to escape from a Blackwell's Island insane asylum homicidal lunatic's strait-jacket, with leg bag and ropes upon him."

On September 27th there is an unusual change in the ads that appear in the Washington Time and The Evening Star papers. One of them prints an ad that reads, "HOUDINI IN ROPES Tonight he will make a sensational effort to escape from rope imprisonment in a chair." But the other paper has an ad that lists a whole bunch of challenges. That ad reads, "HOUDINI, The Mysteriarch of Manacles and Prisons. TWELVE CHALLENGE ESCAPE ATTEMPTS. Every Matinee and Every Evening Night. Houdini will make different Thrilling Tests of His Powers. Lunatic's Crib Escape. The Door Transfixion. The Ladder-of-death Suspension. The Witches' Pillory Confinement. The Invincible Paper Bag Release. The Iron Crate Incarceration. The Mammoth Football. The Greater Packing Case Tests. The Padlocked Leather Bag Escape. The Thrilling Hindoo Needle Feats, &c. &c. &c." There is one more article from the 27th, but I'm saving it for the end.

On September 28th he had a clever challenge put forth that reads like this, "HOUDINI'S ZINC CASE
Tonight he will attempt to escape from the Knabe & Co. Piano Export Packing Case, Lined with Zinc and Screw-Fastened, etc."

September 29th, 1906 was his final night of the two week run. Here is what the ad says, "HOUDINI'S FAREWELL Tonight he will conclude his engagement with a grand display of his power of manacles and strait-jackets."

That concludes his two week run at Chase's Polite Vaudeville Theatre. However, I wanted to reprint the newspaper article that appeared on Sept 27th, 1906. It's a little too long to just retype, so I am putting it below so you can read the entire thing yourself.